cafebabel.com

Sunday in Paris with Chopin and Steve Villa-Massone, street pianist

('Adam Wyett',) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:23:17 -0000

After trailing the streets of Europe with his piano - literally carrying it around - for ten years, the dedicated French pianist and composer from Nice is now bringing smiles to Parisian passers-by. We tag along with him in the streets of the French capital - the more of us around to push this heavy instrument, the better

Steve James: 'In the 80s, I can’t imagine anyone wanted a documentary-making career'

('Helene Bienvenu',) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:22:46 -0000

The American director perhaps best known for his 1994 film Hoop Dreams is in Amsterdam for the city’s international documentary film festival. We talk 'new media', starting out in the eighties and why an oscars snub doesn't matter when you've got good old Europe to fall back on

Activist Ahmed el-Senussi: Libyan prince and human rights hero

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:34:01 -0000

Currently a member of Libya's national transitional council, the prince was in solitary confinement during his imprisonment and did not speak to a single person for nine years. We meet in Strasbourg where the former prisoner of conscience was one of five Arabs to win the Sakharov freedom of thought prize for 2011

Brooklyn-based pop band Chairlift: once 'music for haunted houses'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:45:30 -0000

Patrick Wimberly and Caroline Polachek probably never thought their music would end up on a commercial for an apple product. After meeting the duo in Paris, we are advised to go back to the future, turn the sound down on a silent film and crank up our headphones to their fresh electronic pop offering

Paul Lewis: call him ‘special projects editor’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:05:22 -0000

At The Guardian, the award-winning British-Spanish journalist, 30, handles investigative news in an innovative method via social networks and micro-blogging sites – it even helped him crack stories about two murders. Interview

Jazz man Raphael Gualazzi: Italy’s Jamie Cullum?

('Marta Nathansohn',) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:36:31 -0000

The weekly German magazine Die Zeit called him ‘the perfect synthesis between Paolo Conte and Jamie Cullum’. In person, the 30-year-old is shy, but onstage he turns into a wild devilish creature. We catch him on the European tour for his second album Reality and Fantasy

Susanne Graf: 'Those who remember the GDR know what it means to be observed constantly'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:45:00 -0000

Berlin’s September elections made her the youngest MP in the parliament at 19, the only woman in her fraction - and a ‘pirate’. We talk data protection, mistakes in politics and why a quota for women in the pirate party wouldn’t make any difference

Rafał Blechacz, Poland's musical prodigy

('Angela Kubik',) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:19:07 -0000

Is it easier to play Chopin if you are Polish? Is it better to set up home in a bustling cultural centre rather than the countryside? We hear from the 26-year-old pianist who has been making waves in Poland for the last few years

Spanish actor Santi Senso, creator of 'house theatre'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:12:25 -0000

The thirtysomething actor is otherwise known for his 'intimate' theatre performances in people's homes across Spain, something he says is driven by a ‘beautiful madness’ inside him. His latest play 'Orgy Me' has just ended its residency in a hotel room in Madrid

Ascanio Celestini: 'I denounce verbal violence of our time’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 -0000

He is the mouthpiece of contemporary Italian theatre, a critic of power, an anthropologist who depicts the evils of our time better than anyone else. The 39-year-old actor, director and author talks about coming from outside Rome and where his one-man-show gets its inspirations from

Why French pop singer Ornette hated Serge Gainsbourg

('ZoeBBee',) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:01:20 -0000

Far from offbeat artistic families, broken computers and restrictive music conservatories, the 28-year-old Parisian and mother-of-two has created a highly colourful musical project. Her debut album Crazy was released in France on 26 September

Director Tomasz Baginski: ‘We Polish often lack the ability to distance ourselves from issues’

('Angela Kubik',) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:31:42 -0000

His mini-film depicted Poland’s six-month presidency of the EU as a passionate dance and cost around 130, 000 euros to make. Poland’s most famous animation producer is a 2002 Oscar nominee in the short animated film category; so why so much criticism?

Revolution rapper Mohamed El Deeb, Tahrir square's figurehead

('Eva Vanhee',) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:30:00 -0000

Some musical genres, like rap and hip hop, developed so as to voice the rage of victims of injustice. Yet how many times has such ‘protest music’ really brought about a new revolution? The Egyptian rapper went out onto the streets to make real the change he evokes in his texts

Giulio Spatola, Mr Gay Europe 2011: ‘People like me don’t create a spectacle’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:09:58 -0000

The 26-year-old from Palermo, Italy, was crowned the dubious title at the fifth edition of the five-day event in Romania in April. The filmmaker and hotel manager says it’s about more than what is branded a 'beauty contest for the gay community'

German writer Hatto Fischer on Greece 'madness' and 'European debts’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:28:33 -0000

The Bavarian-born philosopher and co-founder of the NGO Poiein Kai Prattein (‘create and do’), which launched in Athens in 2003, explains why Europeans have thought that the Greeks were mad, and how we can learn from their current fiscal tragedy

