For the benefit of those of you who are unfamiliar with this project and are going to WOMAD, read no further as it'll ruin the surprise!

For the benefit of those of you who are familiar with this project and are going to WOMAD, you'll probably want to save yourself for when Peter and Karl are talking about it because they have been a lot more deeply involved in the project than i have, so will have far more interesting things to say.

For the benefit of those of you who are familiar with this project and are not going to WOMAD, you probably know everything i'm about to tell you but read on anyway, there might be valuable nuggets of knowledge hitherto unknown to you which you can wow your friends and woo any extra-platonic interests with.

For the benefit of those of you who are neither going to WOMAD nor know of this album, read on!

The album initially started being recorded back in 1991 (for those of you bad at maths, that's ages ago) and features a host of guest stars including (but not limited to): The Holmes Brothers, Billy Cobham, Joseph Arthur, Iarla O'Lionaird, Deep Forest, Jah Wobble, Hukwe Zawose, Natacha Atlas, Papa Wemba, Sinead O'Connor and others. It was one of those recordings which wouldn't have been recordable before multi-track recording reared its ambiguous head, as takes were layered over existing parts of tracks and whatnot. To cut a long story short everyone had loads of fun recording it and it sounds great.

The talk will be taking place on Friday 25th July 4.15pm at Little Sicily tent. If you're at WOMAD you should go to it. Definitely!

If you're not going (there's a lot of hypotheticals cropping up here) or you can't wait that long you can watch this video, although it is no substitute for attending the event.

Amy LaVere

Anchors and Anvils

(Country)

The Devil's Interval

Blood and Honey

(Folk)

Crooked Still

Still Crooked

(Country)

Andy Fairweather Low

Live in Concert

(Rock/Pop)

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Amy LaVere is my recommended choice of the week, as her album is awesome!

As well as his music there will also be dancing acts, including a Mask Change act. For those of you unfamiliar with the Mask Change, here is an example from Singapore-based Alex the Magician.

Jah Wobble also features on the forthcoming release Big Blue Ball, a release also featuring Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger, Sinead O' Connor, Natacha Atlas and plenty more. The album is being released by Real World Records and will be available from Monday 28th July, although will also be available the weekend before at WOMAD.

Seu Jorge

America Brasil

(World)

Eve Selis

Angels and Eagles

(Country)

The Watson Twins

Fire Songs

(Rock/Pop)

Little Feat

Join The Band

(Country/Blues)

Ian McLagan and the Bump Band

Never Say Never

(Rock/Pop)

************************************************

My faves of the week = Seu Jorge and The Watson Twins!

We have 5 signed copies of the new Eliza Carthy album sitting here just waiting for a new home.

Leave us a comment telling us why you think you should get one and the 5 most entertaining respondees will bag themselves a copy.

Click on the comments link below to leave yours....

Her album is also available on iTunes, featuring a bonus track!

Eliza Carthy

Dreams of Breathing Underwater

(Folk/Alternative)

Sabrina Malheiros

New Morning

(World)

Mary Gaulthier

Genesis (The Early Years)

(Country)

Andy Fairweather Low

The Low Rider

(Rock/Pop)

**********************

My favourite this week is Eliza Carthy!

Thursday the 19th will see three jazz concerts at the Maison des Musiques, one starting at 6:45, the next at 8:00, and the final at 9:15 pm.  Go blue (green is so last year) at the multi-media Fete au Fil de l'Eau at La Gueuse de la Fonderie, which will include jazz, fado, and the Dieter Telmans photo exhibition "Troubled Waters."  Saturday will feature six hours of live music in front of the Palais courtesy of bands (all on MySpace for your previewing pleasure) such as Zita Swoon and Hollywood Porn Stars.  Sunday will showcase art nouveau in musical form, or if you're feeling really adventurous, head out to Waterloo for an 11:00 am concert of Prokofiev's masterpiece Peter and the Wolf, a concerto by Nino Rota, and Chausson's "Poeme," one of the most stunning works for violin and piano.

The free concerts don't end there (though they do end on Sunday); if you speak French or can work Google Translate, you'll find the complete listing here.

Nouvelle Vague @ last year's festival...Thanks, Exhibit!

