Festival Preview: SunSplash, Antalya

Written by . Posted on February 18, 2013
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With festival season in the UK proving to be an almost dead-cert washout each year, why not fly away for something different, something amazing and something you will want to return to again?

For your festival delectation, we are recommending SunSplash Antalya Festival. June 2nd-9th sees the fifth outing for a week of beats driven, jazzy fun in the sun. Where? On the Turkish Riviera. Slap bang on one of the most stunning beaches you will ever dance on.

The creme-de-la-creme of international soul/funk/broken beat/deep house/ jazz influenced producers and DJs will be playing just for you. Get ready to flip-flop, you don’t stop, to the likes of heavyweight legends Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, Kirk Degiorgio (4Hero) and Phil Asher. No less amazing is the red-hot Koreless, Atjazz, DJ Soulprovyder and many, many more.

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Twenty Something London: Sunday Music Mix

Written by . Posted on February 17, 2013
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Musika hosted Twenty Something London‘s 13th Sunday Music Mix, featuring some of our recent favourite artists, such as Abi Wade, Mt. Wolf, Bassekou Kouyate and Serafina Steer. Take a listen to our mix over here.

With a love for new music, Twenty Something London is supporting independent organisations and music blogs, teaming up with the likes of Sofar Sounds, YALC Records and Live and UNamplified for their weekly Sunday Music Mix.

Twenty Something London is a fantastic recommendations website that aims to support independent businesses across London, whilst informing young-spirited Londoners about interesting events and unusual places. Pubs, bars, markets, live music, theatres and cinemas – London is renowned for its thriving culture, which is what draws most of us to live in the capital. We also love its quirky little gems.

So next time you fancy doing something a little different or out of the norm, check out Twenty Something London and make sure you don’t miss out on the quirky and unusual.

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Bear Ceuse Announce Daytrotter Session

Written by . Posted on February 17, 2013
musika

New York based indie rockers Bear Ceuse have recorded a session for the beautiful music blog Daytrotter, which you can watch by clicking here. While you’re waiting for Medical Records to release the debut album Don Domestique in April, their two singles ‘Entertain Me‘ and ‘Dixie Brothers‘ are available online.

Bear Ceuse formed around the songwriting of vocalist Cameron Matthews, who moved to New York  and recruited experimental guitarist Adam Horne, classically trained Jordan James on bass and jazz-minded Danny Sher on drums, all of whom are incredible players and respected in their various fields.

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Melody’s Echo Chamber announce new single ‘Crystalized’

Written by . Posted on February 16, 2013
musika

Melody’s Echo Chamber has announced the release of ‘Crystallized’ – the next single to be taken from Parisian Melody Prochet’s eponymous debut album. The track was recorded in Perth last year with none-other than Tame Impala‘s Kevin Parker who has had a good 12 months himself after Lonerism topped many ‘End Of Years’ lists. It’s a trippy, psych-pop odyssey and one of the best tracks from her debut LP. Listen to the track below.

The single will be released on March 18th and will come backed with ‘Je Me Perds de Vue’ – a track that originally appeared reversed and warped instrumental on Prochet’s debut ‘IsThatWhatYouSaid.’

If Crystallized has wet your appetite for more then Melody and her band will be touring round their native France this month before coming to the UK for a few dates.

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The Great Escape Festival Announces 2013 Line-Up

Written by . Posted on February 16, 2013
musika

Good News! The Great Escape Festival is back for another packed weekend of soon-to-be mega stars and unpolished gems on the 16-18th May in its seaside home of Brighton.

30+ venues, over 300 new bands and 16,000 obsessive music fans will descend on Europe’s leading festival for new music to watch bands in their ascendancy (or as the case sometimes is – never to be seen again!) Helping the festival celebrate its 8th birthday will be Chvrches, King Krule, Mac DeMarco, How To Dress Well, AlunaGeorge, Brit Award winner Tom Odell and former SOTD artist Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

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Mali’s Festival in the Desert Postponed

Written by . Posted on February 7, 2013
musika

After uncertain and doubtful months, due to the situation occurring in the Azawad region, Festival Au Desert is postponed to next fall

By Marco Canepari

Despite the recent encouraging news arriving from Mali: the liberation of Timbuktu and other two cities in the region (Gao and Kidal) and the fall of Ansar Dine Islamist group, Mali is still a powder keg. Not only culture is continuously endangered (Timbuktu’s library has been set on fire just one week ago and historic manuscripts have been purloined), but also common people’s lives are still threatened.

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Y La Bamba release ‘ Oh February’ EP

Written by . Posted on January 30, 2013
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Folk music is often unfairly maligned with associations of the foldy-roldy, real ale in the beard variety of Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention, but fortunately this couldn’t be further from the truth for the Portland based group Y La Bamba, who released their new EP Oh February on January 29, fittingly just a few days before the month begins.

The eponymous track can be found here. It opens with lovely bright guitar picking, which is soon joined by the distinctive voice of Luz Elena Mendoza and builds to a beautiful harmonised chorus. Their first album Court The Storm featured songs sung in both English and Spanish, and a mix of traditional Mexican instrumentation and modern indie folk/rock.

More about the band is available on their official site and it’s worth visiting to check out their videos and lyrics, especially for any Spanish speakers.

Check out the video below for their single ‘Juniper’, from their 2010 album Lupon:

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Fatoumata Diawara rallies the troops to spread a message of hope in Mali

Written by . Posted on January 28, 2013
musika

The musical hotbed of West Africa that is Mali is in turmoil. After a military coup in early 2012 and the subsequent defection of the country’s three northern states – Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu – to form the Islamic Republic of Azawad, this area was then taken over by Ansar ad-Din, a separatist group with links to al-Qaeda. Due to a literalist (Salafi) interpretation of sharia law, music is now banned in the region.

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Clark, Daedelus, Hidden Orchestra + Kelpe at Koko Camden, April 20

Written by . Posted on January 22, 2013
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Fed up with your 2013 ‘diet?’ already? Why not break it with a bass, breaks and electronic all-you-can-listen buffet on April 20, courtesy of Soundcrash.

Storming the Camden barricades is a line-up you will want to gorge on in full. No sloping off half-way because you’ve got Clark (Warp records) performing his electronic genre-straddling, mind-bending live show at the top of the night.

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Preview: Flamingods Tour

Written by . Posted on January 16, 2013
musika

Some bands you can just tell that their live shows will be amazingly fun. So fun that in a mad rush of anticipation you’ll don your favourite tribal mask, slip on a grass skirt, get your maracas out and dance round your bedroom like its an end of the world party in Mexico. Flamingods are but one of these bands.

Originally from Bahrain, they formed in London and make Psychedelic World-Pop music designed to shake your hips and party to. So start your warm up stretches now as they hit the road tomorrow as part of their UK tour to promote their forthcoming début album Sun on indie label Art Is Hard.

They begin the tour at the Green Door Store in Brighton this Thursday (17/01) and then head on to London, Cardiff and Leeds. More dates are expected soon. In the meantime check out the video for their latest single ‘Quesso’ feat. Dustin Wong, which you can also download for free here as well as pre-order the album.

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INTERVIEWS

  • Musika

    Aziza Brahim in London, April 24-26 2013

    May 19, 2013

    Aziza Brahim in London (SOAS, St Ethelburga’s, World Heart Beat Music Academy) April 24-26 2013 By Marco Canepari “We have to bear in mind our story, …