FESTIVALS AND CONCERTS IN RONDA
-ORISHAS (CUBA AND FRANCE)
Four-piece rap act Orishas were formed in the late-'90s by ex-Amenaza known as Ruzzo and Youtel who moved from Havana to Paris as part of a school exchange program. Their collective name is based on divine beings worshipped by Yorubas from West Africa, later combined with Native Americans and European Spiritualists. Los Orishas remained in religious rituals in Cuba and Brazil. Orishas released A Lo Cubano in the year 2000, mixing Afro-Cuban music and universal rap beats and rhyme. Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide
- SIDONIE (SPAIN)
- LOS ACTIVOS (HUELVA)
- AN DER BEAT(BARCELONA)
-P-18 (CUBA AND FRANCE)
P18 formed in 1995 as a collaboration between former members of La Mano Negra, a Parisian DJ and a family of musicians from Cuba. The group expanded into a collective of 10 Cuban and French musicians who combine the musical traditions of Cuba with elements of house, drum & bass and Afro-Cuban roots music. Their first album Urban Cuban was released in 1999. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
- PIERRE BASTIEN(FRANCE)
Pierre Bastien (born 1953 in Paris) is a French musician, composer, and instrument builder. He began building mechanical-based musical instruments at an early age, using items such as metronomes, cymbals, and pulleys. In 1977 he began collaborating with Pascal Comelade and composing music for dance companies. He performed in ensembles such as Operation Rhino, Nu Creative Methods, and Effectifs de Profil.
In 1986 he formed his own orchestra, Mecanium, comprised of Meccano machines which play various instruments, such as Chinese lute, Morrocan bendir, Javanese saron, koto, and violin. These machines were often driven by the rotation of old turntables. By the 1990s Mecanium consisted of up to 80 machine 'musicians', and toured various art and music festivals, including events in Norway, Australia, Japan, Canada, Poland, and the United States.
- EBOMAN (HOLLAND)
"Eboman specializes in the production of audiovisual sample compositions, the development of audiovisual sampling software and hardware and performances as a DVJ or with his SenSorSuit. The SenSorSuit is part of an audiovisual sampling system, called SenS, which Eboman is developing in cooperation with SmadSteck."
- COLOR HUMANO(BARCELONA)
- NU TEMPO(CUBA-BARCELONA)
- RELAX(HOLAND)
Soul hiphop group from Haarlem that has built up a solid reputation as a live act.
Relax is formed by Llewy Is Sel and some of his fellow musicians from punk rock band Nayberhood. Their aim is to make hiphop with a live band. They record a demo and reach the finals of the Grand Prix of the Netherlands talent show.
- MARDI GRAS BB (GERMANY)
Germany's Mardi Gras BB are a vibrant jazz, funk, soul, rock, and hip-hop ensemble with a distinctly swampy New Orleans feel, led by the charismatic Doc Wenz (aka Jochen Wenz) and former Grug Grug bass player Reverend Uli Jug, who plays sousaphone in the band.
- RAKEL WINCHERSTER (CORDOBA)
BELGIAN BANDS:
-BUSCEMI
A smooth mix of earthy breakbeats, classic house, and jazz-funk made Buscemi an interesting addition to the ranks of trip-hop acts. The work of Belgian producer Dirk Swartenbroeckx (who indeed named his project after the American character actor of Fargo and Reservoir Dogs fame), Buscemi debuted in 1997 with the Plus Belle Africaine EP and earned airplay on Kiss FM through Gilles Peterson's radio show. The following year brought debut album Mocha Supremo and in mid-2000, Our Girl in Havana. Camino Real arrived in 2003 with guest vocals from Michael Franti and Isabelle Antena. Antena returned for the 2006 release Retro Nuevo. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
- ADMIRAL FREEBEE
- VIVE LA FETE
Vive La Fête (French for Long live the party) is an electropop group, founded in 1997 in Ghent (Belgium). The core of the band is formed by lovers Danny Mommens (guitar and vocals) and Els Pynoo (vocals).
- DJ TOM BARMAN
Tom Barman (born January 1, 1972) is a Belgian musician and film director.
Barman studied at the film school of St.-Lucas (Brussels) but didn't finish his studies because of his other passion: music. He preferred to begin a music career with his rock band dEUS formed in 1989. But he didn't throw away his experience with film because he directed his own music videos for dEUS and made even a short film in 1996: Turnpike. He also directed videos for other Belgian musicians including Axelle Red and Hooverphonic among others.
