music
Top five Russian political music videos
Feminist punks called ‘Pussy Riot’, former paratroopers and joking Ukrainians blast current prime minister Vladimir Putin through their microphones, whilst a friendly Tajik and eurovision-esque duo croon in praise of him. Watch the best of the pro- and anti-future president videos
music, music, feminism, opposition, kitsch, politics, vladimir putin
Sunday in Paris with Chopin and Steve Villa-Massone, street pianist
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
music, europe, paris, brunch, best of cafebabel.com, crise financière, poland
Megaupload vs Sopa and Pipa: it'll be e-right on the night
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
music, cinema, downloads, freedom of opinion, techno-media, freedom of speech, internet
Dario Ivkovic: 'people don’t seem interested in roots of Balkan music'
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
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
Gallery
Multiculturalism in Piazza Vittorio, Rome
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
music, italy, immigration, rome, culture, integration, multikulti on the ground
Brooklyn-based pop band Chairlift: once 'music for haunted houses'
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
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
music, cinema, best of cafebabel.com, homosexuality, quebec, canada, culture
Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis
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
music, cinema, economical crisis, tower of babel, entertainment, idioms, languages
Jazz man Raphael Gualazzi: Italy’s Jamie Cullum?
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
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
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
music, festival, europe, languages, festivals, awards, culture
Hungarian singer Erzsi Kiss: ‘My language is based on musicality’
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'
music, theatre, hungary, budapest, culture, interview, culture calendar
Trio Joubran: ‘It’s hard to be Palestinian musicians in the world’
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
music, middle east, united nations, paris, theatre, palestine occupied territory, culture
Rock band Turbo: ‘absence of taste’ an ‘incurable disease’ in Hungary
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
music, bands, festivals, bulgaria, hungary, budapest, culture
Why French pop singer Ornette hated Serge Gainsbourg
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
music, paris, brunch, best of cafebabel.com, france, pop, art
Jędrzej Wijas: Polish election candidate’s heavy metal campaign
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
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