Sila Sahin, Turkish-German actress and first 'muslim playboy model'

('Lyndsey Smith',) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:14:25 -0000

In May 2011 the 25-year-old posed on the cover of German Playboy, becoming the 'first muslim’ to pose nude for a glossy magazine. Her 'act of liberation’, as the tabloids called it, sparked religious outrage and divided the Turkish community from Berlin to Istanbul. Yet was it just a marketing coup, or even a daring act of integration? Interview

French-American folk musician Redeye: 'I was a bit unsure about country music'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:47:53 -0000

Guillaume Fresneau is relatively unknown except for his outing as part of French band Dahlia. Moving on from the rock direction, he exclaims why it's good to be independent, travel and find yourself. His five-track EP 'Be The One' was released in February 2011

Jorge Semprun: Buchenwald concentration camp survivor 65 years on

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:00:00 -0000

The Spanish former concentration camp inmate, politician and Oscar-winning writer, 86, was at the Paris book fair on 28 March to present his latest work, 'Europe from yesterday to today: a tomb cradled in clouds'. 11 April 2010 marks 65 years since the Nazi camp's liberation

Tony Canto, soundtrack to Italy’s 150th birthday

('AdeleK',) — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:10:00 -0000

He is a writer, composer, singer and musician, but above all, he's Sicilian. He's a cross between Ulysses and Don Quixote, but his feet are planted firmly on the ground. Canto’s latest album 'Italiano Federale' is a kind of revolutionary manifesto which is music to the ears, hearts and minds of those who listen

Reindeerspotting director Joonas Neuvonen: story of a Finnish junkie

('Nicola Potter',) — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:00:00 -0000

Reindeerspotting - Escape from Santaland, a Finnish documentary about drug addicts, is a film that you will probably never see at the cinema. Widely criticised in Finland, where it is accused of promoting the use of hard drugs, it’s been a viral hit. Could this be the birth of the internet version 2.0 of Trainspotting?

Simon from Is Tropical: ‘England is very oversaturated in music, London especially'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:29:48 -0000

The boy from Bournemouth explains why his low-fi British band, signed to French label Kitsune, is more European than English. The three-piece of former London squatters, who perform with masks, are on a mini European tour in mid-April. Their debut album Native To is released on 13 June

Spanish poet Martin Lopez-Vega: ‘Choose between culture and commerce’

('terrymcc',) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:01:54 -0000

Looking out over Madrid’s Retiro park, the Spanish poet and translator ponders over his literary concerns and gives us his own brief synopsis of the current poetry scene

Belgian singer Selah Sue, no Amy Winehouse

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:45:00 -0000

She’s a singer with American, even Jamaican soul, but Sanne Putseys is also just like any other young angel-faced Belgian girl, despite her groove sisterhood

Spanish writer Eugenia Rico: 'proud to be called a witch'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:06:19 -0000

The author, poet and journalist from Asturias intertwines the fates of two fictional women across the centuries in her latest novel. In Berlin, we talk witches, twitter and why it’s good to be different

Director Roozbeh Behtaji: 'Young Europeans live in an existential no-mans land'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:43:11 -0000

The 30-year-old filmmaker and screenwriter from Gothenburg stands out, not only because he doesn't look like your average Swede, but because he dons a different hat everyday. He played a cap-wearing tourist who becomes a terror suspect because of his looks in his own debut film London Transfer. Time to find out what's under his hat

Giacomo Abbruzzese: 'I’m no longer able to make a film without talking about Palestine'

('Carol Howard',) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:20:45 -0000

The Italian director's short film Archipelago (2010) explores the West Bank from its various forms of transport. The arduous journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem and back highlights the absurdity of the situation that Israel and Palestine have been in for decades. Interview

Yuriy Gurzhy: 'Achtung! The party is Russian-rock-free'

('Alexandra Belopolsky',) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:21:24 -0000

The legendary 'Russendisko' organiser is a notorious DJ and producer in Berlin. The Ukrainian-born musician co-created the club dance event in 1999 and his band Rotfront in 2003 with fellow Jewish Russian and Hungarian 'emigrantskis'. Time for some tea in Cologne

Puneet Sahani: an Indian hitchhiker who will publish his love

('Miriam Franchina',) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 04:00:00 -0000

I've been glued to the clear voice coming out of a skype conversation for over an hour. The 26-year-old Indian from the Punjab is now based in Berlin, where I met him. I need to record his weird accent, mangled by the various places he’s been living in and to appear in his upcoming book

Stromae: 'Role model? Me? At 25 you shut your mouth and listen'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:10:49 -0000

He picked up the Belgian Hit Of The Year award for ‘Alors On Danse’, but the skinny singer insists he wants to move forward from his chart-topping eurodance hit - which conquered most of Europe in 2010 – as well as move out of his mother’s house. Interview

Alex Metric: the man with a studio tan

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:11:24 -0000

The 29-year-old British DJ and producer takes us on his own brief musical journey of electronic music as we await the remixes on his new disc Open Your Eyes. The eponymous first single, an intriguing collaboration with DJ Angello of Swedish House Mafia, is out this January

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?

