cafebabel.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Music in February: The Rumour Said Fire, Corinne Bailey Rae and Jaga Jazzist

('Andrzej K\xc4\x99dzierawski',) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:14 -0000

A new British neo-soul album, an old favourite from Denmark's Simon and Garfunkel and five top tracks spanning London via Brooklyn and Oslo - a selection of Europe's music tips of the month

Music in January: Blur, Arsov and Loredana Groza

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

L.U.C: 'Poland is not just vodka and pretty girl exports'

('Hayley Worsley-Carter',) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0000

Rather than rapping on his new album, producer Lukasz Rostkowski, 29, mixes in historical soundtracks, including the voice of ex-Polish president Lech Walesa. The jazz, trip hop and electro musician explains how a sometimes pessimist view of his country's past has inspired him in his musical projects, for which he has just picked up a 2009 'Passport award' from the journalists at Polityka

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

Fever Ray, Peter Bjorn and John: Swedish music right now

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:28:07 -0000

Famed in the nineties as the capital of pop, Scandinavia doesn’t seem to have exhausted its creative vein just yet. With a legacy of pop artists such as Aqua and Ace of Base, the northern European music scene is opening up to new sounds, experimenting with new technology and ambient tones, whilst never forgetting its musical past

‘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

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

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

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

Coeur de Pirate: 'when I grow up I will be like Mathieu Chedid!'

('Michelle Williams',) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0000

Beatrice Martin, 19, was discovered on Myspace in Quebec and is attempting to conquer France. We meet at Cébazat in the Puy-de-Dome region for the opening of the Sémaphore en Chanson festival

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

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

Ólafur Arnalds, Trail of Dead and Turin: your music for September

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

We’ve rattled up the format of our monthly music tips for the autumn. Catch our Iceland-flavoured album of the month, the top five tracks in September as voted for by our boys and girls in Turin, and an album tip from a correspondent from our network. This month, we hear from Berlin

Music in March: Killed by 9V Batteries and Extraperlo

('Andrew Christie',) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Paris-Berlin machine rock, continental breakfast from Barcelona and Austrian pot-washers –spring is blossoming in many ways on the music scene! Café Babel’s music diary for March

Music editors pick: Mogwai, Disco Drive and Maria Peszek

('Marysia Amribd',) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:42:15 -0000

Spanish pop, Scottish post-rock, Franco-American bluegrass, Italian punk experimental and Polish sex scandal songs - the editorial team's soundtrack of 2008

Music: Keane, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra and Katharina Nuttall

('Maham Hashmi',) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Piano rock from the UK, Balkans from Belgium and Blue Monday in Norway – October’s best music picks kick off a European autumn

The Verve, Mo’Horizons – music in August

('Gemma Turner',) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:00:00 -0000

Plus: the Budapest beats of Gelka, Mañana - Switzerland’s answer to the Verve and Istanbul electronic rhythms with Zi Punt - monthly music picks

Music in July: Carla Bruni, E-Quad, Ari Koivunen

('mani sharpe',) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:00:00 -0000

French First Ladies, Dutch idealists, Italian poets-cum-abrasive rockers and Finnish 'Rock Idols' – it's Europe's monthly music picks

Sweden's Lykke Li: heartbreak leads to electro pop

('Ed Saunders',) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0000

Lykke means 'happy' in Norwegian. Li's debut album has led to a European tour, and she’s hyped as one of 2008’s biggest new stars. But chart positions don’t make the 22-year-old singer happy

Music in May with The Fratellis and Paul Weller

('Sarah Turpin',) — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:31:09 -0000

A freakshow from Germany, Scottish guitar rockers, an Italian in California and the return of the Woking Modfather – the best music to catch this month

Music: Portishead, Hooverphonic and the Lo Fat Orchestra

('Sandra Wickert',) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Where do these bands get their names from? We sweep the UK, Belgium, Switzerland and France for our monthly music pick this April

Jean-Benoît Dunckel: 'the English are a hard audience to win over'

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Ten years since the release of Air's first album 'Moon Safari', one half of the French duo, 38, talks Czech audiences, being a vanguard of the European electronic scene and why Air are not like Radiohead

British band The Cure are back

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:52:00 -0000

Plus charming French-Finnish duo 'The Duo', a tasty Swedish morsel of Jens Lekman, chic Danes 'The Fashion' and slightly unusual Italians Avvolte Kristheda - the best bands in March

Roxana Rio, The Moog and DJ Missill

('Sarah Turpin',) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

New Year kicks off with Mexican aspirations, Norwegian mix up of styles, a French princess of the turntables and a surprise coup from Hungary. This is the European music agenda for 2008!

Tillman Otto: ‘People should burn if they wanna burn’

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

‘Gentleman’, 32, is a true reggae adherent and honorary Jamaican in German skin. His musical diaspora defines a pan-reggae notion of 'how small we all are in the jah jah world'