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

Megaupload vs Sopa and Pipa: it'll be e-right on the night

('Adam Wyett',) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:44:29 -0000

Act one: stop online piracy. Act two: protect international property. Act three: shut down a famous file-sharing site. Act four: anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. We call for a bit of order in the debate on internet freedom versus intellectual property rights which has kicked off 2012

Dario Ivkovic: 'people don’t seem interested in roots of Balkan music'

('Ili Pusk\xc3\xa1s',) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:06:49 -0000

Best-known as a member of both the German touring group Shantel & The Bucovina Club Orkestar and French band Les Yeux Noirs, the Serbian accordionist is an electrifying personality onstage. We talk music legends, Balkan beats and why 'girls like guitarists better'

Top three songs: Polish music legend Czesław Niemen

('Agata Jaskot',) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:15:00 -0000

His John Lennon-style glasses and long hair were mandatory for a beat generation artist. An uneven beard completed the rock and soul musician’s look on the streets of Poland. 17 January 2012 marks the eighth anniversary of the death of the much-loved singer-songwriter, 64

Multiculturalism in Piazza Vittorio, Rome

('Sebastian Baciu',) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:30:51 -0000

Rome's Piazza Vittorio Emanuele was once a prime example of integration, but today some residents claim that the area has since become overrun by 'Chinese trash culture'. The good news is that there are efforts to unite the district's inhabitants through art

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

Hipster director, Quebecer, who cares? Welcome to Xavier Dolan's world

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:22:56 -0000

European cinema nourishes a certain ignorance towards the seventh art, cinema - particularly when this cinema comes from Canada. One director is in the process of taking all philistines of Canadian cinema down a peg at the age of 22

Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:01:07 -0000

Read ‘em and weep: ‘tearjerker’ is a noun which translates practically perfectly into other European languages. It is used mostly to describe a film, book, play or song which moves us to tears. The entertainment industry gets an excessively sentimental Europe down, but these pearls could also abate our crisis-ridden depression

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

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

Vetusta Morla, band of the moment in Spain

('Buzz',) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:05:13 -0000

Their debut album One Day In The World ('Un día en el mundo', 2008) turned them into one of the leading bands on the Spanish music scene. Most locals confess to either loving or hating the six-piece, who formed in high school in Madrid. Interview

Hungarian singer Erzsi Kiss: ‘My language is based on musicality’

('kovakovics',) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:15:00 -0000

It’s much more meaningful gobbledygook, says the singer in the Hungarian band 'Egy Kiss Erzsi Zene' about her lyrics. The musician and puppeteer talks to us about singing 'in no language'

Trio Joubran: ‘It’s hard to be Palestinian musicians in the world’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:25:16 -0000

Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran are international musicians whose performance and perspectives nonetheless remain rooted in their homeland: Palestine. Just before the UN is due to consider Palestine’s official bid to become a UN member as well as a state, we meet the brothers in Paris about how their hopes for their country influences their music

Rock band Turbo: ‘absence of taste’ an ‘incurable disease’ in Hungary

('Ili Pusk\xc3\xa1s',) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:12:31 -0000

When it comes to psychedelic-progressive rock music, Turbo is Hungary’s number one. Bass guitarist Jero and singer Balázs Tanka on genres, role models and taking different viewpoints on music tastes and truths in general

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

Jędrzej Wijas: Polish election candidate’s heavy metal campaign

('Aleksandra Sygiel',) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:48:30 -0000

The PhD graduate from the Polish academy of sciences, 34, is running as a candidate of the left-wing party SLD (democratic left alliance) in the Polish parliamentary elections on 9 October. In a music video ‘A Concrete Message’, he gnarls out his political goals to a backdrop of heavy metal types. Interview

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

REM ‘call it a day as a band’ after 31 years and 15 albums: editors pick

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:07:47 -0000

The American rock group are as old as the most sprightliest of us here at cafebabel.com HQ in Paris. They formed in Athens (Georgia!) in 1980 and announced their split on 22 September. Here’s a video ode to some of our favourite songs for today’s soundtrack

French electro music: profile of Yuksek

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:02:20 -0000

Pierre-Alexandre Busson’s mysterious single On a train (‘On The Train’), released in the spring of 2011, captivated the 33-year-old DJ and producer’s native France. Nothing left to do except jump on the bandwagon

Gravity Co: 'We shy away from traditional Bulgarian limelight’

('Ili Pusk\xc3\xa1s',) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:45:33 -0000

They have scooped practically all the music awards in Bulgaria, such as the national music channel MMTV's 'band of the decade' gong in 2008, like magnets deftly reinvigorating progressive music in a post-socialist country. The four-piece Sofia-based rockers stand out from the Bulgarian musical landscape like liquorice-black aliens - and a fourth album is promised for 2011. Interview

