CATALAN! MUSIC eMAGAZINE ENGLISH issue 3

CATALAN! MUSIC eMAGAZINE

AND:

CATALANS ON TOUR RECOMMENDED FESTIVALS NEW RELEASES

SPRING 2012 ISSUE 3

Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals Rambla de Santa Mònica, 8 E-08002 Barcelona Tel. +34 93 316 27 00 internacional.icec@gencat.cat www.gencat.cat/cultura/icec/internacional www.catalanarts.cat Text: Grup Enderrock Images: Ibai Acevedo, Marcel Asso, Marta Busquets, Adrià Cañameras, Luis Cerveró, Las Coleccionistas, Manu Costa, Gema Darbo, Luis Domingo, Noemí Elias, David Ignaszewski, Xavier Mercadé, Juan Miguel Morales, Tanit Plana, Esther Sicília, Javier Tles, Josep Tomàs, Xavi Torres, and Grup Enderrock archive.

Design and layout: Manuel Cuyàs D.L.: B-32542-2011 Barcelona, april 2012 ISSN: 2014-3834

Cover photo: Xavier Mercadé

This magazine is published under an AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Creative Commons license, which allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you credit the author, but you can’t change it in any way or use them commercially. Read the full license at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/deed.ca

CATALAN! MUSIC eMAGAZINE

SPRING 2012 ISSUE 3

The digital magazine for the international promotion of the Catalan music.

Available in English, Catalan and Spanish.

Published four-monthly.

INTRO

A new edition of the digital magazine Catalan! Music eMagazine has been released, this issue being dedicated exclusively to jazz music produced in Catalonia.

This year Catalan! Arts will once again be participating in the most important jazz fair in Europe, jazzahead!, which is to be held in Bremen, in Germany. For this reason and in order to take advantage of the strong moment for jazz in our country, we have decided to review this musical style in this new edition of Catalan! Music eMagazine.

We hope that by reading the central block of the publication in detail you will gain an understanding of how Catalonia and, more specifically, Barcelona, have become the nucleus of both Catalan and international jazz artists. A platform from which to project artists to the world and, at the same time, a place for exchange between musicians from all parts who wish to experiment with other trends. However, we should not forget the work done by the different jazz festivals and music venues throughout the region which bring us both new and established offerings, as well as collaborations between musicians from different countries.

We are also offering the compilation “Jazz from Catalonia 2012” in this new edition of Catalan! Music eMagazine. This record is intended to promote jazz music at fairs, festivals and to the international press. Jazz from Catalonia 2012 brings together 15 tracks selected by professionals from the Catalan music industry and is sponsored by Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, responsible for programming at Jazzclub Unterfahrt (Munich) / Jazzpromotion München.

Catalan! Music eMagazine is full of novelties, as well as the usual sections on festivals, records and news. We encourage you to continue enjoying music made in Catalonia!

NEW EDITION OF THE JAZZ FROM CATALONIA COMPILATION ICEC publishes a new Jazz from Catalonia to promote the Catalan jazz music worldwide. This year the tracks have been selected by Martí Farré (music journalist) in collaboration with Susanna Carmona (coordinator of Jazz Terrassa), Ferran Esteve (translator and music critic) Josep Mestres (Barcelonajazzradio), Pere Pons (director of Jaç magazine) and Roger Roca (music journalist).

Christiane Böhnke-Geisse de Jazzpromotion München states: “Once more, it manages to surprise the listener due to the stylistic diversity and the sensational musical wisdom of the artists. We hope that the Catalan jazz scene will continue to move forward and open up new paths. It is evident that Catalonia has been speaking the language of jazz for a long time now.”

If you are a professional of the music sector and want a free copy of this compilation, please, send us your pro details to internacional.icec@gencat.cat.

01 David Pastor & Pere Foved: “El del Llasn” 02 Bernat Font Trio: “Ulls ametlla” 03 Phil Woods & Barcelona Jazz Orchestra: “Rompin’ At the Reno” 04 Susana Sheiman & Ignasi Terraza Trio: “P.S. I Love You” 05 Marcel·lí Bayer: “LT” 06 Gonzalo del Val Trio: “Espíritu F.H.” 07 Joan Díaz: “Diana” 08 Elisabet Raspall: “Mirall d’estiu / Summer Mirror” 09 Jo Krause Quartet: “Tones for Jones Bones” 10 David Mengual: “El perro dejó de andar como una rata” 11 Jaume Llombart “Sextet: Bajada” 12 Piccola Orchestra Gagarin: “Corsicanskaya” 13 Sin Anestesia: “Metadoloris Ultra” 14 Josep Tutusaus Champagne Sparkle: “No va Internet” 15 Marc Ayza: “Untitled”

Catalan jazz captivates us with its diversity and the way it embraces a broad range of styles.

Professor Ulrich Beckerhoff, Jazz from Catalonia 2011

A calm revolution has taken place in Catalonia over the last fifteeen years that has brought to the surface a group of musicians, whom diversity of inspiration and influences reflect the richness of the current jazz scene. (‌)This diversity can only be the result of the enormous vitality of Catalan jazz!

Vincent Bessières, Jazz from Catalonia 2010

Are its ability to open itself to other cultures, its free spirit and willingness to be adventurous the defining traits of Catalan jazz?

Yes, without the slightest doubt.

Martin Laurentius, Jazz from Catalonia 2009

Jazz is very much alive in this land. Its devotees always know how to give it the oxygen it needs to stand out:; they possess a healthy creative drive, and they shun the beaten path to display a trademark originality of their own.

Juan Claudio Cifuentes, Jazz from Catalonia 2007

(‌) Catalan scene is lively, vibrant. It is not the result of an aesthetic pattern, but instead of a careful listening of everything that is being done right now all around the world.

Alex Dutilh (Chief-Editor of the monthly magazine Jazzman), Jazz from Catalonia 2006

SUMMARY

HOT: CATALONIA, THE LA ON TOUR 36 LINKS 44 NEWS 54 FESTIVALS 64 UPCOMING FESTIVALS 74 NEW RELEASES 76

AND OF JAZZ

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Roger Mas i la Cobla Sant Jordi *El Petit de Cal Eril

HOT

CATAL THE LAND

LONIA, D OF JAZZ

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Tete Montoliu

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Catalonia is a country that has been associated with jazz practically since the very origins of the genre. The impact that the birth of that new music caused in the city of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century did not take long to cross the Atlantic and to find, in Catalonia, its most lavish home south of the Pyrenees.

PERE PONS Music journalist

For the city of Barcelona, jazz has never been an accessory or an anecdote. In the capital of Catalonia, jazz found a particularly welcoming place as soon as it expanded into Europe after its initial explosion in the United States of America. The proximity of the Pyrenees, along with the city’s status as a major seaport, meant that Barcelona found itself directly connected to the social and artistic movements of the rest of Europe, while also being an enclave well disposed towards trade and exchange and to the cosmopolitanism that comes with them.