- THINK OF ONE
Perhaps a bit of initial confusion about this group might be permitted, although by the mid-2000s the ensemble's raison d'être appeared to be coming into clearer focus: Think of One would like you to think of one world with all its musical threads coming together in a multicultural celebration of rhythm and song.
- ULTRASONIC 7
- STIJN
- GABRIEL RIOS (Puerto Rico / Belgium)
Though born in Puerto Rico, Gabriel Ríos vaulted to stardom while living in Belgium, with a similarly pan-cultural electronic pop approach embracing elements of rock, hip-hop, and salsa. Born in 1978, Ríos learned to play guitar from his father, and as a teen joined his church's choir. At 18 he relocated from Latin America to Ghent, Belgium, with his then-girlfriend, studying painting while playing in local bands including the Nothing Bastards and L. Santo. Over time Ríos' music began channeling the rhythmic influences of salsa, bomba, and plena, and eventually he befriended Jo Bogaert, the Belgian producer best known for his work with house music hitmakers Technotronic, famed for the international smash "Pump Up the Jam" -- together they began work on Ríos' 2004 debut LP, Ghostboy, a critical and commercial smash across the BeNeLux nations. A stopgap live album, En Vivo, followed a year later, and in early 2007 Ríos resurfaced with his second studio effort, Angelhead.
- WAWADADAKWA
Commonly known as "the wawa's". Born in the summer of '97 and still going strong. The four group members met in Jazz-Studio in Antwerp and started a rhythm quartet. Then they went to Havana for schooling and came back as party-band.
Eagerly they adopted a guitar player and debuted their first CD "Voor Mama" (for my mother) in '99. Two years of touring in Belgium, Holland, Spain and Italy brings forth the second CD "ABCD". This album, recorded live in the AB portrays that period beautifully.
In 2002 they discover children's theater. The wawa's named themselves actors and made children smile. A taste of this adventure can be found on the mini-cd "Wawakristalla", already a collectors item.
End of 2002 brought some more tours to Spain and Moscow, for good or for worse. Spring of 2003 marks the parting of percussionist Kobe Proesmans. Now they're 4 again. In this format they choose to go ever onwards, harder, slower, darker.
The summer of 2004 sees the boys back on the road, in the studio and ever plotting their next smooth move.
Four-piece rap act Orishas were formed in the late-'90s by ex-Amenaza known as Ruzzo and Youtel who moved from Havana to Paris as part of a school exchange program. Their collective name is based on divine beings worshipped by Yorubas from West Africa, later combined with Native Americans and European Spiritualists. Los Orishas remained in religious rituals in Cuba and Brazil. Orishas released A Lo Cubano in the year 2000, mixing Afro-Cuban music and universal rap beats and rhyme. Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide
- SIDONIE (SPAIN)
- LOS ACTIVOS (HUELVA)
- AN DER BEAT(BARCELONA)
-P-18 (CUBA AND FRANCE)
P18 formed in 1995 as a collaboration between former members of La Mano Negra, a Parisian DJ and a family of musicians from Cuba. The group expanded into a collective of 10 Cuban and French musicians who combine the musical traditions of Cuba with elements of house, drum & bass and Afro-Cuban roots music. Their first album Urban Cuban was released in 1999. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
- PIERRE BASTIEN(FRANCE)
Pierre Bastien (born 1953 in Paris) is a French musician, composer, and instrument builder. He began building mechanical-based musical instruments at an early age, using items such as metronomes, cymbals, and pulleys. In 1977 he began collaborating with Pascal Comelade and composing music for dance companies. He performed in ensembles such as Operation Rhino, Nu Creative Methods, and Effectifs de Profil.
In 1986 he formed his own orchestra, Mecanium, comprised of Meccano machines which play various instruments, such as Chinese lute, Morrocan bendir, Javanese saron, koto, and violin. These machines were often driven by the rotation of old turntables. By the 1990s Mecanium consisted of up to 80 machine 'musicians', and toured various art and music festivals, including events in Norway, Australia, Japan, Canada, Poland, and the United States.
- EBOMAN (HOLLAND)
"Eboman specializes in the production of audiovisual sample compositions, the development of audiovisual sampling software and hardware and performances as a DVJ or with his SenSorSuit. The SenSorSuit is part of an audiovisual sampling system, called SenS, which Eboman is developing in cooperation with SmadSteck."
- COLOR HUMANO(BARCELONA)
- NU TEMPO(CUBA-BARCELONA)
- RELAX(HOLAND)
Soul hiphop group from Haarlem that has built up a solid reputation as a live act.
