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Syd Matters
02/09/2010
The dreamlike fourth album from Syd Matters, Brotherocean, defies current trends and confirms that creative juices are still flowing for the Parisian folk rock quintet.
Michel Sardou tones it down
31/08/2010
Être une femme 2010, the latest release from the French box-office topper, takes a compassionate look at the modern world through a lens of matured love.
Yannick Noah for a world without borders
27/08/2010
The most popular personality in France for the last six years, 50-year-old Yannick Noah has just brought out a new album, Frontières, ...
Puggy set to conquer the world
24/08/2010
It’s been the stuff of fairy tales for Puggy. In the space of five years, the Belgian trio has already played at some of the biggest venues in Europe.
Joe Dassin, megastar remembered
20/08/2010
20 August will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the death of France’s most American singer. The clutch of major hits he left behind him probably earn him more respect today...
The ten finalists of the Prix Découvertes 2010
17/08/2010
There were a great deal of candidates for the 2010 version of Prix Découvertes, coming from Africa, the Indian Ocean and the West Indies. They were whittled down to ten finalists...
Camélia Jordana, unassuming diva
12/08/2010
The 2009 semi-finalist of the reality talent show, Nouvelle Star, has done impressively well. She could have foundered with a one-hit début album, but instead she has sought the help of some fine writers ...
Independence and music: Madagascar, land of Surfs and salegy
06/08/2010
At the time it gained political independence, the island of Madagascar, which played a strong cultural role in the region, started developing and modernizing...
Inna Modja, lightening up reality
04/08/2010
Released last autumn, Everyday is a New World is the first album from the singer Inna Modja, revealing a pleasing jaunty pop style with an assured edge of soul...
Ghalia Benali
02/08/2010
Keen to dust off some of Om Kalthoum’s vast repertoire, the Tunisian singer Ghalia Benali has chosen to rework some of the Egyptian legend’s songs on her new album Ghalia Benali sings Om Kalthoum...
Richard Galliano plays Bach
29/07/2010
On 1 August, the accordion player Richard Galliano will bridge the gap between the Paris Jazz Festival and Classique au Vert with a performance at the Parc Floral in Paris...
Lilly Wood & the Prick enthral
29/07/2010
They are inventive, zealous and lavish. Lilly Wood & the Prick, the new French discoveries of the independent label, Cinq7, are currently on tour...
French Music Seen From Abroad July 2010
27/07/2010
From Algeria to Tunisia and Belgium to Quebec, a bunch of French artists, like Faudel, Nâdiya, Michel Fugain, Hélène Ségara and Vanessa Paradis, will be visiting the francophone zone this summer...
Bumba Massa
23/07/2010
At 65, the Congolese champion of acoustic rumba, Bumba Massa, has returned to his first love with Apostolo, an album that revives some of Kinshasa’s best rumba years...
Aboulaye Koné at Nuits d’Afrique
22/07/2010
From 13 to 25 July, the Nuits d’Afrique festival returns to enchant the city of Montreal for its 24th edition. Starring the Senegalese singer Omar Pene, the festival features artists from Quebec and elsewhere, and a wide musical palette...
Papa Wemba’s double gamble
15/07/2010
The dandy, dance hall king and village wise man, Papa Wemba, is attempting to rejuvenate his name and make his voice heard. After several years of dormant creativity, ...
Lucenzo and Big Ali dance Kuduro
13/07/2010
The track Vem Dançar Kuduro, (“Let’s dance Kuduro”), was designed to get the dance floors alive and the presence of the American Big Ali has got a lot to do with it.
Donso, on hunter’s tracks
09/07/2010
It was in Paris, a long way from the African brush, that Donso learned about music. The band, which is named after a hunter’s harp-lute ...
Didier Awadi
07/07/2010
Didier Awadi recently released Présidents d’Afrique in Senegal, a rap album about history that dusts off some of the speeches made by the continent’s major political figures ...
Independence and music: continental repercussions from the Congos
02/07/2010
Congolese rumba is the quintessential music of the African continent and a cultural phenomenon. It first emerged at a decisive politico-economic moment ...
