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…a sideways glance at London's classical, jazz and world music scenes
Review: Freshlyground @ the Jazz Cafe
Tweet this. They may not be that well known in the UK but South African septet Freshlyground are popular enough to fill out Jazz Cafe. Toes were much trodden on in the sweaty, hip-shaking main floor of the Camden venue. Most world music fans will know the band through Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), […]
Posted in: Live reviews, World/Folk
Preview: Shostakovich – Orango (prologue) / Philharmonia Orchestra
May 6, 2013
by Culture Capital
Tweet this. By Rob Edgar “Shostakovich wrote this prologue, probably played it through but then somebody somewhere said ‘we don’t think so’, and on that it stopped,” Gerard McBurney, a leading expert on the enigmatic Soviet composer, tells me. “There’s no scholarly proof as to why this happened but my guess is that a moment […]
Inside the Guildhall School’s new Milton Court building
April 9, 2013
by Culture Capital
Tweet this. On Londonist.com today… Silk Street, at the northern edge of the City of London, is a narrow but important thoroughfare. One side of the road leads to the entrances of the Barbican Centre and Guildhall School of Music & Drama – one of London’s four music conservatoires – and the other looks up […]
News: AAM to headline National Gallery Vermeer show
March 28, 2013
by Culture Capital
Tweet this. This on Londonist today… Live music in London’s art galleries and museums is not uncommon. The ICA hosts regular gigs and the National Portrait Gallery features live music as part of its Thursday and Friday night Late Shift series. Tate Modern has run the highest profile art-music love-in with the recent Kraftwerk gigs, […]
Album review: Portico Quartet – Live/Remix (Realworld)
March 18, 2013
by Catherine Marks
Tweet this. Last year’s self-titled album was a huge leap into the unknown and away from Portico’s jazzy hang-focused roots. The release of a double album – half live, half remixes – consisting mainly of content only released last year might have had the potential to appear a bit of a stopgap or filler, but […]
Preview: Pioneers Of Electronic Music Festival
February 14, 2013
by Culture Capital
Tweet this. This on Londonist today… Composer Gabriel Prokofiev, founder of the classical club series Nonclassical, is presenting an ambitious electronic music festival in East London in March. Running from 6 to 17 March, the event wraps together performances, film screenings, talks and workshops at venues including The Macbeth in Hoxton, the Hackney Picturehouse, Rio […]
Album Review: Vinicio Capossela – Rebetiko Gymnastas (LA Cupa/WB)
February 11, 2013
by Catherine Marks
If you’re looking for something a bit different, then how does a Greek rebetiko-inspired album by an Italian singer sound? Originally released last year in Italy, Rebetiko Gymnastas is an exploration of the Greek form of rebetiko. Capossela has taken eight of his own works from various albums going back to 1990 and has re-born […]
Posted in: Album reviews, World/Folk
Review: Carlos Núñez, Philip Pickett & Musicians of the Globe @ QEH
February 2, 2013
by Culture Capital
“Here we have two monsters,” said Carlos Núñez, introducing a pair of bagpipes (including his signature Galician gaita) towards the end of the first set with new collaborator Philip Pickett last night. But until the three rounds of encores, when proceedings erupted into foot-stamping delirium, Núñez played his monsters only briefly and at a volume […]
London stars in new Sam Lee music video
January 30, 2013
by Culture Capital
From Londonist today… Sam Lee, has released a new music video ahead of this evening’s BBC Folk Awards. The Mercury Award-nominated singer (who you can hear speaking on Londonist Out Loud here) is up for three gongs at the Glasgow ceremony. London-born Lee, who is also a live music promoter and folk song collector, is filmed […]
Posted in: Previews, World/Folk
Review: Platform 33 first anniversary @ the Nursery
Platform 33 (so called because each artist gets 33 minutes to perform) is a musical and cultural movement started by Chloe Booker. The idea is to bring a wide variety of contemporary ensembles to audiences who are likely to shun the pomp and ceremony of the concert hall. Saturday saw a collaboration with like-minded collective/music […]
Preview: The Rest Is Noise Festival @ Southbank Centre
January 16, 2013
by Culture Capital
One of the most ambitious ever feats of arts programming in London launches this Saturday. The Rest Is Noise festival (TRIN), inspired by New Yorker writer Alex Ross’s seminal book, will chart the music of the 20th century. Starting with Richard Strauss (the book opens with the premiere of Salome) and finishing somewhere around John […]
News: Two sparkling classical trailers for 2013
January 15, 2013
by Culture Capital
Two savvy London arts organisations, the Royal Opera House and Aurora Orchestra, have trailers out promoting their wares in 2013. Both will have taken chunks out their marketing budgets to produce this level of video content, but in a crowded market, orchestras and opera houses need to stand out from the crowd. 1. Covent Garden’s […]
Album reviews: Bassekou Kouyate – Jama Ko; Ballaké Sissoko – At Peace
January 7, 2013
by Culture Capital
In new releases, two giants of Malian music react very differently to the ongoing crisis in their country: war and Islamic extremism in the north and military coups in the south. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba Jama Ko Out Here Records **** With this third international album Bassekou Kouyate reaffirms his status as a bona […]
Posted in: Album reviews, World/Folk
Album review: José James – No Beginning No End (Blue Note)
January 5, 2013
by Catherine Marks
The atmosphere of this album is somehow simultaneously intimately singular, with James’ wonderful sensual voice as the centre, but also greatly collaborative. Across the different songs James plays with a wide range of artists, including Robert Glasper, Emily King and Hindi Zahra amongst others. James’ music inhabits a space somewhere between jazz and R&B. According […]
Posted in: Album reviews, Jazz
May 7, 2013
by Culture Capital
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