cafebabel.com

One Spaniard's five reasons not to attend Benicassim 2011

('Melanie',) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:00:00 -0000

I won’t go to the 'FIB' in Spain this year in protest at one of the many festival-businesses that dedicate themselves to treating their public like rubbish simply because they are young, consume drugs and do not have the sufficient vehemence to claim their rights. Readers (and/ or music lovers), here are five reasons not to be fooled and to follow my lead

Olivia Pedroli: 'Icelanders are lucky to come from a country so far from everything'

('Naomi R',) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:00:00 -0000

From her beginnings in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Olivia’s talent led her to Reykjavik where she has bloomed under the mentorship of Bjôrk’s producer. Coming out of her trance, Olivia guides us through the mélange of folk, classical and experimental influences that make up her new album 'The Den'. Will you come in?

Awa Ly: ‘Italians are curious to find out how I ended up in Italy’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:30:00 -0000

From Paris and Dakar to Rome where the singer discovered two of her most important talents – a voice and lyrics full of energy

French duo John & Jehn: 'in England, no-one cares about boundaries'

('emily',) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:00:00 -0000

On 29 March a duo like none of the other new faces on the French music scene released their second album, 'Time For The Devil’. Fans of Joy Division and The Velvet Underground, the couple live and compose in London, which might be why their album exudes the feel of the British new wave

Swiss singer Sophie Hunger: former jazz 'fascist'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:30:00 -0000

It's promo promo promo in Paris for the folk singer-songwriter, who's finishing up a tour of Europe via Glastonbury to shows in the Czech Republic and Austria. The mellow 27-year-old from Zurich is on the French festival circuit to continue the escape from the 'sad' studio

Electronic music duo Fuck Buttons: is this music?

('Aatish Pattni',) — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:00:00 -0000

From Worcester via Bristol to the world, schoolfriends Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power are fiddling with some old machines across a table in order to make some music. The universal sound goes by ‘drone, pop, noise’

Belgian band Absynthe Minded: 'we’re not playboys'

('Alison Frank',) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:45:00 -0000

Since 2002, the acclaimed jazz rockers from Ghent have flirted with an indescribable style. As the Belgian five's tour stops in Paris to celebrate their fourth disc in eight years, we meet to talk about their passion for quality music, platinum albums and the women in their lives

Concert review: south London band The xx continue European tour

('theroxbox',) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0000

They count Courtney Love as a fan, they're one of the groundbreaking new acts of 2009 and among the most innovative bands of the late decade. As the band of twenties return to their European tour today in Angouleme, one fan remembers how, in spite of wild winds, the Danish hoards flocked to catch a glimpse of the Wandsworth trio

‘If I had to choose between sex and performing live with The Whitest Boy Alive...’

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:15:18 -0000

One day it was just computers. The next day, god brought instruments. Over the past decade, the Berlin-based band’s polyphonic electronic sound has translated into pure deprogrammed happiness for live dance fans across Europe. We hear the boys from Bergen, Berlin and Toruń out

French band ‘Zakarya’ play Klezmer in Saint Petersburg

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0000

Think you need a clarinet and melancholy yiddish tunes to play Jewish folk music? Then you’ve yet to hear the French quartet. As their Russian concert winds down, accordionist Yves Weyh discusses the audience's strength of imagination, ‘imaginary’ film scores and avant-garde Klezmer

Dominique A: 'Singing in English doesn’t feel natural'

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0000

As a front runner in the race to modernise French music, the 41-year-old shuns old stereotypes and overnight trends. His two-disc album 'La musique/ La matière' is out now

Dear Reader via Johannesburg and Berlin: 'We’re all just geeks really'

('Andrew Christie',) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Cherilyn MacNeil, 24, the charismatic singer and pianist of South African indie trio Dear Reader, speaks to us from the fringes of the Berlin Festival about her home country’s mix of danger and new beginnings, faith and spirituality, broken hearts and summer in Berlin

The Beatles rock again in videogame

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:00:00 -0000

On 9 September 2009, a remastered version of their albums and the videogame 'The Beatles: Rock Band' was released. The Beatles jukebox hasn’t stopped since. And what better date than 09/09/09 to release revamped versions of a group that on average released an album every nine months. Long live The Beatles!

Moby: free Europe concerts for climate change

('Waldemar Ingdahl',) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:33:36 -0000

'Play4Climate.eu' raises awareness among Europe's youth before the December UN summit in Copenhagen. We chat to the American musician/ activist

Music duo Kim Ki O: ‘the danger of being Turkish’ for Europe

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:45:00 -0000

The Swedish pop elite love them, but EU bureaucracy is preventing Ekin Sanac and Berna Göl from breaking Europe. In Istanbul, music is an unstable bridge between east and west. Part two of a special feature

In London? Hang out at Pure Groove or Cafe 1001

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:00:00 -0000

The one thing that has always characterised the idea of the Big Smoke aside from its climate is its lively music scene. Since the sixties, London has dictated the guidelines of European and sometimes global musical trends, acting as a forge and launch pad for small or slightly more established rock bands. I discover the Chew Lips in between Farringdon and Brick Lane

Herman Dune vs. Vandaveer: transatlantic anti- & alt-folk

('Lindsey Evans',) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:00:00 -0000

An American plying his trade in Europe and a Franco-Swiss exporting his ‘anti-folk’ to the American continent – that place where a guy called Dylan’s first notes were heard. Interviews

Buraka Som Sistema: 'We never wanted the African flag thing in our music'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:53:18 -0000

As four men from Lisbon and Luanda set Angolan disturbances to breakbeat music, the European press scrams to box the sound. We have a shot too when we meet the band on one of their tour legs in Paris. After all, they have been on a gradual rise in Europe over the last couple of years

Cristina Branco, the magic of fado

('Nuala Morgan',) — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 13:51:00 -0000

If you haven’t heard of Cristina Branco it’s likely that you haven’t heard of fado, a melancholy Portuguese singing tradition which is set to take Europe by storm