Fete de la Musique
Various locations
http://www.fetedelamusique.be

The program will take place between 7pm and 8pm.  If you miss it you can listen to it retrospectively from Mike Harding's webpage.

It's hard to believe we're already facing the middle of June, especially if you're in Amsterdam where time is a bit more....shall we say, malleable.  If you're just waking up to the fact that white is now okay to wear and it's time to switch to a nice light hefeweizen, you've probably missed the beginning of the summer festivals in Europe.  Fortunately, there is still time to get in on the action, even in the Netherlands.

A three week arts bender, the Holland Festival is one of the most important times on the Dutch calendar.  International opera, theatre, dance, music, and even media/visual artists flock to Amsterdam each spring to embrace the cultural zeitgeist.  For those of you who either love or want to love all things avant garde, now's the time to go Dutch.  And despite a list of luminaries involved this year (including Osvaldo Golijov and William Forsythe), there are still tickets available for the last weekend.   Most of the tickets that are still available will set you back upwards of 30 Euro, however students can still wrangle 10 Euro seats for Heiner Muller's Quartett, an adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:15 at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.

For those of you who want to jump on the boat for next year and support the arts in the process, you may also want to consider joining the Culture Lovers program.  For a 45 Euro annual membership, you get free invites to parties, the opportunity to book your tickets before the general public, and (our favorite bit) a reduction of 5 Euro for the first ticket bought for each event and a 2.50 discount on any subsequent tickets for the same amount.  That means if you'll be spending your summer in the Netherlands, you can see 9 performances and get a return on your investment.  Plus free booze.  Now that's something to love.

Only in Am'Dam...Thanks Stadsschouwburg!

The Holland Festival
Various Locations
http://www.hollandfestival.nl
 

But next weekend the area will get its land-legs back in an outdoor arts festival that has many urbanites heading southeast.  From Thursday the 19th to Sunday the 22nd, seventeen events and works will take place and, with the exception of one, will all be free.  The Greenwich+Docklands International Festival has earned its place as something to look forward to when the temperatures rise each year, and this year is no exception. 

If you're a fan of Beckham, spend an afternoon watching football (excuse us, soccer) and southeast Asian dance collide in "Bend It...".  If you believe a mime is a terrible thing to waste, head over to Beresford Square on Thursday to see "Fanfare," a piece of interactive French street theatre.  Hit up the National Maritime Museum Friday night for "Run!", which combines running, choreography, and even a bit of machinery.  And if you absolutely can't live without something nautical, a Dutch/Flemish art exhibition at the Museum's Queen's House ("Turmoil and Tranquility") will open on Friday and run through the beginning of next year.

And for those with a few pounds to burn (that is, currency and not calisthenically-wise...we're not calling you fat), the Greenwich Observation Wheel will be replacing the closed-for-rennovations Cutty Sark.  A hipster's London Eye, the ferris wheel will open on Friday with rides going for £7.00 (adults) and £4.50 (kids under 16).

Thanks, clearbrian!

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival
Various Locations in Greenwich
DLR to Cutty Sark
http://www.festival.org

"Eliza Carthy album launch Madam Jojo’s Soho Monday 9^th June 2008

What better venue for the launch of folk music legend Eliza Carthy’s new album than the legendary Soho club Madam Jojo’s? The fiesta atmosphere was immediately evident on walking into the club with oranges suspended from the ceiling, special Eliza branded rock & even an Oranges & Sea Salt cocktail available at the bar (when you buy the album this seemingly odd combination will make sense).

‘Dreams of Breathing Underwater’ is Eliza’s first self penned album since ‘Angels & Cigarettes’, released during her ill-fated spell with Warner music. This watery themed album has been seven years in the making & judging from the launch performance it has been well worth the wait. The album is similar to ‘Angels & Cigarettes’ in that it is a far cry from the traditional music she is so well known for but it has a personality all its own.

The lady herself was on top form tonight & as energetic and sparkling as ever but the special location & musical assistance from among others The Bevvy Sisters, Willy Molleson & Emma Smith made for a truly magical evening. They seemingly effortlessly swept through the entire album with added witty banter in between. The real highlights of the evening were the almost jazz tinged ‘Mr Magnifico’ made all the more atmospheric & moody by Willy Molleson’s throaty Scottish tones and the all too truthful tale of searching for alcohol in the early hours of the morning ‘Oranges & Seasalt’. Unsurprisingly the crowd wanted more even after being spoiled with such riches & Eliza didn’t disappoint, returning with a delightfully risqué song about ‘shagging’ that sadly isn’t actually on the album.

