Stephan Eicher’s live concert at La Halle aux grains in Toulouse (France)

I attended on 3rd January 2020 Stephan Eicher‘ s live concert at La Halle aux grains in Toulouse (France). Although, I have listened to this singer and musician for many years now, it was the first time I went to his concert in this great theatre concert hall.

Stephan Eicher’s choice for concert place is spot on, a 2200-seater theater with a great acoustic sound and allowing an intimate connection with his public.

He obviously plays his old hit «Déjeuner quoi?» Stephan Eicher shouts and laughs during the concert. It’s the public who demands it. Stephan Eicher answers «Déjeuner en paix» doesn’t belong to me anymore. The music industry has got lots of money to pay for their lawyers, while I haven’t. So, I’m no longer allowed to sing it. However, you can sing it !» Approval screams. The band delivers a powerful Rock and the crowd sing it in chorus.

1. EXPLANATIONS for STEPHAN EICHER ‘S absence

We know the misfortunes of the Bernese (Swiss German) musician with his Universal Major label. Reason for which, he tells, his stage repertoire has been for 5 years stuck to the same hits with no new released records.  How can it sounds positive to us instead of the bitter experience he had. Since digitalisation, he said he didn’t like the way his contract was changed…but he didn’t ask for more money or music rights. However, he was lucky enough that his existing repertoire allowed him to tour with new shows rearranging his songs and offering new tracks.

2. ABOUT STEPHAN EICHER

Since more than 30 years, Stephan Eicher experiments and challenges himself musically. First, synthetic music with Grauzone and its techno-pop, then at the beginning of the 80s he tries out the rock experience. Then he goes for ballad songs, uses more classic or traditional instruments he associates with modern sounds and rhythms to offer a varied and rich discography.

3. His new album

This time, Stephan Eicher also comes back with new «Homeless songs» album (Polydor) composed of original tracks and of course a new show. He surrounds himself with a quartet to tell his new story, centered on acoustic and classic instrumental music.

In his own terms, this tour brings «not just 5 years of imposed ice skating figures but also introduce us to free skating.» Homeless songs do not have any place in the current music industry. They live elsewhere and sleep outside. This is in no way offensive , even the opposite ! These songs are like small stones children pick up along the river. For an adult, impossible to understand what guided the child’s choice. Was it the pleasant refreshing feeling of the stone ? A small pattern on the surface ? A weird or funny shape ? The fate ? These songs hope to create a relaxing, comfortable space, a dreaming pause.

4. His musicians during this 2020 tour

For this concert, he is accompanied by 4 independent musicians :

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• Reyn Ouwehand, pianist, film Composer and multi-instrumentalist from Netherlands, who is the opening act.
• Heidi Happy, Swiss singer and multi instrumentalist (vocals, guitars, cello, mandolin, xylophone).
• Baptiste Germser, French horn (cor en français) and bass player and music producer.
• Simon Bauman, German drummer.
• Ludovic Bruni, French guitarist, bassist and music producer.

3. Live recordings in audio tracks and videos

a) Reyn Ouwehand’s opening act

Reyn played several piano tracks for us and I recorded two of them. Although I do not know the song titles, feel free to add them in the comment section below this blog post!

Obviously, Reyn continued playing for Stephan Eicher throughout his concert!

b) Dominique Regeff

Then there was a special guest, Dominique Regeff, French improvisor, composer, and musician specialising in stringed instruments. He came to play the hurdy gurdy (vielle en français) on the ‘Rivière’ song from Stephan Eicher. In this audio recording, Stephan introduces him and how they collaborate together.

c) Stephan Eicher

Finally, amongst other songs, I recorded these songs in audio and video versions. Once again, if any of you know the track title for his Swiss German song, drop the info in the comment section! He sings in French, Swiss German as well as English.

Here, you will recognise his very first hit in France!

And other well known French tracks!

That is all from me! Enjoy the listening and subscribe!

