cafebabel.com

European indie film: 'Sundance' in Paris

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:48:49 -0000

It's all eyes on the French capital's Latin quarter between 12 and 14 March 2010; the fifth edition of 'ECU', run by an Australian and supported by G-Technology by Hitachi, showcases 72 works from 28 countries across various categories. Here's our top five trailers

Agop J. Hacikyan: 'I don’t feel I am translating my culture into English'

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:44:37 -0000

The playful Armenian-Canadian author talks his latest novel - hailed as a 'love letter to Istanbul' - straddling continents and his opinions on Turkey in the EU

The Europeans nominated for the more 'random' Oscars 2010

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:08:17 -0000

There's a tendency to focus on which Europeans snag the best film or best actress prizes - but here's a trailer run down of the less famed contenders vying for other Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre on 7 March

Kinshasa Symphony: why is Mozart in Africa an alien concept?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:18:39 -0000

People passionately making music is always good film fodder. This German documentary offers a contrast to the conflicts and states of mind dealt with its 2008 predecessor 'Trip to Asia', which followed the Berlin philharmonic

Songbeat, Berlin: story of a German music start-up

('Jude Lister',) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:46:37 -0000

Philip Eggersglüß and Marco Rydman are two Berliners who launched an online music business at the age of 25. We discuss court cases, 'limited company' statuses via the UK and Hong Kong and the benefits of working in the German capital

Gaëtan Tarantino: ‘graffiti artists are normal people, not hooligans’

('Alison Frank',) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0000

He escaped prison and fines, sleeps and breathes graffiti and his NGO holds Brussels’ annual graffiti event: how the 32-year-old from Marseille, who once worked in air-conditioning, cheers up gloomy Belgian neighbourhoods with art that emerges from concrete

Communist-themed film reviews: Kawasaki's Rose vs Portrait Of The Fighter As A Young Man

('Amanda Mulligan',) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:00:00 -0000

Having buried the past, it is almost impossible to hear a public discussion on communism in either the Czech Republic or Romania. The Berlin film festival screened a film from both countries in the hope of raising public awareness of their vigilante secret police services

Florian Lukas: no more 'best mate characters' for the 'Good Bye Lenin!' star

('Lindsey Evans',) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:28:25 -0000

He picked up a Deutscher Filmpreis for his role as the fake newsreader with a stick-on moustache who brought the GDR back to life after the wall had fallen in the 2003 cult hit. Seven years on, the 36-year-old is back, this time playing the sensitive lover of a German-born Turk. We grab the actor at the 2010 Berlin film festival

Berlin film festival: 60 years of masterpieces

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0000

The Berlin international film festival (or Berlinale) has been fraught with political struggles. Created by the allies of west Berlin right under the noses of communist dictators, it was a way of opening a window to the 'free' world. Over the years, it has developed into an unmissable world cinema event

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

Ties and tees: three innovative fashion initiatives from Ljubljana, Lille and Berlin

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 -0000

Between 20 - 22 January, the historic Berlin-Tempelhof airport compound served as the venue of Bread and Butter, the most prominent trade fair for urban and streetwear, for the second year in a row. We pick tie manufacturers, T-shirt street fashion and an eco-sports label as top of the crop

Grand Archives: ‘In five years time we’ll probably be bartenders again’

('theroxbox',) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 -0000

Mat, Jeff, Curtis and Thomas are four friends from Seattle, four musicians from a small city. They’re not easily recognisable - you won’t have seen their faces in magazines or billboards. They don’t seem like typical indie rock stars; ‘nor do we don’t want to,’ says frontman Mat Brooke. We catch the group on their European tour leg in the Spanish capital

Annett Louisan: 'I don’t need to go the fake platinum blonde bombshell route anymore'

('Lindsey Evans',) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0000

The breathy German chanson singer hasn’t only changed hair colour over the years - she seems to have done a bit of growing up as well. We catch the 31-year-old entertaining the Franco-German relations ambassador and performing live in Paris for the first time

British authors in Paris on writing and Romania

('danaradler',) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:00:08 -0000

Vivienne Vermes is working on an autobiographical piece, whilst Denise Larking Coste is about to publish a novella in French; both Brits are members of a writers group from called 'Babel'. We discuss life in Paris, writing and Romania

Babelblogs on music: Charlie Winston wins 'European border breaker award'

('Dave Keating',) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:07:00 -0000

... but what are these awards? A press release alerted me to the existence of an award show put on by the European commission for European music acts that 'cross borders'. Interesting idea, but the way it is structured is kind of silly

Music in January: Blur, Arsov and Loredana Groza

('Kristina Bozic',) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:19:06 -0000

Electro tickles through folk Slovenian covers to Romanian local heroines, whilst the mighty Britpop band are featured in a new documentary in the UK, premiered last night: your music tips of the month

Staff Benda Bilili, voice of the voiceless in Congo

('Sofia Verzbolovskis',) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:34:29 -0000