Relax is formed by Llewy Is Sel and some of his fellow musicians from punk rock band Nayberhood. Their aim is to make hiphop with a live band. They record a demo and reach the finals of the Grand Prix of the Netherlands talent show.
- MARDI GRAS BB (GERMANY)
Germany's Mardi Gras BB are a vibrant jazz, funk, soul, rock, and hip-hop ensemble with a distinctly swampy New Orleans feel, led by the charismatic Doc Wenz (aka Jochen Wenz) and former Grug Grug bass player Reverend Uli Jug, who plays sousaphone in the band.
- RAKEL WINCHERSTER (CORDOBA)
BELGIAN BANDS:
-BUSCEMI
A smooth mix of earthy breakbeats, classic house, and jazz-funk made Buscemi an interesting addition to the ranks of trip-hop acts. The work of Belgian producer Dirk Swartenbroeckx (who indeed named his project after the American character actor of Fargo and Reservoir Dogs fame), Buscemi debuted in 1997 with the Plus Belle Africaine EP and earned airplay on Kiss FM through Gilles Peterson's radio show. The following year brought debut album Mocha Supremo and in mid-2000, Our Girl in Havana. Camino Real arrived in 2003 with guest vocals from Michael Franti and Isabelle Antena. Antena returned for the 2006 release Retro Nuevo. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
- ADMIRAL FREEBEE
- VIVE LA FETE
Vive La Fête (French for Long live the party) is an electropop group, founded in 1997 in Ghent (Belgium). The core of the band is formed by lovers Danny Mommens (guitar and vocals) and Els Pynoo (vocals).
- DJ TOM BARMAN
Tom Barman (born January 1, 1972) is a Belgian musician and film director.
Barman studied at the film school of St.-Lucas (Brussels) but didn't finish his studies because of his other passion: music. He preferred to begin a music career with his rock band dEUS formed in 1989. But he didn't throw away his experience with film because he directed his own music videos for dEUS and made even a short film in 1996: Turnpike. He also directed videos for other Belgian musicians including Axelle Red and Hooverphonic among others.
- THINK OF ONE
Perhaps a bit of initial confusion about this group might be permitted, although by the mid-2000s the ensemble's raison d'être appeared to be coming into clearer focus: Think of One would like you to think of one world with all its musical threads coming together in a multicultural celebration of rhythm and song.
- ULTRASONIC 7
- STIJN
- GABRIEL RIOS (Puerto Rico / Belgium)
Though born in Puerto Rico, Gabriel Ríos vaulted to stardom while living in Belgium, with a similarly pan-cultural electronic pop approach embracing elements of rock, hip-hop, and salsa. Born in 1978, Ríos learned to play guitar from his father, and as a teen joined his church's choir. At 18 he relocated from Latin America to Ghent, Belgium, with his then-girlfriend, studying painting while playing in local bands including the Nothing Bastards and L. Santo. Over time Ríos' music began channeling the rhythmic influences of salsa, bomba, and plena, and eventually he befriended Jo Bogaert, the Belgian producer best known for his work with house music hitmakers Technotronic, famed for the international smash "Pump Up the Jam" -- together they began work on Ríos' 2004 debut LP, Ghostboy, a critical and commercial smash across the BeNeLux nations. A stopgap live album, En Vivo, followed a year later, and in early 2007 Ríos resurfaced with his second studio effort, Angelhead.
- WAWADADAKWA
Commonly known as "the wawa's". Born in the summer of '97 and still going strong. The four group members met in Jazz-Studio in Antwerp and started a rhythm quartet. Then they went to Havana for schooling and came back as party-band.
Eagerly they adopted a guitar player and debuted their first CD "Voor Mama" (for my mother) in '99. Two years of touring in Belgium, Holland, Spain and Italy brings forth the second CD "ABCD". This album, recorded live in the AB portrays that period beautifully.
In 2002 they discover children's theater. The wawa's named themselves actors and made children smile. A taste of this adventure can be found on the mini-cd "Wawakristalla", already a collectors item.
End of 2002 brought some more tours to Spain and Moscow, for good or for worse. Spring of 2003 marks the parting of percussionist Kobe Proesmans. Now they're 4 again. In this format they choose to go ever onwards, harder, slower, darker.
The summer of 2004 sees the boys back on the road, in the studio and ever plotting their next smooth move.
Labels: extras
at
9.6.08