The Catalan capital experienced its own particular era of jazz during the 1920s with the holding of the Universal Exposition.

The performance given by Sam Wooding’s orchestra and his

HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Chocolat Kiddies generated a real sensation, not just among fans, but also among most dance music groups and local bands, who then adapted their repertoires to the fashionable rhythms in the new language of jazz.

This link continued to gain in intensity and notoriety until it culminated in 1935 with the creation of the Hot Club in Barcelona; an initiative that quickly spread across the country.

At the height of swing, when orchestras were enjoying their golden age, jazz was assimilated by the best dance hall groups while across the rest of the country the folk bands hired to play the traditional Sardanes would lead a double life: once the night fell they would abandon the tenor and the flageolet of their daytime sessions, swopping them for the saxophone and the trumpet played to the rhythm of the Cakewalk. This direct link between the most essential style of jazz and the layers of society was to be, despite the repression and restrictions that marked General Franco’s dictatorship, a decisive factor in terms of reinitiating the activities of the different Hot Clubs that had been suspended during the Civil War. One of the driving forces behind this new phase was Alfredo Papo, the organiser of concerts with leading figures of the genre such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie.

And it is from within this context that pianist Tete Montoliu emerged, a figure who, at the end of the 1950s, saw his career

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Llibert Fortuny

Kurt Rosenwinkel

HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

take on an international projection after Lionel Hampton heralded him the best jazz musician in Europe. In the name of jazz, and as a flag-bearer of bebop culture, Tete Montoliu became an ambassador for Catalan culture, sharing the stage and recordings with leading figures of the genre such as Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Ron Carter, Ben Webster and Johnny Griffin, among many others.

Jazz also left its mark on the identity of Barcelona through the most basic and essential instincts of the human condition.

During the 1960s, the soldiers of the United States’ Sixth Fleet became regular customers in the bars of the old quarter of the city where, as well as spending their money, they were also able to enjoy the music that made them feel at home: jazz.

The time spent in the city by American musicians such as saxophonist Don Byas or, on a more permanent basis, organist Lou Bennet, meant that the main players of the genre saw the Catalan capital as a place that was particularly apt for cultivating the music that had revolutionised the period. Clear proof that jazz was firmly attached to the very marrow of the country’s culture is reflected in the support provided by La Cova del Drac and in the creation of the Jubilee Jazz Club, as well as a jazz cellar that, not long after it was opened, was comparable to the best jazz clubs in Europe: the Jamboree.

The biggest names of the time would tread the boards there,

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including Don Byas, Stéphane Grapelli, Art Farmer, Ornette Coleman and Chet Baker, among many others. During the years in which jazz entered the era of fusion, another club in Barcelona, the Sala Zeleste, became a providential refuge for a totally innovative scene based around the progressive aesthetic and given its own denomination of origin: the laietà sound.

In Terrassa, a group of fans created the Jazz Cava and established the foundations of a festival that has since become one of the most popular and recognised musical events in the country. At the same time, Barcelona organised its own festival from 1966 onwards; an exhibition that is one of the 20 most important jazz festivals in the world and which, sponsored by the historical festival of Newport, maintains a very direct relation with the festival of New York and is also twinned with the festival of Umbria.

The most crucial factor, however, at the culmination of that period was the creation of the first schools of modern music in 1979: the Aula de Música and the Taller de Músics. Not only did these centres offer studies to the the new generations of musicians that were unheard of at the conservatories and official schools, but they also gave their students the chance to link up with other similar schools in Europe and the United States.

In the 1990s, the city of Barcelona became a sounding board for the emerging musicians of the New York scene and such

HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Sala Jamboree

Brad Mehldau

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consolidated names as those of Brad Mehldau, Robert Glasper, Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ethan Iverson made their first appearances there. The city also gave rise to the drive towards the first international projection of musicians from the country such as Jordi Rossy, Perico Sambeat and Marc Miralta, which has been continued with Llibert Fortuny, Raynald Colom, Emilio Solla and Ignasi Terraza, among many others. Receptive to this situation, the Barcelona record label Fresh Sound started up the New Talent collection that has become a benchmark on the international market thanks largely to these new talents on both sides of the Atlantic.

At the beginning of the year 2000, jazz started to take root once again and to promote itself under the Barcelona brand with the consolidation of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band: a big band created under the tutelage of a local music school and made up of 6 to 18 year-olds which, with three records released with the backing of international figures, is the youngest jazz formation in Europe.

HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ THE JAZZ SCENE IN CATALONIA: THE MUSICIANS

Agustí Fernández Agustí Fernández is one of the most prolific and innovative musicians operating in the Catalan jazz scene. Among some of the key influences are Xénakis, Cecil Taylor and Carles Santos. He has also gained the confidence and respect of musicians such as Butch Morris and Derek Bailey while also driving forward personal projects in duos with Mats Gustafson, Jo Krause and Joan Saura, among others, and consolidating his trio, Triez, with double bass player Baldo Martínez and drummer Ramón López. At the same time, the concerts by his other trio, Aurora, with Barry Guy, were described as one of the most delightful jazz events of the year in New York by the magazine DownBeat.

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Carles Benavent During the 1970s he created one of the most representative groups of the so-called laietà sound, Música Urbana. His name gained international prestige at the beginning of the 1980s in the world of jazz fusion alongside Chick Corea. Shortly afterwards he introduced his instrument into the basic formation of modern flamenco playing under the great guitar master Paco de Lucía and the singing of Camarón de la Isla. His trio with Jorge Pardo and Tino Di Geraldo, with which he has toured all over the world, is distinguished precisely by this fusion of jazz and flamenco. Quincy Jones and Miles Davis requested his services in their re-working of Sketches of Spain and he has more than half a dozen records.

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Ignasi Terraza Ignasi Terraza is one of the most brilliant exponents of classical piano and the conventions of swing. The fact that he is blind has helped him to become one of the most perceptive musicians of his generation. The pedigree of Hank Jones, the technique of Oscar Peterson, the elegance of Ahmad Jamal and the personality of Tete Montoliu are some of the teachings that have marked his way. He has gained recognition in the United States with the Thelonious Monk award in Jacksonville, performing in Marciac (France), at Ronnie Scott’s in London, among others. His last album has been number 1 in sales at the biggest record shop in Tokyo.

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Xavier Dotras His latest album, Preludes (Picap, 2011), is the fourth of his solo projects and one which explicitly reveals the two musical worlds that define the artistic personality of pianist and composer Xavier Dotras: classical music and of jazz. Prior to embarking on this new venture, where influences such as Bach and Chopin share both the credits and the inspiration with Bill Evans and Michel Petrucciani, the musician had previously released Retrospectives (2004), Nit (2006) and Vincent (2009).

Accompanied by the classic jazz trio, Xavier Dotras happily accepts the fact that he is considered to be a pianist associated with Romanticism and that his style of jazz can interact freely with chamber music.