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ERA new age musical project touring in Europe in 2019/2020

ERA, the new-age musical group of the 1990s and 2000s, returns for amazing shows throughout Europe in 2019 and 2020. They provide a real musical journey out of the ordinary, brought by its creator and his 40 singers and musicians.

Former guitarist-rocker Eric Levi begins composing film scores in the early 1990s. Shortly thereafter he creates Era, a project that fuses Gregorian Chant-style choral singing with rock beats, in the style of Enigma’s MCMXC A.D.

Era (styled as +eRa+, an acronym for “Enminential Rhythm of the Ancestors”)  uses lyrics (by Guy Protheroe) which, although similar to Greek or Latin, are, in fact, deliberately devoid of any exact meaning. Lyrics are also partially based on beliefs of the 13th century French Christians, the Cathars.

Furthermore, Era’s live shows and music videos often feature artists dressed in medieval or traditional clothes and armour. For the ‘Ameno’ song, Eric Lévi draws his inspiration while visiting the Collioure castle, South West of France.

Indeed, 22 years after the triumph of their first album, Era comes back with a family-oriented and enchanting performance. They dive into the group’s fantasmagorical universe that sold more

Additionally, Era sells out in 2019 and adds more touring dates and cities for 2020 throughout France, Belgium and Russia. You can book your tickets or buy their albums directly on their website.

In the meantime, enjoy this slideshow and videos taken at the live concert in Zénith Toulouse in November 2019.

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Finally, if you would like to follow them on social media, you can find them on Instagram and Facebook.

Groove festival at La Cartoucherie Exhibition Hall, Toulouse

First of all, are you ready for the most epic Groove  festival? I surely hope so!

After having played groove music in a good few cultural bars in Toulouse, the Groove Festival Box 2 #FeelingGrooveFestival invites the whole family and thinks big!

1. The location

Besides, the Groove Festival is organised at La Cartoucherie market building and exhibition hall, a now well-known third place by Toulousians.

2. THE PROGRAMME

Then, you can find the following entertainment activities during the weekend of 22^nd and 23^rd june 2019 for only 5 Euros:

• • Roller disco (3 € for rollerskates rental)
  • 100% women hip-hop dance battles
  • Graffitis, Street art and painting exhibitions
  • Sculptures
  • Live painting
  • Live music.

3. STREET ARTS EXHIBITION WALLS

Additionally, for the occasion, exhibition walls Bullet Factory from ExpoCity by Cisart are visible all day long for free! This is one of the last occasions to admire the graff collective exhibition from 40 artists. They are present since November 2018 on more than 1000 squaremeters walls in the Cartoucherie exhibition hall.

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4. PHOTO EXHIBITION

Furthermore, there is also a photo exhibition unrelated to the festival called ‘Ce que je suis‘. It is also a collaborative project presented by inhabitants from Brax, Cugnaux, L’Union et Launaguet (towns surrounding Toulouse).

It is a reflection on our self-image/persona and how we would like to be seen by others. The project offers us two outlooks of the same person.

However, please note that I have only attended some of the Saturday sessions. So, let me go through that day programme and events I attended :

2pm : Roller Disco opening with ASTR Rollerdance Toulouse, Ekyoz, Ortz

2pm: Opening of arts exhibitions (not on walls) from Marion Neira-Faro, Massa Anthropo-Anima and sculptures workshops from the arts schools Le Maillet d’ébène and  L’ABCS Sculpture.

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3pm : Live music from WAB and the Funky Machine for the roller disco

4pm: Open Mic opening with Lapin Passion and the beatboxers from the beatboxing battle

6pm: Battle opening with Dax Santos MC

7.30pm: Rap and Beat Box Interlude with Dax Santos and Paolo.

5. PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND DIRECTIONS

Finally, within the scope of the eco-neighbourhood, car parking on the public highways is voluntarily restricted. But , an Indigo parking is located 200 meters from the exhibition hall.