‘We're all handicapped people, ain't we?’ runs their myspace byline. After more than a month of touring through Europe, this group of paraplegic street musicians from Kinshasa left crowds elated and bewildered almost a year after releasing their debut album Très Très Fort, courtesy of Belgian producer Vincent Kenis of Congotronics fame. A French documentary on the group has been underway for seven years

DJ Boris Viande: the Breton who mixes gypsy funk

('Amanda Mulligan',) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:45:00 -0000

'Boris Viande,' the 26 year-old muses. 'That’s my pseudonym, how I am best known.' A trumpet player, like the writer Boris Vian, Romain has now been mixing for four years. The young Frenchman claims that before unearthing his passion for eastern music, he was part of the punk movement

Sofia's directors and playwrights boom despite barebone budgets

('Darren Thompson',) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:57:13 -0000

In Bulgaria there are no cultural policy programmes and the crisis has consumed the ministry coffers. Filmmakers like Kamen Kalev, playwrights and other creative minds demand government transparency and methods to support their enterprising spirit. Part one of a five part 'EU crisis on the ground' city series

Music in December: Sally Shapiro, Empire of The Sun and Múm

('Filip Jurzyk',) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:25:14 -0000

Featuring: album of the month from Polish rock-turned-pop star Agnieszka Chylinska, favourite disc of the month from an Australian award-winning electronica duo and a tracklist from Paris to keep you warm this winter

Holocaust Polish boy speaks from the dead on Facebook

('Darren Thompson',) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:49:14 -0000

'Winter’s here. Every Jew must write their name on the Star of David that is sewn on their clothes...' In the same way that Anne Frank documented her experience day after day in her journal, a young victim of the Holocaust is being virtually revived through Facebook, where he has 2, 279 'friends'

The Wankin' Noodles, four boys from Rennes who sing about girls

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:09:24 -0000

Romain, Regis, Jean-Sylvain and Guillame went from being graphic design, cinema, information technology and literature students, to being backed by big names as France's latest post-teenage kicks band. Quick catch up with the twelve-eyed foursome at the Transmusicales festival in their hometown

Cornershop: 'musicians might as well hand their credit cards over to the man on the street'

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Northern English indie band Cornershop give us a talking to about Swiss minarets, metal music and releasing their comeback album - it's been seven years! - cheaply via their website

Party burnout in Paris, so go to Berlin

('Ellie Banks',) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:16 -0000

'Sssssh, go in quickly,' whispers the bouncer of the electro bar 4Elements on the Place de la Republique. The lights are out in the flat above. It is 11pm, a Saturday evening in Paris. The one-time nightlife mecca of Europe is turning into a sleepy little town, a trend that threatens to continue

Guide to the reggae underbelly of Milan

('Annika Thornton',) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:32:05 -0000

Maybe it all started on 27 June 1980, when Robert Nesta Marley arrived at Linate airport for the first of the only two concerts that took place in Italy in his career. 100, 000 people attended from the early afternoon on the grass of the San Siro stadium, which hosted a non-sporting event for the first time. Since then, the 'good vibes' of reggae have not stopped resonating through the clubs, streets and headphones of the devoted

Dominika Nowak: 'I want to stay unusual, even if I've had to become more commercial'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:27:38 -0000

The designer untames convention with her 'Nunc' shoes, insisting that her furry fabric fantasies are made to be adapted to daily life. We discuss Paris-Krakow, fashion uglies and what it's like to go it alone as a one-woman brand at 27

Magyd Cherfi: 'identity and national is a collusion that I don’t get'

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:10:00 -0000

Singing about these issues in concert is something of a déjà vu that the French singer and militant can do without, he says. Interview

Film review Germany: interns feature in 'Résiste - Aufstand der Praktikanten'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0000

'A Quantum Revolution' has been screening in German cinemas since 12 November

Netaudio festival 2009: kick in the teeth for traditional record industry?

('Elaine Jordan',) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:10:15 -0000

While traditional record labels plunge deeper and deeper into trouble, new formats for distributing music via the internet are basking in their success following a sell-out festival in Berlin

Music in November: Matias Aguayo, Rodamaal feat Claudia Franco

('sami3000',) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:13:35 -0000

Music wanderings take us into left-field hedonism this month via the German dance scene with its Spanish house vocals amongst others. Album and playlist of the month as well as a featured favourite album classic

Turk-Eiffel Tower: reminder of the Turkish cultural season in France

('Paulina Dominik',) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:10:43 -0000

Turkey is not only kebabs and hammams. 'La saison de la Turquie', which ends in March 2010, aims to show the French how 'dynamic and modern' the country is. Is this large-scale cultural event with a political background a chance for ice to melt in the Turkey-sceptic EU member state?

20th anniversary: go and see the 'Berlin wall' be destroyed in Paris

('Aatish Pattni',) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0000

On 9 November 2009 there will be a lot of commemoration services to celebrate the Berlin wall coming down 20 years ago. Two ‘euro-enthusiast’ associations in Paris are organising a ‘destroy party’ on the big day itself. What’s the concept? A wall made of foam, some pickaxes and some good wine

9/11 - the fateful day of German history

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:17:00 -0000

From the revolution to the reunification, from Hitler’s putsch until Kristallnacht: November 9 marks the German history of the twentieth century

Electronic music duo Fuck Buttons: is this music?