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Giulia Valle Double bassist and composer Giulia Valle is one of the most promising and dynamic jazz musicians working in Catalonia. Her three records as headliner within the Fresh Sound label - Colorista (2004), Danza imprevista (2007) and Berenice (2010) – show the development of a style marked by a singular personality which combines her exploration of the musical world of improvisation, from the aesthetics of contemporary sounds to an energy which is more in keeping with experimental rock.

She also stands out as a composer on the records that she has released as a trio with Marc Ayza and Jason Lidner –1, 2, 3, etc… (2001), Enchanted House (2008), and she currently leads the quintet with her own name.

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Marc Ayza Deejah (Satchmo, 2004), Offering (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2008) and Live at Home (Fresh Sound, 2011) are the three records that illustrate drummer Marc Ayza’s evolution in terms of his particular treatment of jazz combined with the aesthetics of the hip hop and groove of urban rhythms. His group combines the classical jazz trio with exponents of hip hop. The formation has developed a concept upon which performances such as Beat’a’Boom have been created, in which basic rhythms and the use of electronics merge together and which turned out to be one of the most promising appearances at the last edition of the Sonar festival.

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Llibert Fortuny After making headway with the alto sax and alternating between acoustic (Un circ sense lleons (2004)) and electric sounds (Revolts (2005) and Big Band XXL (2006)), all on the Nuevos Medios label, he took a leap forward with the contract signed with the major label Universal, and the release of Double Step (2007). At the same time, he played a key part in creating the group Triphasic, with leading jazz-rock figure Gary Willis on electric bass and sound programming and David Gómez on drums. Recently he has opted to swop his alto sax for a tenor sax and has worked on two productions alongside seasoned pianist Manel Camp. Maybe he’s the more successful jazz musician in Europe.

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Raynald Colom Born in Paris and in jazz terms raised in Catalonia, Raynald Colom is a musician whose ties to the world of jazz are possibly the strongest of his generation developed it with the trumpet on initial records such as My 51 minutes (2004) and Sketches of Groove (2007), both made for Fresh Sounds within the New Talent collection, followed later by more ambitious works such as Evocaci贸n (Adlib Arts, 2009) on which he established his particular niche between jazz and flamenco. He has taken positive steps into internationalisation by signing a contract for his latest work with the Jazz Village label of the record company Harmonia Mundi.

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ

Bernat Font One of the most recent incorporations in the Catalan jazz world is the pianist Bernat Font, a musician with prodigious fingers and great vitality who has established a connection point between the more original forms of jazz piano and the essence of modern improvisation.

The positive reception with which his recording The Shout (Swit Records, 2011) has been further endorsed by some explosive live performances where the frenzied style of ragtime and boogie is projected into the present in a similar way to the originality displayed

by Thelonious Monk and Wynton Kelly.

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Joan Chamorro & Andrea Motis This duo appeared as last year’s new revelation in Catalonia. The group that musician and teacher Joan Chamorro has set up around his pupil Andrea Motis, has left no doubt that quality, popularity and youth are three terms that sit happily together in jazz, producing unprecedented results. The fact that a girl of sixteen can sing like Billie Holiday, play the sax like Johnny Hodges and the trumpet like Louis Armstrong is one of the secrets of the phenomenon that has enabled this breakthrough onto the music scene. But we should also recognise the rigorousness, hard work and care with which Chamorro has overseen this project and the bright future they have before them.

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HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ VENUES

JAMBOREE

BEL-LUNA JAZZ CLUB

HARLEM JAZZ CLUB

JAZZMAN

Plaรงa Reial, 17. Barcelona www.masimas.com/jamboree

C. Comtessa de Sobradiel, 8. Barcelona www.harlemjazzclub.es

Rambla de Catalunya, 5. Barcelona www.bel-luna.com

C. Roger de Flor, 238. Barcelona www.jazzmanbcn.com

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TERRASSA

ROBADORS 23

C. Robadors, 23. Barcelona 23robadors.wordpress.com

GIRONA

SUNSET JAZZ CLUB

C. Jaume Pons i Martí, 12. Girona www.sunsetjazz-club.com

NOVA JAZZ CAVA

C. del Teatre, 2. Terrassa www.jazzterrassa.org

LLEIDA

CAFÈ TEATRE L’ESCORXADOR C. Roca Labrador, 4 bis. Lleida www.cafedelteatre.com

HOT CATALONIA, THE LAND OF JAZZ FESTIVALS

7è BLACK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2012, SALT 2 - 30 March 2012 www.blackmusicfestival.com

31è FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE TERRASSA

8 - 25 March 2012 www.jazzterrassa.org/jazzterrassa/festivals/fjt2012/

TARRAGONA, JAZZ AMB L’ESTUDI

12 - 15 April 2012 http://t2012.tarragona.cat/jazz-amb-lestudi/734

14è FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE VIC 3 - 13 May 2012 www.festivaljazzvic.cat

22È FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE GRANOLLERS 4 May - 16 June 2012 www.jazzgranollers.com

12è FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE GIRONA September 2012 www.festivaldejazzdegirona.com

44è FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE BARCELONA October - December 2012 www.barcelonajazzfestival.com

19a MOSTRA TARDOR JAZZ LLEIDA November 2012 www.quadrantcorner.com/jazztardor

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TOURS

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JORDI SAVALL 38 BLACK GANDHI 40 TAIMA TESAO 42 LA IAIA 42 ARBOL 42

La Iaia

TOURS

JORDI SAVALL Jordi Savall has built a solid worldwide reputation that began in Catalonia and continued during his stay in Switzerland where he lived for two decades and where he became particularly interested in the in-depth study of the viola da gamba, an instrument that had fallen into disuse since the end of the 18th century. It is during this period that he started to excel in the recovery and interpretation of period music, an interest that has taken up a lifetime of study and turned him into one of the most important international scholars in the field.

Inspired by this task, and always working in close collaboration with his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras, Jordi Savall founded three musical formations: Hespèrion XX (1974), La Capella Reial de Catalunya (1987) and Le Concert des Nations (1989); groups made up of Catalan and European soloists who were always delighted to work alongside Savall whenever he embarked on a new project. In order to inject even more personality into his own initiatives, he created the Alia Vox recording label in 1998 that allowed him to release his own records with greater independence. Many of these recordings represent a series of pieces that go beyond musical aspects: they represent musico-historical studies and archival research that have brought to light old musical scores that Savall and his colleagues have reconstructed in the same way that one would restore an old painting.

Jordi Savall will perform in Poitiers on 23 May.

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

TOURS

BLACK GANDHI

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FOLK WORLD MUSIC

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Black Gandhi is a band made up of six artists united by the same philosophy and love of music. The foundations of their musical expression can be found in the rhythm of one drop, the spinal chord of reggae and rocksteady, but their music also digs deeply into the roots of funk, rock and gospel, expanding the quality of their sounds and achieving a fresh and unique result. The message of their songs, as well as their philosophy on life, can both be found closely bound together in their music. Black Gandhi’s music transmits joy, well-being and makes you feel like dancing, as demonstrated on their sole album to date (self-edited, 2008), which includes songs in Spanish and English.