In this respect, we strongly encourage you to come with Tisséo public transports, or your bike, scooter or skate to join us!

Tram Lines T1 & T2 – Arrêt Casselardit Stop
Bus Lines 45 and Linéo 2 – Casselardit Stop.

Pedestrian and bike access : avenue de Grande Bretagne, then Casselardit tram stop, then go to towards the Charpark alley and Thomas Dupuy street in direction to the market building. Access to Thomas Dupuy street (parking at 200m).

Femi Kuti’s afrobeat live concert at the Academy, Dublin (Ireland)

Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962) is popularly known as Femi Kuti. He is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

Femi’s musical career started when he began playing in his father’s band, Egypt 80.

In 1986, Femi started his own band, Positive Force. He began establishing himself as an artist independent of his father’s massive legacy.  🎷🎺🎸🎹🎤

Since then, he has continued playing the music style his father was famous for, i.e afrobeat. Afrobeat can be defined as ‘a complex fusion of:

•  jazz,
• funk,
• Ghanaian/Nigerian
• highlife,
• psychedelic rock
• traditional West African chants and rhythms.

Femi also follows his father’s legacy with his strong commitments to social and political causes.  You can notice this in his songs’ lyrics on his website:

https://femikuti.com/home

In this article you can see how engaged he is with the issues Nigerian people are currently facing: 😭😡

Nigerian musician Femi Kuti urges stars, fans to focus on Boko Haram victims

Do you like his music? Why not download a few songs or buy some of his CDs on Amazon: 💿💰

Femi Kuti’s music on Amazon

Now, let me share with you few videos from his live concert at The Academy, Dublin (Ireland) on Saturday 8th July 2017!!🔥

Since these videos were originally Facebook Live Streams, the quality may not be optimum for YouTube. 😳😓

I would recommend you to watch them on your mobile phone, as they have been filmed with my iPhone! 😉

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with upcoming videos!👍

Nigerian b-boy music history from 1980s-1990s in videos

Today, I’m going to share with you some mixed tapes for break dancing from Nigerian artists. But before doing so, if you don’t know yet the general origins of b-boy music and dance themselves, just have a read of this article 

http://breakdancingninja.com/bboy_history.html

In Nigeria, Hip-hop music and dance only began to gain popularity in the mid-1990s. The initial success of The Remedies was probably the catalyst. Formed in 1997, the group released two songs, “Judile” and “Shako mo”, which became overnight hits in Nigeria.

Enjoy this Youtube videos’playlistt from The Remedies!

I have also found especially for you some rare old Nigerian funk music :

Now show us your moves on one of these music tracks by copying your video link in the comment box! Can you be as good bowler as b-boy?

‘Oldskool’ hip-hop cover band live recording at The Sugar Club, Dublin

During the 2017 Saint Patrick’s weekend, we had the pleasure to be entertained by a 7 piece oldskool hip-hop cover band playing live in Dublin. The band joined the dots from The Sugar Hill to Dr Dre to Eminem.

For the old school hip-hop music nostalgic who couldn’t attend, you’ll be able to catch up with these oh so lovely oldskool tunes in videos!🎶✌

If you’d like to follow them, give them a like on Facebook! 👍

https://www.facebook.com/thisisoldskool/?fref=ts

WHAT DOES OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP MUSIC MEAN?

If you don’t quite know what defines old school hip-hop music, check this article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-school_hip_hop

UPCOMING OLD SKOOL HIP-HOP COVER BAND CONCERTS

If you are in Ireland for 2018 St Patrick’s weekend, you are lucky! The band will be performing again this Saturday at The Sugar Club, Dublin! You can book your tickets here or on their website mentioned below.

PAST LIVE CONCERT RECORDINGS

Want to know more how they sound? Then watch these videos below. They were recorded live on Periscope on @emelinej1 (Twitter live streaming service) and Facebook live.