('Aatish Pattni',) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -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’

There's no place for art in Tirana

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:28 -0000

One German visitor paints a bleak picture of the Albanian capital as a city of art and culture. In delapidated surroundings, the small seeds planted by creative folk via the Marubi academy and Tirana international contemporary art biennial struggle to grow

David Lescot: 'Europe is nothing more than a piggy bank for artists'

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0000

The fearless French playwright, musician and director, 38, attacks the concept of Europe in his latest show 'L’Européenne', a wacky commentary on a continent that is still seeking to find itself

Lyon Zero: French universities what run themselves

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:28:43 -0000

French university reforms saw the birth of revolts and protests, but also the emergence of alternative higher education projects in spring 2009 which administer themselves at the UA, Paris 14, Paris 3 and Paris 8 universities. The laboratory aim is to share knowledge and abolish hierachy - after all, going to university is not just about getting a job

Kasparas Pocius, not quite the father of Lithuanian anarchism in the millenium

('Daiva Repe\xc4\x8dkait\xc4\x97',) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:23:12 -0000

The 27-year-old is too young to be fairly branded the 'father' of Lithuanian anarchism today. However, as one of the co-founders of anarchija.lt, the critical magazine Juodraštis ('Draft') and the Vilnius Free University, he is the most visible public figure when it comes to presenting Lithuania's anarchist ideas to the wider public

Spot.us: 'anarchist' American news website that will save journalism

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:32:33 -0000

Only 11% of readers currently pay for online news sites. Of the remaining 89% who don’t pay, another 11% think that they would be able to start paying for their services within the next 12 months. A glance across the Atlantic at the community-funded journalism alternative set up by a young American

Calling Europe’s anarchist class 2008-2009: no need to smash bank windows

('jme',) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:42:38 -0000

Today, anarchy has nothing to offer the public; a five-year-old sat in McDonalds could think of a better way to govern the people. Those that push it – the protesters on Europe's streets, as most popularly depicted in the media - are merely self-serving fools who ignore what democracy has done for us, and who are driven by some sort of warped fantasy of idyllic life

Internet: 'the great anarchist event' no longer ours to 'control'

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:10:44 -0000

When Irish telecommunications company Eircom blocked customer access to the Pirate Bay in September, you could almost hear a faint, sardonic chuckle erupt from internet users all over the world. As Britain and France impose their own legislation to cut off internet access for filesharing offenders, the EU parliament and commission hold talks to formalise their positions on 4 November

Le Corps Mince de Francoise: 'fuck off saying we’re trendy. We sing about what we are'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:14:35 -0000

The trio hail from Helsinki, record in Berlin and are managed in the UK. We meet in Paris to dissect their pan-European wanderings and find out why exactly they diss boys and Finland so much in their screamy surface pop-experimental sound

Zanko: the 'White Arab' Italian rapper who would perform for the Lega Nord

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:30:38 -0000

In English slang, the word 'Zanko' is someone who is a social and cultural pioneer. Like this 28-year-old Syrian Italian, who gigs in unique political hotspots such as Zingonia and Lampedusa, has 'fought' for hip hop and would happily show the far-right Italian party what he's made of

What's going on with China as guest of honour at the Frankfurt book fair?

('euro topics',) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:16:36 -0000

At the opening ceremony on 13 October, in the presence of Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, German chancellor Angela Merkel said there would be 'no taboos'. The Italian, Swiss, Spanish and German press react

Emilie Simon: 'I don't explore, I play'

('Nicola Potter',) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0000

From Montpellier via Paris to New York, where the singer is now based and back with an electro-pop album, released on 21 September. At 31, the dynamic and erudite French singer is trying her hand at the Big Machine, another album composed entirely in English

Ikea, H&M, Nokia, Zara: a fairytale EU life built on brands

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:45:00 -0000

The products we buy all bear the CE marking, French for 'European Conformity'. What if our lives were also conforming to the advertising messages of the leading brands in the European market? The big fishes are swallowing the small ones. Are they also picking away at our identity?

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

Lorella Zanardo: real women 'endangered species' on Italian TV

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0000

Chat with the co-writer of the documentary 'Il Corpo delle Donne', which looks at how Italian TV dissects 'women’s bodies'. Since spring 2009, it has attained enormous exposure across all networks thanks to its intelligent and ruthless critique of Italian television

Micachu and the Shapes, Emilie Simon: your music for October

('Sarah Pybus',) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Trendy London recommends its top 5 city tracks, we denote a French-flavoured album of the month and find out who Pájaro Sunrise is

Paris squat reopens for artists to rent

('Angela Therain',) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

‘We used to steal in through the back window; now we use the front door.’ As unauthorised locations become ever legit, artists find themselves playing tenant. From Paris to Rome via Berlin, European municipalities have started to cash in on the ‘squat mine’