All in all the night was a true success & it is a real testament to how highly Eliza is thought of in the music industry that the audience read like a Who’s Who of folk music. I spotted Spiers & Boden, Jamie Delarre from Mawkin & Neil Maccoll just to name a few. They are obviously just as impressed by the lady Carthy as her thousands of fans & the lucky few who were party to this album launch went away with no doubt in their mind that this album is a must for any Eliza fan & has the potential to catapult her into the mainstream with ease."

Corrina is a Propergandist, a member of the Properganda Street Team. You too can join (entitling you to free CDs and free gigs!) by emailing us at street.team@properdistribution.co.uk

And for your viewing pleasure, some pictures! (All pictures copyright 2008 Vicky Walters. She didn't do the captions, so you can't blame her for them.)

[gallery]

It looks like this! As you can see, Eliza Carthy is the cover star but what you can't see is that she is also a guest contributor this issue. Other features include the Radio 3 World Music Awards, Dengue Fever, The Watson Twins, Amy LaVere along with plenty more and, as always, the chance to win yourself a copy of every CD reviewed inside! We will be sending these out to your local music shop or venue very soon.

Also, for those of you who don't like reading but do like listening, you will no doubt be interested in the new Properganda Podcast. This edition features an exclusive interview from Neil Cowley, as well as music from Lau, Transglobal Underground, Cara Dillon & John Smith, Tony Kofi and plenty more.

You can stream it by visiting our MySpace page or by opening a player here (Firefox users, we recommend right-clicking and opening in a new window), or you can download it from here or by clicking the picture.

Coming Soon: Subscribe to the Properganda Podcast!

Andy Fairweather Low

The Low Rider: The Very Best Of

(Rock/Pop)

It's really rather good!

There was an excellent turnout for Dengue Fever's first ever UK gig, a great start to their forthcoming European tour which includes big festivals like WOMAD, Glastonbury and Roskilde. An enthusiastic crowd warmly welcomed them to the stage, many of them familiar with their material over their last three albums.

The band's enthusiasm and charisma jump out the stage at the audience with sporadic synchronized dancing and enough energy to power Milton Keynes; one of their dancing moves involves each musician slinking towards the floor as the music descends in pitch, resulting in the keyboard player (Ethan Holtzman) playing his keyboard whilst crouching on the floor without being able to see what he's doing. At points bass player Senon Williams jumps out into the crowd, nearly bangs his head on the ceiling whilst jumping up and down and plays on his knees whilst still being about the same height as lead singer Chhom Nimol (the latter two are a result of him being at least six-and-a-half foot tall). Chhom is also sporting what I can only describe as the most interesting shiny, silver dress I've ever seen.

Sound-wise everything is great out front, clearly audible and nicely mixed, with the occasional exception that Zac Holtzman, guitarist and singer (also student of obscure music legend Trey Spruance), is too busy jumping and dancing around that he doesn't quite make it to the microphone. This however hardly detracts from the excellent musical performance which almost acts as a backdrop behind the visual spectacle, despite the fact there are so many people singing along.

In conclusion, it was a great delight to see them in such an intimate venue given that they are pretty much only playing festivals for the rest of their tour. But for those of you attending Wychwood, Glastonbury, Larmer Tree, WOMAD, Summer Sundae and/or Beautiful Days they will blow your socks off. For full tour details, click here.

Some great new releases today, including:

Spiers and Boden

Vagabond

(Folk)

Sonny Landreth

From The Reach

(Blues)

Apples & Snakes Twofive: Vinyl To Download

Various

(Hip-hop/Poetry)

Twilight Hotel

Highway Prayer

(Country/Americana)

Personal recommendation of the week: I think that Twilight Hotel - Highway Prayer is one of the best albums I've heard so far this year. Buy it!

Royal Rock AKA Suga-Free - "Pure Pimp"
I first heard about this through the always-most-excellent Cocaine Blunts blog. I think of all of my female relatives/friends with a poignant tear in my soul while I listen to the lyrics, but I've played this at parties before and watched some of said women go buck. So hey.

