Filed under: Six Degrees Artist | Tags: Ballake Sissoko, FREE DOWNLOAD, new release
This week saw the North and South American release (2/5) of Ballaké Sissoko’s new album, “At Peace”. Sissoko’s follow-up to his 2009 collaboration with French cellist Vincent Segal, Chamber Music, is currently featured and streaming on NPR’s First Listen (2/4-2/10).
At Peace comes at one of the darkest points in the contemporary history of Sissoko’s home country. A March 2012 coup d’état plunged Mali’s stable democracy into a state of political turmoil resulting in devastating consequences across all spectrums of society. Religious extremists in the north declared war on music altogether, outlawing everything from recordings and instruments to any sort of playing. Musicians in northern parts of the country have been forced into exile. Music, though, has for this country of 15 million proven an especially defining aspect of identity formation. (Within the Six Degrees family three artists hail from this West African heartland of musical wealth- Ballaké Sissoko, Vieux Farka Touré, Issa Bagayogo) The current political situation’s most negative of grips on Mali’s rich musical tradition, a cornerstone of Mali’s cultural history, comes as a particularly devastating consequence. It is in this trying-times context that Sissoko’s latest album emerged. Reviews on “At Peace” have notably discussed the album’s bigger-than-the-music significance. Said NPR in their First Listen article, “At peace? Sadly, that’s still a dream in Mali, but without a doubt this powerful, beautiful album will bring listeners no small respite.” In the context of a society with a longstanding music tradition under attack, Sissoko’s latest album is being hailed as a kora-soundtracked victory for peace.
NPR First Listen: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/03/170849486/first-listen-ballake-sissoko-for-peace
Filed under: Dom La Nena, FREE DOWNLOAD, New Release, Six Degrees Artist | Tags: Dom La Nena, Ela, new release
A constant state of smiles and good vibes. That’s what the new year has been like in the Six Degrees office. At the heart of this merriment lay our excitement over the release of Dom La Nena’s debut album, Ela (1/15 USA and Canada; 2/18 Europe). We are proud to say this week Dom’s debut hit #1 on the CMJ World Chart.
Like the woman behind the cello, Ela reflects a continent-spanning geographical rootlessness. Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Dominique Pinto moved to France at the age of eight while her father pursued his doctorate. Raised on classical music, at thirteen Dom began writing letters to American cellist Christine Walevska. With parental consent the aspiring musician relocated to Argentina where she studied with Walevska for several years before returning to Paris at eighteen. In 2009, Dom performed with English actress and singer Jane Birkin. Following an international tour with Birkin, Dom set about writing and recording her first album. The true catalyst for creating Ela, though, was meeting English-born singer/songwriter Piers Faccini. On the advice of Faccini, Dom used Faccini’s home studio in the Cevennes Mountains of France, where she recorded almost all of her parts in a week’s span. Enthused by the outcome, Faccini decided that he wanted in, and set out to work on co-producing the thirteen compositions soon to become known as Ela.
The first single from Ela, ‘No Meu Pais’ reflects Dom’s experiences with a rootless childhood. Without a specific nationality attached to it ‘meu pais’ (“my country”) becomes simply ‘myself’.
Céu finished her North American tour last week at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. This interview has some great clips from her performance.
Great performance from her tour in support of her new album, Caravana Sereia Bloom.
Download the new album: Six Degrees, iTunes, Amazon
Filed under: Six Degrees Artist | Tags: both ways open jaws, studio pigalle, the do
Download the new album: Six Degrees, iTunes, Amazon
Listening to The Dø album and seeing them in an actual live show are two very different things, the sound and the mood that can emanate from their performance leads to a more nocturnal feel and darker musical mood. That is the reason Dan and Olivia decided to embark on this new live sessions project:
“We decided to record the live versions of our new songs with our musicians because they had developed such an identity of their own, we had to keep a record. They’d become complimentary to the studio album. Many fans had also been requesting a live album. We wanted to record “live in a studio”, not on stage because we were after a warm studio sound, and The Pigalle Studio was the right one for it. We love to take songs to different levels, it keeps things fresh and exciting”. — The Dø
Free Download – Spy From Cairo – ‘Alladin Dub"’
The Spy From Cairo aka Zeb, has long been one of our favortie producers and oud players around. Since his days with Organic Grooves up to his recent remixes of Natacha Atlas, Zeb’s productions have always been top notch and mix a perfect blend of organic and electronic elements. On his latest album, “Arabadub” our May 29th on Wonderwheel Records, The Spy once again melds sounds from thee Middle East with Dub Reggae and mid-tempo electronic grooves. The seductive sounds are perfect for drinking, smoking, eating, dancing and philosophizing.