But I have edited them a bit and uploaded them to YouTube just for you!😎😉

Liked this blog? Hit the ‘join/subscribe’ button!🙏👉It’s free!👌

Fundraising gigs’ campaign for abortion rights in Dublin (Ireland)

ABORTION RIGHTS IN IRELAND

For those who do not live in Ireland, you may not know that abortion is still not allowed. Women are discouraged to abort regardless of circumstances. They must travel to the UK or other EU countries if they want to abort.

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

The gigs took place on Friday 10th March 2017 at Sin é pub, Dublin. They were organised by Bitches Brew & F-Festival celebrating women in the arts.

The purposes of this night were:

• to fundraise for the Repeal movement
• and bring awareness of the Irish law in terms of women’s abortion rights.🔥👍

SO, WHAT IS THE EIGHT AMENDMENT?

To get a better understanding of what this law entails, check these leaflets: 👇

If you are living in Ireland or are Irish living abroad, sign up for this petition requesting the law to be reviewed: 👊

https://www.artistsrepealthe8th.com/sign

THE GIGS

The event gathered four bands, mostly girls’ bands playing various music styles such as pop, blues, roots folk, rock, hard rock.

I arrived a little late for the event and also left early, so I only recorded two bands. But I will share with you some videos of the other two bands I missed. Bear in mind that the venue is very narrow in width, so I wasn’t always able to film from the best angle. Apologies for this!

I have indicated under the YouTube videos the respective bands’ Facebook fan pages,  if you’d like to follow them.

Which one you like most and why?

I will start to share with you a snippet I shared on my Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRtuWYxDmY2/?taken-by=fundraisingmusicevents

And now full songs recorded or found on YouTube:

These are two Youtube videos I found of the other bands I have missed:

Don’t miss the Varekai’s Cirque du Soleil show in Dublin!

VAREKAI – CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S SHOW

If you have missed the Varekai show (Friday 10th February 2017), do not worry because Le Cirque du Soleil is having several touring dates in pretty much each city! Right now, they are touring in Europe, so if you’d like to watch their live performance, book your tickets on Ticketmaster:

http://listings.ticketmaster.co.uk/cirquedusoleil

I took these two pictures at the show start to show you a bit the decor, lighting and costumes!👏🎭🎪

If you have already missed the shows in your city, I am happy to share with you beautiful pictures of their programme as well as the full show in a video!😉

VAREKAI SHOW PROGRAMME AND STORY PLOT

First, let me share with you a slideshow of the programme explaining you a little bit more the Varekai’s story plot! Please note that not all pictures from the programme are included. I sampled the most important ones to understand the story!

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And now, although I wasn’t allowed to film or take further pictures, I have some good news for you!✨👍 I have found on YouTube the complete show filmed!😍🎁

VAREKAI FULL SHOW IN VIDEO

You will be able to enjoy as well their live music bringing an additional touch to the already incredible show!🎤🎻🎷🎸

And you, did you go and watch the live show? What did you think about it? Share with us your impressions!

Nova Collective Bossanova band live concert at House Dublin (Ireland, 2014)

NOVA COLLECTIVE Bossanova BAND

I attended in 2014 a bossa nova and samba live concert by the Nova Collective Bossanova band at House Dublin, 27 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.

I thought you might have liked to hear more about it!

Nova Collective, an Irish-Brazilian Bossanova band founded in 2012. The band is playing every Sunday from 5 to 7 pm at the ‘House Dublin bar and restaurant’.

The band is led by pianist Louis Ryan. The line-up ranges from 5 to 8 of the finest jazz and Latin musicians Ireland has on offer.

They released a debut EP called ‘Samba De Amor’ you can buy and download in multiple formats.

If you would like to know more about them and their projects, check their Facebook page.

Finally, I have recorded few songs from their live performance on Sunday 23rd November 2014.

I hope you will enjoy listening to these mixed tapes!