Black Gandhi are to play in the USA: 28 April (New Orleans), 2 and 4 May (New York) and 5 May (New Jersey).

TOURS LONDON HOLDS 3 POP PROPOSALS

TAIMA TESAO LA IAIA ARBOL At the intersection between theatre and music we find Taima Tesao, the musical persona of Laura Guiteras, television actress, and the new project of musician and guitarist Toni Xuclà. They are currently presenting their joint work Zèlig Time (self-edited, 2010), with songs in six languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Spanish.

2011 was a prolific year for La Iaia. The pop-folk band have played nonstop all over the main musical events in the country. Their debut album Les ratlles del banyador (Música Global, 2011) has been a hit with both public and critics alike. It is not a typical local festival-style album, but rather an enjoyable collection of pieces shaken up from time to time by spasms of singalong folk.

Miguel Marín lived and worked in London for almost a decade, playing drums with the post-rock band Piano Magic and writing music for television and cinema. A member of Sr. Chinarro, he started the Arbol project in 2001, a solo studio-based venture that he would later take on tour around the world (Japan, China, USA, parts of Europe) and at key festivals (Sonar, Offf, Cinesthesy, Cimatics, Moves, etc.).

He has released She Read the Wrong Book (sp.RK, 2012), which has been recognised as one of the best albums of the year.

Taima Tesao: 14 April (Proud Camden). La Iaia: 20 April (Rich Mix Cultural Centre). Arbol: 3 May (Queen Elizabeth Hall).

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POPROCK

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LINKS Marina Rossell Benet Casablancas Òscar Peñas Carles Belda, Joan Garriga

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& Georges Moustaki 46 & Vladimir Jurowski 48 & Jason Palmer 50 & OccitĂ nia 52

Brigada Ă’.K!

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SINGERSONG WRITING

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Marina Rossell & Georges Moustaki THE PERMANENT REVOLUTION Marina Rosell presents an album dedicated to the work of her friend and idol Georges Moustaki, Canta Moustaki (Harmonia Mundi, 2011). For her, this is much more than a collection of songs and cover versions: it is a part of her life, an act of love for a body of work and ideas, a debt paid to a close friend.

Canta Moustaki is an ambitious project that started to take form almost four years ago and on which other artists such as Lluís Llach, Víctor Bocanegra, Josep Tero, Paco Ibáñez and Roger Mas have also collaborated. Moustaki himself has also followed the process of putting the album together: “I’ve been sending him everything: the rehearsals that we recorded on an iPhone, the recordings with guitar and voice, the first demo tapes...”, explains Rossell. The work is a collection of the best songs of Moustaki, the great troubadour, interpreted in Catalan and is the result of an intense relationship over three decades. The album includes the French version of Rossell’s song “Màrmara” by Moustaki. The Mediterranean, which is a veritable cradle of cultures, would not be the same without the legacy of Moustaki’s soundtrack for it, and Marina Rossell emerges as a beautiful spokesperson for the “permanent revolution”. ■

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Benet Casablancas & Vladimir Jurowski TWENTY THOUSAND NIGHTS It is now an indisputable fact that Benet Casablancas has become one of the Catalan composers of today whose work is performed most regularly beyond our borders. This is demonstrated by the fact that an orchestra as prestigious as the London Philharmonic, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, has taken it upon itself to present a worldwide premiere of his Darkness Visible, an orchestral nocturne with which the musician from Sabadell completes his meticulous trilogy for a large orchestra. “It is a nocturne for orchestra based on the poems of Milton and Pessoa. It hints at the darkness in which some things become visible”, explains Casablancas.

Having reached the age of 55, Benet Casablancas now enjoys recognition on a worldwide level. The genesis of his nocturne is evidence of this.

Vladimir Jurowski came across the musician from Sabadell while listening to the BBC. The work interested him and his British colleagues sent him the sheet music for Set escenes de Hamlet. They made contact and arranged a meeting in New York in 2010 when Casablancas’ monograph was being produced. Jurowski asked him to premiere a piece during the London tour in Spain. The composer’s satisfaction was magnified even further by the fact that this coincided with the premiere in Madrid of his Concert per a clarinet.

This was two days after the first performance in Seattle (USA) of Sis glosses based on texts of the writer Cees Nooteboom. ■

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

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JAZZ

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Òscar Peñas & Jason Palmer FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS After having initiated his career with the group Astronautus, Òscar Peñas has now embarked on his own more personal project from the other side of the Atlantic as an active member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground collective. In this new setting, the guitarist seems to have discovered the attraction of sounds beyond jazz and brings on board musical forms from Brazilian and Argentine lands. His new album, From Now On (BJUR, 2011) includes the participation of New York musicians such as Richie Barshay on drums and percussion, Dan Blake on saxos, Moto Fukushima on the six string bass, Gil Goldstein on accordion and piano and Franco Pinna on the bombo legüero.

Trumpet player Jason Palmer has been involved in the tour to present this new album at the Terrassa Jazz Festival and at the Duc des Lombards (Paris). Palmer is a robust trumpeter who has played alongside Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes and Wynton Marsalis and earned a place on the list of the “25 trumpeters of the future” produced by the magazine Downbeat in 2007. ■

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Carles Belda, Joan Garriga & Occitània THE INTERNATIONALISTS Joan Garriga and Carles Belda were one of the strong points of the week that the BarnaSants Festival dedicated to highlighting the historical and musical closeness between Occitania and the Catalan countries: Brigada Ò.K!, is an internationalist performance led by the two accordionists, Badabadoc, Artur Blasco, Laia Vaquer, Gigi de Nissa (leader of the reggae group Nux Vomica), Stefanno Degioanni (singer of Lou Seriol) and Ferriol Macip, with an eclectic repertoire of popular songs, improvised singing, romances, mountain traditions, etc. The group’s main idea is to produce remakes of folk songs and popular emblematic songs from both cultures. The Catalan songs come from its varied geography while the Occitan songs range from the Vall d’Aran to Nice, right across to the so-called ‘Italian Valleys’, a region between Piemont and Ligúria (Italy) where Occitan is also spoken. Brigada Ò.K! is based upon three convictions: ‘Union brings strength, festivities and joy, and he who sings forgets his problems’.

This venture is the result of a co-production between BarnaSants, the Occitan-Catalan festival Sèm e Serem of Tolosa de Llenguadoc, and the Estivada de Rodés festival. ■

FOLK WORLD MUSIC

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NEWS

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Manos de Topo

NEWS

MANEL, MUJERES AND GUILLAMINO ON A WORLD-WIDE TOUR Catalan Sounds Tour brings Catalan Pop to the USA, Canada, Mexico and England The Catalan Sounds Tour: Music from Catalonia & the Balearic Islands is an initiative promoted by the Ramon Llull Institute intended to bring an international audience closer to Catalan and Balearic music styles. Thanks to this platform, sixteen groups will act as ambassadors of our musical culture at the four most important Anglophone music fairs: South by Southwest festival in Austin (USA), the Canadian Music Week in Toronto (Canada), the Vive Latino festival in Mexico and The Great Escape in Brighton (England). These are the four most influential dates in the world in terms of the independent music scene and our home-grown groups will tread the boards at all of them on their international tour.