Jacek Borcuch, Poland’s 2011 Oscar candidate: 'America doesn’t impress me'

('Peter Robbins',) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:17 -0000

'All That I Love' by the 40-year-old Polish director is one of 65 films competing for an oscar in the 2011 'best foreign language film' category. It is a nostalgic childhood tale about growing up with a punk rock band in a Poland under martial law

Mario Monicelli: 'commedia all’italiana encompassed everything from love to death'

('Mary Maistrello',) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:00:00 -0000

The 93-year-old Italian director and father of the ‘commedia all’Italiana’ film genre, on the power of cinema which ‘acts like a mirror, tells a story, but doesn’t preach’.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I: ‘Young people in Europe feel unsafe’

('Ozcan Tikit',) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:57:11 -0000

He speaks seven languages, he’s down with the green cause and he’s the leader of the global orthodox movement which in Europe exists in the east, north and the Mediterranean, but he resides in Istanbul. Interview with the spiritual leader of 300 million worldwide. cafebabel.com in Athens and Istanbul meet the man

Conversation with Leo Tolstoy on centenary of his death

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:15:00 -0000

20 November 2010; the Russian writer famed for his masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina is about to die for the hundredth time. We meet him before he takes his last train

Singer Benjamin Paulin: don't call him franco-français

('Laura',) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:02:31 -0000

On his website he presents himself as ‘truly French’. His first album, released on 16 October, is called The Modern Man (‘L’Homme moderne’). Is Benjamin Paulin the new French prototype? We speak to the singer about stereotypes, contradictions and pessimism

Che Sudaka: 'Barcelona was what it was and, sadly, is not anymore'

('victor escandell',) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:29:07 -0000

This is the story of a six-piece Barcelona-based band composed entirely of South Americans. We chart their journey from illegal street buskers to successful European band in Paris

Frank Bouroullec: 'There aren’t many people with the balls to paint live'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:27:37 -0000

The renowned French speed artist, 43, is no 'painter', he’s a 'performer'. Nor does he 'work'; he 'gets his kicks'. A non-speed interview with a man who has painted live portraits of the likes of Eva Longoria and George Clooney upside down and in under four minutes

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

Rocco Siffredi: 'A real harlot would never make a porn film'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:30:00 -0000

Viagra, northern European women and catholic morale - the 46-year-old actor, director and producer from the Abruzzo region in Italy reflects on a 25-year pornography career which has spawned over 40 international prizes. Interview

Natalie Weiss: German fashion blogger 'Schnati in Paris'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 -0000

'Schnati', 22, has been blogging on the biggest German fashion blog LesMad ('Les Mademoiselles') since 2008. In her own blog 'Schnati à Paris' she presents her own outfits, shares inspirations and reports from fashion events

Esma Redzepova: 'Roma are cosmopolitan'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:30:00 -0000

A mother of 47, a career spanning 20 albums and 40 years and songs in Serbian, Macedonian and Romany. At the Sin Fronteras festival in France, the Macedonian 'gypsy music queen' brings a bit of Roma culture to a country which is planning to export large numbers of its gypsy population 'back' to Romania and Bulgaria by the end of the month

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

Ghinzu: bad boys of Belgian rock

('Hayley',) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:00:00 -0000

'The more it cuts, the sharper it gets. Ghinzu ? Already counting three 'rock-noise' albums to their name, completely carried away when live and relaxed in interviews, the slogan for the knife is as far as possible from describing how these five partners-in-crime attack the European stage. Interview with John Stargasm and Jean Montevideo, sharper than ever

German clown Marenka: 'hit a woman and it's almost taboo'

('Jessie L.',) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:41:48 -0000

For seven years, the 37-year-old has acted in German-language performances throughout Europe, a trade she refined in Hannover, France and California - how does her public react to her clownish mishaps?

Felix Vogel, youngest curator of a European biennale

('Caroline Prosser',) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:01:35 -0000

The German was picked three years ago when he was just 20 - in Venice, the youngest curator was 46! With a team averaging an age of 24, the Bucharest Biennale between 21 May and 25 July 2010 gives youth the chance to show what they can do

Cheese People: 'European' face of Russian music

('Natasha Doff',) — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:12:33 -0000

From the banks of the River Volga just west of the Urals mountains, which mark the geographical border between Europe and Asia, a funky new band is making a big impact on the Russian music scene: an unsigned, energetic female-fronted quartet with a disco-punk sound. We meet backstage in Moscow

Obituary: Irish academic Fred Halliday dies in Barcelona

('Metsa Rahimi',) — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:09:43 -0000

The Dubliner passed away on 26 April. No student in east-west relations would have escaped the work of this internationally acclaimed scholar in international relations, unabashed European socialist and eternal friend of the Middle East. Tribute from an Iranian Londoner who met the Irish scholar in Spain

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’