BARCELONA GIPSY KLEZMER ORCHESTRA!

BGKO is a stable band that regularly performs in Barcelona and all Europe. But more than that, it’s an ever growing family of professional musicians and singers that are often invited for guests appearances.

As musicians and singers from Turkey, Slovenia, Switzerland, England, Russia, Serbia, India, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Iran and Israel gave their contribution to the never-ending story, the BGKO brought Klezmer, Gipsy and Balkan music to all generations of Barcelona. Nevertheless, the interaction became mutual and the city became a melting pot with so many different styles and cultures to embrace, so many ears to play for, and so many dancing feet to move.

BGKO brought Catalan traditional songs to oriental ecstatic rhythms, Gipsy swing to east Europe , Cuban revolutionary songs to Balkan rhythms and hot Balkan and Klezmer music to the core of the Mediterranean popular scene, always looking for the authenticity and magic that legends left us. The pot is cooking, the feast has just begun!

Enjoy Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra - LIVE at IMAGO festival, Ljubljana 2013

BGKO with guests : Nihan Devecioglu, Vlado Kreslin Sandra Sangiao (Vocals - Catalunya) Robindro Nikolic (Clarinet - Serbia/India) Mattia Schirosa (Accordeon - Italy) Julien Chanal (Guitar - France) Ivan Kovacevic (Double Bass - Serbia) Stelios Togias (Percussion - Greece) Marc Crofts (Violin - Switzerland) 

Production: RADIO TELEVIZIJA SLOVENIJA 

www.bgko.org

ON THE AIR: SUB-SAHARAN BLUES, TINARIWEN LIVE AT WOMAD FESTIVAL!

Tinariwen (Tamasheq: tinariwén "deserts") is a band of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed in 1979 in Tamanrasset, Algeria, but returned to Mali after a cease-fire in the 1990s. The group first started to gain a following outside the Sahara region in 2001, with the release of The Radio Tisdas Sessions, and the performances at Festival au Désert in Mali and at the Roskilde festival in Denmark. Their popularity rose internationally with the release of the critically acclaimed Aman Iman in 2007. Tinariwen's biography has variously been described as "the most compelling of any band" (Songlines), "the most rock'n'roll of them all" (The Irish Times), "hard-bitten" (Slate.com), and "dramatic" (The Independent).

The Tinariwen sound is primarily guitar-driven in the style known as assouf among the Tuareg people. The Tinariwen guitar style has its roots in West African music, specifically that from the "great bend" region along the Niger River, between Timbuktu and Gao. The core elements of Tinariwen's music are traditional Tuareg melodies and rhythms including those played on the shepherd's flute, which is primarily a man's instrument; and those played on a one-string fiddle known as an imzad which is played by women. The primary percussion instrument is the tindé drum which is played by women at festive occasions. Another important traditional influence is the lute known as the teherdent, which is played by the griots of the Gao and Timbuktu regions. In the late 1970s, when the founding members of Tinariwen started playing acoustic guitars, they played a traditional repertoire adapted to the western guitar.

While the Tinariwen style is possibly a distant relative of blues music, via West African music, members of Tinariwen claim to have never heard actual American blues music until they began to travel internationally in 2001.

In August 2012, an Ansar Dine spokesman announced: "We do not want Satan's music. In its place will be Quranic verses. Sharia demands this. What God commands must be done." After large parts of Northern Mali were captured by Ansar Dine, Abdallah Ag Lamida was arrested by the Islamist authority in early January 2013. The other band members managed to evade capture, but Ag Lamida was caught while trying to save his guitars. However, the band soon reported that he was "safe and free".

The band released their fifth album Tassili on August 30, 2011. The album later won the Award for Best World Music Album at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Discography:

• The Radio Tisdas Sessions (2001)
• Amassakoul (2004)
• The Soul Rebel of African Desert (2006) CD/DVD (Amassakoul og Jérémie Reichenbachs film, The Guitars of the Touareg Rebellion), Emma Productions
• Aman Iman (2007)
• Imidiwan (2009)
• Tassili (2011) #68 UK

Music doesn't get better than this! Enjoy!

BADASS: JACK IS DEAD & SON ORCHESTRE IRANIEN!

Live at Festival de la Bâtie, Casino-Théâtre, Genève, 2011



Bonus

MADE IN AMERICA!

Showtime's documentary "Made In America," (premiered Friday night on Showtime) from director Ron Howard, goes behind the scenes of the making of one of the biggest concert events of the year -- Jay Z's Made In America festival in Philadelphia (September 1, 2012).

The documentary follows the artists (From Jay Z to Run-D.M.C., The Hives to Pearl Jam, Kanye West to Jill Scott, Santigold to Passion Pit and more) as they prepare for and play their sets, but it also gets perspective from festival security guards, crew members, promoters and food vendors, and even the mayor of Philadelphia.

It's a fascinating look at Jay Z's rise -- including a scene where he visits his old apartment, which now has a view of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn that houses his 40/40 Club -- and at what artists are doing to help revive local economies and bring people from all walks of life together.

Jay Z explains that his impetus for Made in America was to create a multi-genre festival in which people of all backgrounds can mesh. "Made in America could become a place where people of all cultures gather and have fun being themselves," he says. The rapper vehemently states that he’s "not an elected official," yet his words could foreshadow a new hip-hop political platform: "America is now being accepting of all cultures," he says. "We have a black president now. . . . We’ve made steps as far as racism. Now we have to make steps towards sexism, gay rights. . . . We’re all people at the end of the day. . . . We all have that belief that you can make it here in the land of the free and the home of the brave." Rolling Stone recaps the most memorable moments here. 

Ron Howard with Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z backstage during the Budweiser Made In America Festival

Just ignore the small pop-up and press play

THE WORLD'S MOST SCENIC EVENTS!

A picturesque backdrop makes any recreation all the more enjoyable, and with that in mind, we present our pick of the eight most scenic events of the coming year. Music festival or marathon, these are guaranteed to have you reaching for your camera.

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