The musical talents that will be involved in this tour are: Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Seward, Mujeres, The Suicides of Western Culture, Petit, Ninette and the Goldfish, Dorian, Oso Leone, Me and the Bees, Furguson, Guillamino, Amics del Bosc, Manel, Manos de Topo, L.A. and Za!.

The festivals where these groups and artists will be playing are attended by around 24,000 programmers in total, ensuring a ripple effect across the world. The current boom in creativity in Catalan and Balearic music will, therefore, be effectively showcased at these events. â–

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El S贸nar a T貌quio

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THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF SONAR The leading festival of electronic music goes to Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Cape Town.

The festival has travelled beyond the Catalan borders with events of different sizes and formats across the world, adapting its philosophy to the places it visits and focusing its interests on the local scene of the host country. Since 2002, Sonar has travelled to London, Chicago, New York, Washington, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Seoul, Lyon, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, Rome and Tokyo, among other destinations. In 2012, Sonar will land in Japan, Brazil and South Africa.

From 29 February to 4 March, a reduced version of A Taste Of Sonar was on offer in Cape Town, South Africa. On 21 and 22 April, Sonar returns to Japan with the 5th SonarSound Tokyo. Sonar São Paulo will be held on 11 and 12 May and will be the biggest event that Sonar has organised outside Barcelona. The programme includes artists such as Bjork, Justice, James Blake, Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mogwai, Jeff Mills, Seth Troxler, Squarepusher, Austra, Hudson Mohawke, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, the Catalans Za! and John Talabot, and Brazilian musicians such as Gui Boratto, DJ Marky vs DJ Patife, M Takara + Akin, Gang Do Eketro, Silva and Ricardo Donoso. ■

NEWS

CLASSICAL:NEXT, A NEW TRADE FAIR FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC PROFESSIONALS 30 May - 2 June, Munich (Germany)

2012 will see the first edition of Classical:Next, a new international event for professionals of classical music. The fair is an initiative of Class, the German association of independent classical labels, and is produced by Womex. The classical music community is segmented, and the goal of Classical:Next is precisely to share networks, experiences and projects. The first edition of the fair will be a start-up edition: an introduction of the project to the international classical community.

Thereafter, Classical:NEXT will take place in the spring of every year, with the aim of growing and expanding with each edition. The structure of Classical:Next is comprised of four parts: showcases, conferences, a music expo and audiovisual screenings. Showcases are where artists and producers can present their work in the form of concerts or videos to a whole host of art directors and event organisers.

The conferences will consist of talks, seminars, think tanks, etc. The expo venue will show the work of labels, editors, managers, festivals, associations and other players of the industry. It will be a meeting point for all professionals. â–

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ENDERROCK 2012 AWARDS. THE BEST OF THE YEAR

Barcelona’s Apolo venue, full to bursting point, witnessed the eleventh Enderrock Award ceremony. Like every year, the Enderrock Group brought together Catalonia’s music industry to verify and witness the burst of creativity currently being enjoyed by the world of Catalan music. The awarded musicians who set foot on the stage of the Apolo to collect their awards include, among others, Manel (best album of the year – as voted by both the critics and the public), Joan Colomo (best singer-songwriter – critics’ choice), and La Iaia (best newcomer – critics’ choice). The people’s choice, the result of over 22,000 votes cast on the Internet, rewarded Obrint Pas (best pop-rock artist), Anna Roig i l’Ombre de ton Chien (best album and live show by singersongwriters), and Quico el Célio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries and the rondalla string ensemble of Pep Gimeno ‘Botifarra’ (best album, best song and best folk artist). Amelie received the award for the best newcomer, as voted by the public. The act, which has become the annual meeting point for the region’s music industry, was covered by around forty journalists from all over Catalonia. ■

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NEW CATALAN! MUSIC COMPILATIONS The Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises (Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals, ICEC) has released three albums with some of Catalonia’s most interesting contributions to music. The compilations do not claim to provide a comprehensive review of the current Catalan music scene, but simply a representative sample of the artistic quality of some of the proposals made from Catalonia.

With the international distribution of these compilations, Catalan! Music aims to contribute to the dissemination and promotion of Catalan music in the global markets. ■

MARIA DEL MAR BONET IN HAVANA

On 20th January, the singer Maria del Mar Bonet performed in Havana as part of the BarnaSants festival. This Balearic singersongwriter performed her Illes de la mar show at the Lázaro Peña theatre, with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and the Jorge Reyes Quintet. Bonet shared the stage with the Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, and they performed the song Quiéreme mucho together.

The concert was the most special performance of the BarnaSants 2012 festival, and had two corresponding performances: one in Vila-seca on 10th February and one in Sant Cugat del Vallès on 11th February. ■

FESTIVALS

13 FESTIVAL MIL·LENNI 66 XXV TRADICIONÀRIUS 68 BARNASANTS 17th EDITION 70 23rd BARCELONA GUITAR FESTI + UPCOMING FESTIVALS 74

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13 FESTIVAL MIL·LENNI

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From 2 December 2011 to 23 May 2012 Barcelona

A MULTI-STYLED FESTIVAL The 13th edition of the Festival Mil·lenni was opened at the Coliseum on 2 December of last year with a performance by Dúo Dinámico. The Auditori, the Palau de la Música, the Apolo and the Auditori of Sant Cugat, have hosted performances by Antònia Font, Andrea Motis, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Sidonie, among others.

Inspira were the supporting artists for the two concerts of Vetusta Morla, while Bremen and Marcel Cranc took on this role at the concerts of Antònia Font and Pablo Milanés respectively. During the month of December Dianna Reeves, Anoushka Shankar, Moncho, Ainhoa Arteta, M-Clan, Rosana and María Dolores Pradera performed. 2012 has seen performances by Jane Birkin, Dani Martín, Ute Lemper, Maika Makovski, Adamo and Nacho Vegas (January); Vetusta Morla, Las Migas, Erik Truffazz Quartet, Bebe, Antònia Font, Michael Nyman, Goran Bregovic and Sidonie (February); and Ben l’Oncle Soul, Pablo Milanés, Joe Lovano, Adriana Calcahotto, Russian Red and Lila Downs (March).

During the month of April, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Andrea Motis with Joan Chamorro, Robert Glasper, Niña Pastori, Lorena McKennit and the Philip Glass Ensemble are performing as part of it. The festival continues in May with James Taylor, Magnetic Fields and Camille.