Niyaz, which means ‘yearning’ in Persian and Urdu, was formed in 2005 by vocalist Azam Ali, multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian and two-time Grammy nominated producer and electronic musician Carmen Rizzo. Since their last release, Nine Heavens made waves in the global music community, the band have toured worldwide, had their music placed in numerous films & television shows and each released stunning solo albums that continue to push them into the international spotlight. Nine Heavens was heavily featured on world-wide radio (including NPR and PRI in the States), topped the charts of iTunes World Music and CMJ World Music, and continues to be discovered by new fans worldwide.
Now the band returns with their third album, Sumud. The album’s title is Arabic for “steadfastness” and the record’s musical themes center around the plight of ethnic and religious minorities around the world. Azam Ali chose this philosophical term as a symbolic reminder that, as she explains, ‘every human being should inherit the right to live with dignity and freedom upon the land on which they are born.’
With a heavier emphasis on the electronic side of their sound and a special guest vocal appearance from Oscar-winning Indian composer, musician and singer AR Rahman, Sumud is the most powerful release yet from one of global fusion’s most popular bands.
Filed under: breaks, FREE DOWNLOAD, funk | Tags: all good funk alliance, breaks, fort knox recordings, FREE DOWNLOAD, funk
Free Download – All Good Funk Alliance – “I Don’t Care If It’s Your Birthday”
Check out the great interview with All Good Funk Alliance in On Tap Magazine.
They’re latest release ‘Jack of All Trades’ drops today on Fort Knox Recordings and it’s full of the funky breaks you’d expect from these pros. You can buy the album on iTunes or Beatport and also stream the full record on AOL Music.
Our friends at the wonderful web site Paris DJs caught up with Céu last week for an interview and some exclusive live video from her very first gig in her ‘Caravana Sereia Bloom’ Tour at Théâtre Traversière in Paris.
Filed under: dub, FREE DOWNLOAD | Tags: dub, interchill, power salad, sunmox
Power Salad is the debut album from Melbourne based duo Sunmonx out now on Interchill
Records. Combining Opiuo’s renowned production style with Austero’s tasty guitar grooves, this refreshing sonic fusion weaves together threads from the worlds of blues, dub, funk and beyond. Lovers of bass music, glitch and all things electronica will find plenty to satisfy their cravings within the solid basslines, crisp production and the precision attention to the finest micro-details.
Sunmonx have kept themselves busy in the acoustic kitchen over the last 3 years, carefully combining their nutritious homegrown musical ingredients and perfecting their gourmet dub-infused recipes. Power Salad contains nothing but the freshest fruits of this labour, cultivated as the pair step beyond their self-released Rigiti EP, a 4-track teaser that caught the attention of Interchill Records and many other downbeat lovers around the world. Picking up where they left off, Sunmonx hit the studio with innovation in mind and set out to explore new dimensions of the electronica spectrum. They came up with an energizing album where progressive beats mingle with a prevailing thread of guitar, uniting this diverse palette of sounds and styles into a cohesive and delectable whole. Power Salad hits right on target and stays true to its title, serving up an organic blend of revitalizing tracks to set you on your way. Who’s hungry?
Filed under: FREE DOWNLOAD | Tags: bondi blaster, juan data, nu-cumbia, stronghold sound
Free Download – “Cumbia Nena” (feat. Ephniko & Nes) – Bondi Blaster
The man behind Bondi Blaster is DJ Juan Data, who besides being a great producer is also a provocative writer/blogger who helms the Hard Data blog. Now add video director to his resume, is there anything he can’t do well? I’m a believer, the tracks on his debut Bondi Blaster record, ‘LO’ JUIMO!’ on Stronghold Sound range from Nu-Cumbia, Latin Bass, Hip-Hop all offering unique takes on the genres and all ready for club or home play! Plus the video is crazy!
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