Inside Out - "Burning Fight"
You guys have no idea how hard we used to mosh to this 7" (sike, i had the CD, would love the 7" now though, matter fact). Full disclosure, I definitely still fuck with Evil Empire. The part during "Wind Below" when the raps start and the drums cut out while the guitar is like "eeeeeeeee-ooooooooo" and Zach D is like "Flip this capital eclipse" was a major moment, still is. And when I learned that he was in a hardcore band it kind of blew my young mind, the idea that new bands could have members of older ones. And then I played a tape of it to death. This was my favorite song.

Unfortunately Rage devolved into Brodioslave, and i never fucked with Soundgarden (maybe "Spoonman", what can i say, aux percussion). Also Tom Morello seems like a cornball, and the drummer still does that thing where his head whips back every single time he hits the snare drum. However, Zack D has some new band with the drummer from GOLDEN, which gives me such a strong Maryland buzz.

I would also like to do a comprehensive tally of dudes who are deep into hip-hop, electronic noise, house, disco, or otherwise club music production who were really into hardcore/played in hardcore bands in the late 90s. I've already personally met a ton. Like, if you were into Side By Side in 1998 you are very likely into Three Six, rare Turkish funk, and Adonis in 2008.

MI AMI - "Pressure" Live in Chicago.
Oh guys they are gonna tear the roof off of something in the next few months. This video is from their best show (in my humble opinion) during our tour this past February. Sickness. Also you have NO IDEA how loud (and awesome) the shit was.

Midnight Express - "Danger Zone"

EDIT: I FOUND OUT THAT MIDNIGHT EXPRESS IS NOT FROM CA! I WAS MISTAKEN. So yeah, if you were to listen to this with the top down driving around CA, it would be quite righteous.

Thanks to earcave.com for placing this treasure before my eyes. And a shout out to Dam Funk\, the funkiest dude out and about right now. Get that Burgundy City 12"!!!

In short, I can't wait to be back in Cali, whenever that may be. I'm here dealing with this Maryland humidity scattered thunderstorm bullshit, thinking about my Cali buddies.

FoodForAnimals has never been too worried about the potential legal issues that surround our music.  We've usually sampled as we pleased and downloaded software without fear; often with pride.  But after all the mash-ups, the politics of sampling don't really seem particularly interesting or cutting-edge anymore.   In this day and age, it all seems like not that big a deal.  Do people still get sued over samples?      (yeah probably)

So, this post is NOT about the music/politics/ideas of the new GirlTalk album or how many unlicensed samples it boasts.  This is about the albums title:

"Feed The Animals"

It's kinda similar to "Food For Animals"... What's up with that? 

Too far away to be a sample, but also a little too close for comfort.

• I guess now I have to do a remix ASAP.
• Here is one of my favorite essays on sampling from Plunderphonics.
• I gotta find that tape the Rjyan "CEX" Kidwell did, under the name GirlTalk, in the Girltalk style.

Ricky

Back in the NYC days, I would come across this guy on the radio dial from time to time, and actually I would make it a point to listen sometimes, too. He was always fascinating, but sometimes in a way that drove me (and most everybody) up the wall: He was exhaustive in recitations of jazz fact.

It wasn't unusual to hear him interview some veteran player, and he'd basically be telling the guy all these details of some recording session or live gig that the musician himself could not recall.

Anyway the profile is pretty good, particularly, I think, the very sweet and rather poignant ending.

Here's one passage from the middle that I thought was interesting. Schaap also teaches:

As a teacher, Schaap is less concerned about the tender sensibilities of his students than with developing knowledgeable and passionate listeners. “The school system is creating six thousand unemployable musicians a year—from the Berklee College of Music, Rutgers, Mannes, Manhattan, Juilliard, plus all the high schools,” he said. “There are more and more musicians, and no gigs, no one to listen. So what happens to these kids? They work their way back to the educational system and help create more unemployable musicians. My rant is this: I’m not trying to teach you to play the alto sax. No. I’m trying to get you to learn how to listen to Charlie Parker. Louis Armstrong is the greatest musician of the twentieth century. But name twenty musicians today who really listen to Louis Armstrong. Go ahead: I’ll give you a week.”