The Festival Mil·leni is an initiative backed by the promoter Concert Studio. ■

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Goran Bregovic

Inspira

Vetusta

Antònia Font

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XXV TRADICIONÀRIUS INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL From 13 January to 30 March 2012 Barcelona

ROOTS AND ANNIVERSARY XXV Tradicionàrius has managed to combine events that are now festival classics (the Nit de les Terres de l’Ebre, the Cap de Setmana de les Illes with the Foguerons, the inaugural parade by the Ministrers de la Vila Nova...) with new events that introduce new ideas: this is the case in terms of the concert given on 13 January by Xavi Lloses and his group with Marcel Marimon, under the name Les cançons de 1988, to celebrate the 25th edition of the festival and of the Suma concerts that have brought together musical partnerships from the world of folk and pop to share their repertoires. Nico Roig with Miquel Gil (19 January), Pere Jou (from 4t 1a) with Marta Rius (9 of February) and Ernest Crusats (from La Iaia) with Jaume Arnella (15 March).

Another noteworthy performance seen at Tradicionàrius was that of the harpist Arianna Savall who, with her group Hirundo Maris, gave a performance on 20 January of Cants del nord i del sud, a journey that links the Mediterranean from the south to the North Sea. On 3 February, Riu, winners of the 4th Sons de la Mediterrània Competition, shared the stage with the Gaelic-Portuguese-Irish trio Assembly Point. Tazzuff performed on 10 February, presenting songs from their first album Camaleons daltònics (Temps Record, 2011) and Alm, one of multi-instrumentalist Efrén López’s many projects. Tradicionàrius closed the festival on 30 March with the lively performances of Mesclat and Urbàlia Rurana. ■

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FOLK WORLD MUSIC

Nadau

Ara Va de Bo

Xavi Lloses

FESTIVALS

BARNASANTS 17th EDITION From 21 January to 13 May 2012 Barcelona and its metropolitan area, Havana (Cuba), Montevideo (Uruguay)

SINGER-SONGWRITER’S PARADISE The seventeenth edition of the BarnaSants festival, the most important singer-songwriter event in the country, was held between 21 January and 7 April and included around a hundred artists. This year the festival is packed with all kinds of talents and specialised in providing a stage for songs in the widest sense of the word. One of the most noteworthy performances this year came in the form of a recital by Maria del Mar Bonet in Havana (Cuba) on 20 January at the Lazaro Peña theatre.

The inaugural concert was performed by Sanjosex, who recorded a live album on 26 and 27 January. BarnaSants has been privy to an abundant representation of the current Catalan scene. From the inaugural concert, through to artists such as Marcel Cranc, Obrint Pas with an acoustic show, Feliu Ventura, Anna Roig and l’Ombre de ton Chien and Joan Colomo. There has also been room classic songwriters such as Pi de la Serra, Xavier Ribalta and Miquel Pujadó. And there was also room for other offerings from around the world, particularly those representing Cuba and Occitania. BarnaSants will schedule as a closing act artists that will participate in I Muestra de Cultura Catalana en Uruguay, 22 April to 13 May. Joan Isaac, Pi de la Serra, Roger Mas, Joan Amèric, Mazoni and Dani Flaco will be some of the artists that will fly to Montevideo as a sample of the becoming biennial ‘BarnaSants Cultura d’Autor: la Biennal Catalunya-Uruguay’. ■

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Gino Paoli

Javier Ruibal

Obrint Pas

FESTIVALS

23rd BARCELONA GUITAR FESTIVAL From 10 March to 26 May 2012 Barcelona

COSMOPOLITAN AND ECLECTIC On 10 March, the 23rd Barcelona Guitar Festival began during which the stages of Sala Bikini, the Apolo, Luz de Gas and the Teatre Coliseum (among other venues) were home to concerts from groups and singers such as Antònia Font, Els Amics de les Arts (on three dates at the Teatre Coliseum), Jorge Drexler, Marina Rossell, La Iaia, and The Pepper Pots accompanied by Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed and Christina Rosenvinge.

The festival was opened by the North American singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy at Sala Bikini, and was closed at the end of more than two months of concerts. On Saturday 26 May, Marky Ramone (the only remaining member of The Ramones) will play all the band’s classic songs on the stage of the Apolo. There will be thirty-three concerts in total.

Other notable artists who will perform at the Guitar Festival include DePedro, Christina Rosenvinge (with an acoustic concert), La Bien Querida, Marlango, Iván Ferreiro, Shuarma and Mikel Erentxun.

The Barcelona Guitar Festival is an initiative backed by the Barcelona promoter The Project. ■

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Elliot Murphy

UPCOMING FESTIVALS Vila-seca 11 to 13 May

13a FIRA DE MÚSICA AL CARRER WEBSITE MAP Barcelona 23 to 26 May

CIUTAT FLAMENCO WEBSITE MAP Barcelona 28 May to 3 June

PRIMAVERA SOUND 2012 WEBSITE MAP

POPROCK

WORLD MUSIC

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75 Barcelona 14 to 16 June

SÓNAR WEBSITE MAP

ELECTRONIC MUSIC

Vilanova i la Geltrú 28 June to 1 July

FARADAY

WEBSITE

MAP

Arbúcies 29 and 30 June

POPARB WEBSITE MAP

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NEW RELEA Antoni Tolmos — Essència popular

Astrio — Don’t Leave the Planet

Che Sudaka — 10

Isaac Ulam — Murtra

Joan Colomo — Producto interior bruto, vol. 2

Joe Crepúsculo — El caldero

Mishima — L’amor feliç

Muyayo Rif — P’alante!

Roger Mas i la Cobla Sant Jordi — Roger Mas i la Cobla Sant Jordi Ciutat de Barcelona

ASES Els Amics de les Arts — Espècies per catalogar

Ferran Palau — L’aigua del rierol

John Talabot — Fin

La Casa Azul — La Polinesia Meridional

Txarango — Benvinguts al llarg viatge

Wantun — Anònim X

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Antoni Tolmos — Essència popular (Prodiemus/Toolmusic, 2011)

WEBSITE LISTEN On his new album, pianist Antoni Tolmos offers an interesting approach to some standards from traditional Catalan music. Using the melodies of these songs as a starting point, and employing them as central themes in his arrangements, Tolmos presents his variations within a broad spectrum of registers and musical styles. Improvisation plays a key role in his work and sits well with the spirit of these melodies which, although we tend to forget, were themselves born to a large extent out of improvisation.

With a clear, brilliant and chromatically rich piano sound, the musician and composer manages to treat each piece and shows great rhythmic and harmonic originality. A rereading of traditional Catalan music that, taken together, is fresh, colourful and highly accomplished. â–

NEW RELEASES

JAZZ

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Astrio — Don’t Leave the Planet (Chesapik) Jazz-funk

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Without even having time to digest the success of the tour with the hip-hop group At Versaris, reflected in the CD+DVD Per principis elegants (PpF!, 2011), Astrio has established itself once again as one of the most innovative bands in Catalonia today. Taking funk as the basic element that characterises their music, this trio of Catalan jazz groove aces have an extensive stylistic range and are progressively modernising their sounds.