Carlou D’s solo career
01/07/2010
The Senegalese hip-hop icon, Carlou D, is embarking on the sixth year of his solo career with a new album called Musikr that combines modern music with religious chants.
Gush, family fashion
25/06/2010
Four family members are pumping some fresh air into French pop rock. Gush, who sprang onto the live scene last year, will be one of the attractions at the Solidays festival this weekend.
Geoffrey Oryema unveils his next album
23/06/2010
One of the great voices of Africa is back. In early June, Ugandan Geoffrey Oryema was in the Parisian suburbs (Guyancourt) presenting new songs from his forthcoming album,
Music celebrates women
18/06/2010
While the men stay at home and watch soccer, the women go out to party. The whole month of June has been given over to football thanks to the World Cup, ..
South Africa’s musical wind
16/06/2010
Thanks to the support of a handful of artists, like Miriam Makeba and Johnny Clegg, South African music is now a familiar feature on the international scene, ...
Michel Legrand’s never-ending creation
11/06/2010
In the lead-up to his concert at Olympia on 12 June for the Radio Classique Festival – where he is set to perform alongside Catherine Michel, Nathalie Dessay and the Orchestre de Paris – Michel Legrand, ...
The battle of the anthems
10/06/2010
Colombian singer Shakira plays on one side, singing her adaptation of a Cameroonian hit from the 80s. On the other side is Somali rapper K’Naan, accompanied by different guests depending on the country.
Konono N°1 and the album of the century
09/06/2010
They are masters of recuperation and, in their own way, were pioneers of sustainable development back in the 1960s. The Congolese group Konono N°1 have gone back to the studio to record what they refer to as “the album of the century”.
The ONB’s real comeback
07/06/2010
This fourth album from the National Orchestra takes us to the heart of the east Parisian neighbourhood that gave them their name, Barbès.
Lobi Traoré has died
04/06/2010
Mali is a land of music and tradition. Lobi Traoré was one of those artists who seek to take their culture beyond borders and succeed. The 49-year-old suffered from a fatal heart attack on 2 June.
Kareyce Fotso
02/06/2010
In stepping out onto the international scene using her own name, Cameroon singer Kareyce Fotso has chosen to lay herself bare, simply accompanied by her guitar and percussions, on an album entitled Kwegne.
Idrissa Soumaoro
31/05/2010
Malian singer Idrissa Soumaoro won the RFI Découvertes award back in 2004 and then stopped producing records. The silence has been broken with the release of Djitoumou, ...
The ripening of Daara J
27/05/2010
Senegalese rappers Daara J have now become Daara J Family. Moving from trio to duo, they have re-emerged after a seven year absence with an eclectic, politically vocal rap album, ...
Independence and music: Ivory Coast, a musical El Dorado
21/05/2010
From the 1960s to the 1980s Abidjan underwent an extraordinary development, starting as the capital of Ivory Coast and ending up a cultural beacon of all Francophone Africa.
Valsero, the valorous rapper
19/05/2010
His cutting, courageous texts have made Cameroonian rapper Valsero a spokesman for young people in his homeland. At the same time as campaigning for social change,
Claire Diterzi sees red
12/05/2010
Claire Diterzi interprets Rosa Luxemburg in Rosa la Rouge, a totally contemporary musical show and album. We interviewed the singer cum actress and her accomplice, ...
The Inspector Cluzo
10/05/2010
The Inspector Cluzo may have a low profile in their home country of France, but they’ve been making waves internationally with their out-of-control rock act. ...
Zap Mama, in communion with the world
04/05/2010
With her new album ReCreation, Marie Daulne, lead singer of Zap Mama, continues her exploration of soul, funk and hip hop. Along the way she has collaborated with an array of musician ...
Independence and music: Guinea and authenticity
03/05/2010
Guinea was the first sub-Saharan country in Francophone Africa to celebrate its independence, in 1958. It is also something of a model country in terms of music,
Just like Mina Agossi
28/04/2010
For her ninth album, the Franco-Beninese singer Mina Agossi has widened her musical horizons by enlisting the talents of guitarist Phil Reptil. ...
Album review
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