Brave Festival: Wrocław stands up for endangered cultures

('Peter Robbins',) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:10:18 -0000

Brave is a festival for courageous individuals sharing a common aim, to fight 'cultural expulsion'. Anna Zubrzycki, co-organiser of the festival in south-western Poland and its artistic director for 2012, discusses her reasons for wanting to preserve endangered cultures

Concert hype review: Amy Winehouse in Belgrade vs Die Antwoord in La Coruna

('Fernando Garcia',) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:54:09 -0000

As the weekend drew to a close we’ve been hearing polar concert success stories. Between one Grammy-award winning British former drug addict’s Balkan comeback and more outrageous non-European sounds in Spain, is it off the continent where we need to be experiencing the best music live?

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

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

Portuguese singer Camane: 'Nobody in my generation was listening to fado music'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:37:04 -0000

While ‘folk music‘ isn’t too popular in most countries, the Portuguese fado attracts a wide range of generations - at least in its home country. The masculine figurehead of a new generation of fadistas, 44, speaks about the genre’s roots

Nightlife, footie and crooning in Azerbaijan 2012: Baku calling

('hkeet',) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:23:31 -0000

With Azerbaijan winning the eurovision song contest and celebrating 100 years of football with a visit from Blatter and Platini themselves, it has become clear to many Europeans that they have at best dangerous superficial knowledge of one part of Eurasia. The land-locked country in the Caucasus is approximately the equivalent in size and population to Portugal

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

Eurovision 2011: French losers and queer angles

('Helen Crumpton',) — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:30:00 -0000

Do you have to be gay to be a eurovision fan? A French researcher has looked into the culture of the fan clubs of the famous European song contest. Whilst references to the competition are ever camp, good old eurovision has turned out to be an excellent recognition tool for sexual minorities - whether the European cultural elite like it or not

2011 win for Azerbaijan: Eurovision returns east

('Dave Keating',) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:43:35 -0000

Norway, Germany...after two years in western Europe, Azerbaijan was the surprise winner of the Eurovision song contest on 14 May. The 2012 contest will be held in the Caspian Sea coast city of Baku, an awkward host city given that the country is in an ongoing military conflict with its neighbour Armenia

Best and worst of Eurovision 2011

('Dave Keating',) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:18:04 -0000

It's a year of astonishing comebacks, pleas to stop climate change and, most intriguing of all, France's entry singing entirely in a language other than French. The famed song contest is held between 10 - 14 May in Duesseldorf, Germany. We've put ourselves through the best of Europe out of the 43 participants - especially for you

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

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

Aged three, Prishtina dances, designs but doesn’t debate

('entony',) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:13:26 -0000

Kosovo is one of the most optimistic countries in the world with 70% of the population under the age of thirty. Music, bars and art dot my four days in its capital, Prishtina, three years after the city claimed independence from Serbia

Green dancefloors Berlin: spread the eco-dance germ to Europe

('Molmash',) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:00:00 -0000

When it comes to ‘green’ music, you will have heard of the WATT club in Rotterdam with its Sustainable Dance Floor. But apart from that symbolic rather than effective initiative, saving energy in clubs and festivals remains a wasteland ripe for development. A few pioneers in Berlin are determined to crack that apple

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

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

Tiken Jah Fakoly: ‘Africa has to overcome its ethnic and religious issues’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:15:00 -0000

The Ivorian roots-reggae singer is in Paris to promote an upcoming African solidarity week in June, but also to create an echo of the Tunisian people’s fight across the rest of the African continent

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

Bleach this: Paris nightlife gets a cold shower

('Sarah Byrne',) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:17:06 -0000

After being branded Europe’s party-pooper a couple of years ago, a group of courageous rescuers of the night are attempting to turn the legendary city of lights into a renewed mecca for night owls. To some avail…

Pécs: can you be a 'culture capital' if that status scares off your artists?

('Helen Crumpton',) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:12:10 -0000

The Hungarian city of Pécs may be this year’s European capital of culture alongside the German and Turkish cities of Essen and Istanbul, but its performers prefer to seek their salvation further afield

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

Brand Lennon: 70 years on and still very much alive

('Elaine Jordan',) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:14:39 -0000

'I can see myself in an Irish village, swimming in a river, sleeping outdoors, playing darts.' John Lennon would have been 70 years old on 9 October. Yet in a way he is 70, because no man who has died is more alive than Lennon. On that 8 December 1980, when Mark David Chapman shot him dead in New York, Lennon’s persona took on a new dimension

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

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