The Hammond keyboard that tinged their songs with nostalgia has now been left behind. The musical trio made up of Arecio Smith (keyboards), Santi Careta (guitar) and Santi Serratosa (drums) has embraced a new universe of sounds in which progressive rock, jazzrock, funk and psychedelia make up their particular soundtrack: a decisive new step towards modernity and the exploration of sound. ■

NEW RELEASES

Che Sudaka — 10 (Cavernícola Records) Fusion

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO In 10 years Che Sudaka have released six albums: Trippie Town (K. Industria, 2003), Alerta Bihotza (K. Industria, 2005), El mundo al revés (K. Industria, 2007), Tudo é possible (Kasba Music, 2009) - winner of the UFI award for best album in the category of World Music 2010 – and Cavernícola Recording. Vol. 1 (Cavernícola Records, 2010). 10 (Cavernícola Records, 2012) is an album with the distinctive traits of the group which are further enhanced in live performances in which their influences from cumbia, rumba, reggae and punk are fused together. The multinational band pays homage to all the musicians that have influenced them since they were little. The album includes songs in Spanish, English and French. ■

POPROCK

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NEW RELEASES

Els Amics de les Arts — Espècies per catalogar (DiscMedi) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO In all their compositions, Els Amics de les Arts prioritise the narrative, paying acute attention to events and storytelling, clothing them with instrumental layers which are increasingly more substantial and meticulous. Espècies per catalogar includes tracks composed with all manner of natural and synthetic fibres. If you have ever wondered what exactly costumbrista pop music was all about, here we have a purified and literal demonstration. This is a costumbrista style, however, that does not seem to be aimed at endowing scenes from daily life with glorious qualities but rather to dignify and generate empathy towards the imperfect, unfinished individual; to those who bear their miseries by calling on humour, who improvise, take very few risks, or none at all, and do not aspire to transcendence. This is a character, then, that a large number of Catalans can see themselves reflected in. There is no hint of bitterness with Els Amics de les Art, nor do they try to come across as special or to put themselves on a pedestal above their audiences. They tell simple and pleasant stories without revolutionary aspirations and without tricks.

Earthy realism dressed up to the nines and embellished with garlands for us to enjoy as if it was pure magic. ■

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Ferran Palau — L’aigua del rierol (Amniòtic, 2012) Folkmusic

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO The singer and guitarist Ferran Palau presents his first solo album, L’aigua del rierol. While with his group Anímic he tends towards extensive instrumentation and complexity of sounds, here Palau strips down his songs and leaves his cousin, Jordi Matas, to dress them up ever so slightly with guitars, banjo, drum and bass. The album takes in influences from medieval music, Nordic folk and from musicians such as Nick Drake – the photograph on the front cover is even taken at his graveside in Tanworth-in-Arden (England). ■

NEW RELEASES

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Isaac Ulam — Murtra (BankRobber) Pop-folk

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Isaac Ulam is a great Franciscan musician who is one hundred percent organic and totally committed to nature. Whereas the first album by the singer-songwriter, En els prats més llunyans (self-edited, 2008), reflected on the world of the ancient North American Indians, this work, while still maintaining a mythical air – with songs reminiscent of the early Bob Dylan, such as “Estranys” - conveys a world vision which is much closer and more personal. The myrtle in the title is a plant that grows on both shores of the Mediterranean. The songs gain strength thanks to a compact set: we find love songs such as “Viure amb tu”, with bitter moments turned into mantras, as in “Surt un monstre”, or cheerful rhythms, such as “Objecte pur”: ‘Cau el sol i el dia s’endurà tota la tristor de la gent’ [the sun sets and the day takes everyone’s sadness with it’]. Sisa and Pau Riba are both evoked on the track “Hawai”; the musicians of Mazoni appear on the track “El sol i el rei”, and “Fugitius” includes phrases as pointed as ‘Allà on la mort no sigui un plor ni un dol’ [‘Where death is neither a cry nor a sorrow’]. A charming album created out of perfect musical alchemy. ■

NEW RELEASES

Joan Colomo — Producto interior bruto, vol. 2 (BCore Disc) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Faithful to the BCore label with whom he appeared with the group Zeidun and with which he also released albums with La Célula Durmiente, Joan Colomo operates in a way which contrasts with the superficiality of modern life and awakens the senses and good feelings. Always with a touch of magic, Colomo invites us to savour life in the most natural way possible: a ray of light is an aesthetic experience. The album has been funded with popular donations through the Verkami website and where Colomo opens himself up and delves into his own depths, where he discovers that everything is a farce. Colomo, as in the previous Producto interior bruto, vol. 1 (BCore Disc, 2011), continues to talk about hiding away from urban life and the modern world, from everything that traps us and totally absorbs us. The artist, a hero of the DIY format, has developed a mad musical work where there is room for the singer-songwriter, medieval influences, naive pop and even strains of reggaeton. ■

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The news is not that Joe Crepúsculo has finally decided to sing a song in Catalan -“Quan tothom s’ha marxat” – but that he has made a record that stands at the high level of achievement with which his music has been received by music critics. The CD justifies the fame that this musician has gained in the underground scene of Barcelona pop. The ex member of

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Joe Crepúsculo — El caldero (Mushroom Pillow) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Taràntula continues to make playful pop, but on this CD the sound has improved substantially without abandoning the naive sound of Escuela de zebras (Producciones Doradas, 2008). This is a dose of ‘costumbrista’, observing local customs, in a work that allows ‘Crepus’ to rise to become a small-scale star in a musical universe that is forever mutating. ■

NEW RELEASES

John Talabot — Fin (Permanent Vacations) House

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Pleasant and tactile electronic music that is not afraid to take risks and is offered by the producer from Barcelona who has managed to attract attention from the international media with the recording of this second album. Without falling into the easy trap of the well-worn drum and bass, his house moves along lines with organic textures that do not seek the immediate action of rhythm, but rather aim to immerse themselves in sensations and emotions. This is the big release of the season. â–

ELECTRONIC

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La Casa Azul — La Polinesia Meridional (Elefant) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Musicians always leave their best songs till the end of the concert in order to achieve their own type of firework display and to leave the audience with a feelgood ending. Guille Milkiway will find this difficult from now on since on this third album by La Casa Azul there are countless hits; songs to dance to and to liven up a boring party, a decadent gig, or a bad day at work. It is important to abandon preconceived ideas and to throw yourself into this orgy of songs and contagious rhythms; ideal for forgetting your problems and work headaches.

This is also conveyed in the words that talk about a youth with nothing to lose, sold out to a decadent reality where they can only survive with the spirit and the disposition to spew out this indifference. Warning! This album can create complete addiction. â–

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When they became popular, and given that their line-up had changed just after the release of Ordre i aventura (Sones, 2010), Mishima became aware of the anomaly of showing a different face when in the studio to when playing live. Just five months after the live CD Palau (Sones, 2011), the group from Barcelona reveal much muscle and synchrony in L’amor feliç. The classic trio remain: Marc Lloret on keyboards, the nervy electric guitar of Dani Vega and David Carabén who, as well as taking on the more visible tasks – voice and acoustic guitar – has written all the compositions on the album. Well, all except one and a half that is. “Il n’y a pas d’amour heureux”, a classic from Georges Brassens’s repertoire with words by Louis Aragon that Mishima performed at the Palau with Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab. Carabén and the musicians:

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Mishima — L’amor feliç (Warner) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO a tense balance that gives Mishima its identity and sets them apart from your typical group. Under the solo voice we find a choppy sea that can be detected from the first, crisp notes of piano in “La vella ferida”, the opening song of the album. A lively subsoil that underpins the group’s resolute romanticism. When Mishima sing about love and falling out of love, they do it without a morsel of passivity, fatalism or complacence, but rather with the conviction of those who want to live with ‘set tota la vida’ [thirst for the rest of their lives]. L’amor feliç is a new injection of food for the soul to help us face up to those things that are bigger than us without fear. ‘Fa tant temps que t’admiro/ però és tan curta la cançó’ [I’ve admired you for so long/but the song is so short’], sings David Carabén. Short, maybe, but enduring for sure. ■

NEW RELEASES

The title of the second album from big band Muyayo Rif takes for its title the war cry of one of their members, saxophonist Álvaro Barbero, who was killed in an accident last summer. And they go forward in good company, from the production that has been taken on once again by Gambeat (Mano Negra, Radio Bemba), through to their fellow citizen El Nota (“C.R.I.S.I.S.”), Joan Garriga of La Troba Kung-Fú (“Le garçon du printemps”), Fer of Reincidentes (“Sueño sin dueño”) and

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Muyayo Rif — P’alante!

(Kasba Music) Rumba-fusion

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Leo and Kacha of Che Sudaka (“Welcome”). Reggae, rap, ska, jungle… everything is possible in this mix of sounds that captivates through the base of a horn section that transmits positive energy and wins over its listeners and especially their feet. Twelve songs - and all the farewell cards recited on the last piece “Autobiografia” – with messages of hope and positive expectations with a Latin flavour. This is much more than a heartfelt homage to their trumpeter Álvaro Barbero. ■

NEW RELEASES

Roger Mas i la Cobla Sant Jordi — Roger Mas i la Cobla Sant Jordi Ciutat de Barcelona (Satélite K) Songs with cobla

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO Today, when songs circulate easily and are not particularly valued, Roger Mas seems intent on offering us weighty and resounding pieces. Like this CD with no clear title or cover, recorded live at the Teatre Comarcal de Solsona alongside the feisty Cobla Sant Jordi and with arrangements by pianist Xavier Guitó. Listening to the eighteen pieces is like witnessing a clash between two worlds with strong identities as they create a new world together: the style of this artist from Solsona, well-defined and matured on his most recent albums, has found new territory to cover and in which to develop his style with this strong alliance with the Cobla. This is an album to take your time over, to pay attention to every little detail. This is a deeply rooted piece of work that establishes Roger Mas among the big names of the European cançó. ■

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Txarango — Benvinguts al llarg viatge (DiscMedi) Fusion

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO To be able to debut with a first album that includes collaborations from the likes of La Pegatina, Joan Garriga (La Troba Kung-Fú), Bongo Botrako, Yacine & The Oriental Groove, Strombers, Gertrudis and Cesk Freixas – all of whom sing on “Vola”, one of the group’s first hits – is only possible for a band of seasoned musicians who have every reason to have received the warmest of welcomes in the world of the hottest rhythms of fusion. Txarango’s appearance is not so much a debut in the world of music as one more step for a handful of young musicians who play the best rhythms around. The album can be downloaded from the band’s website and is full of stories that talk of dreamers, trapeze artists, acrobats and dreams of reaching further. Benvinguts al llarg viatge will be one of the most listened to and danced to albums of the year and is the work of a creative, passionate group who have something to say and who say it with clear ideas and through direct songs. ■

NEW RELEASES

POPROCK

“In Aether” leads us into this album as if we were entering a spacecraft on the verge of taking off. The new songs from Wantun create an atmosphere which is akin to a sci-fi world that simultaneously speaks of the present.

“Noia X”, for example, is about the vital and existential emptiness of people who only have virtual relationships that may be fun but are ephemeral. Tracks such as “Túnel” are a reflection of a society that has become used to using everything up and then discarding it, including love, where the ego crashes (‘Creure en mi va ser un error’). The other

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Wantun — Anònim X (Picap) Pop

WEBSITE LISTEN VIDEO side of this is “Alba”, where they sing: ‘Tot el que ens retorna a l’essencial’ [‘Everything that takes us back to what is essential’]. Or the simple and contagious track “Barney”: ‘Ja no vull caminar sol, vull respirar’ [I don’t want to go it alone anymore, I want to breathe]. The mark of the production by The Blind Joes (Sidonie, Love of Lesbian) can be detected in “Safaris intangibles”. There is sexual and mad ending in “Capvespre”, and the last track is “Out Arther”. This is a cool icy work that opens up the pop song to electronic music in order to win over the listener. ■

THE ICEC AND THE MUSICAL SECTOR: WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU? The ICEC, Catalan Institute for the Cultural Companies, is responsible for funding and development of the music industry in Catalonia. It provides a range of funding schemes to support both recorded and live music and has its own label, Catalan! Music, to promote the sector abroad.

FUNDING SCHEMES The ICEC provides support to the recording industries by means of several funding schemes, the most significant of which are targeted at labels and programmers. Labels can apply for subsidies linked to their business plan – instead of funding individual releases, the ICEC funds part of the companies’ investments in production, digitalization and use of new technologies. The ICEC has also a funding scheme for the publication of records of particular cultural interest and others targeted both at private companies and town councils who regularly programme concerts or organize festivals.

CATALAN! MUSIC, THE BRAND TO PROMOTE OUR MUSIC ABROAD The ICEC also works for the distribution of Catalan music outside Catalonia.

This objective is carried out by means of the brand Catalan! Music.

Catalan! Music is the umbrella under which the ICEC acts in the international framework, in a coordinated way with the sector’s entities and associations.

Its actions include, among others, the presence of Catalan companies in international fairs and markets; support for Catalan music companies interested in doing business abroad; offering information, advice and contacts to Catalan and foreign professionals and companies for the international distribution of their productions; providing international consultancy for specific projects; favouring the creation of circuits for exchanges with other countries and the publication of compilations, catalogues, directories, a specific website, newsletters and other tools about the music sector in Catalonia.

The diverse actions to promote the internationalization of Catalan music are carried out via the five international offices of the ICEC, located in the strategic cities of several target markets: Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, London, Milan and Paris. The offices play an active role in the design and development of the dissemination and exportation policies for the Catalan music production.

Therefore, the range of actions performed by the ICEC in support of Catalan music is extremely wide, in response to the dynamism and the creativity of the Catalan music industry.

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