FUTURE AFRICA AFRICAN SOUL REBELS Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 18 Feb
Last year this nationwide future-African showcase counted crossover sensation Amadou and Miriam among its triumphs and, now in its third year, the African Soul Rebels tour ups the ante with pre-eminent Afrobeat figurehead Femi Kuti steering the ship alongside contemporary Guinean and North African talent Ba Cissoko and Akli D. Nigerian Kuti needs little introduction as son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and one-time frontman for his father’s Egypt 80 outfit before going on to lead his own Positive Force. The saxophonist brings a 21 st century Lagos of R&B and electronica to the rhythm-heavy jazz-funk form to bear here, and while his politics may not make
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the headlines to the extent they used to, his music and message are no less potent.
It’s kept in the family again for Ba Cissoko who hails from a strict Guinean lineage of exemplary singers and players. Two of his cousins help to make up the band, a dual-kora ensemble, the ensuing mix turning out a kind of post-modern, effects-heavy fusion where the ancients are coaxed into the company of the cutting edge. Finally, Akli D’s latest album brings his Berber roots together with blues, reggae and Senegalese pop music under the watchful eye of none other than Manu Chao, who uncovered the Algeria-born singer- songwriter while touring in Paris. It all adds up to a rare and celebratory glimpse of Africa’s fierce cauldron of talent and inspiration, tradition and technology.
(Mark Edmundson)
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL
MR MCFALL’S CHAMBER Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Tue 20 Feb; Tolbooth, Stirling, Wed 21 Feb
The eclectic Edinburgh-based ensemble open another new chapter in their cross-genre explorations in this ‘New Music from Newcastle' project. Robert McFall was not only keen to get involved but recruit some local talent as well.
As a result, the band will be joined by Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell and her brother, fiddler Peter Tickell. Jazz saxophonist Tim Garland. a Londoner currently resident in the area, will also feature as both performer and composer. and the concert will include music by Bolivian composer Agustin Fernandez. who teaches at Newcastle University.
‘They are all closely associated with each other, but come from three very different musical backgrounds — folk, jazz and classical,‘ says Robert McFaII. ‘Not that it‘s as simple as that. Kathryn Tickell has collaborated with jazz and classical players, Tim Garland has worked with classical strings, and Agustin Fernandez grew up in his native Bolivia playing in folk bands.‘
McFall sees that kind of mix-and-match sensibility as the ideal foil for Mr McFall's Chamber's own wide—ranging interests, and also symptomatic of developments in Newcastle itself, as seen in projects like the Angel of the North, the Millennium Bridge, the Baltic Exchange and the Sage Centre.
'We've always been about the breaking down of musical barriers, so helping music to cross the Tweed — either way - is something we would like to assist in. In a sense. the very fact that there is such a strong criss-crossing between these different musical worlds comes out of the current cultural confidence of Newcastle.’
In addition to music by these three composers, the group will also play Piazzolla's ‘Soledad' and Cuban composer Jose White's ‘La Bella Cubana'. (Kenny Mathieson)
Roddy Woomble heads east for some media probing but keeps his modesty intact.
Celtic Connections passed by in all its hazy, folky glory. I had a great time during the festival, and managed to see a few concerts I’d been looking forward to: John Martyn performing Solid Air, and Dick Gaughan performing his 1981 folk masterpiece Handful of Earth. lt seems to be some sort of trend these days, to get artists to perform their most loved/respected /popular albums in their entirety. It's a novelty, certainly, and I enjoyed both concerts a lot. but I can’t help feeling that for the artist it must feel like everything they’ve done since has been rubbish. Or that they’re being judged solely against those particular albums, especially galling considering that Martyn and Gaughan have been finding new ways to describe themselves, musically, in the decades since.
Anyway, the shows were great. and the whole festival had its usual relaxed atmosphere. My one abiding moment though has to be the look on certain faces as Aereogramme worked their way into a cover of Slayer’s ‘God Hates Us All’, bringing the Ballads of the Book launch night to as unexpected a close as I think Celtic Connections has ever had.
Right now I’m in Germany, talking to a peculiar mixture of bespectacled journalists about the upcoming ldlewild album, in- between taking photographs of Berlin’s amazing buildings, drinking steins of excellent-tasting beer, and being told off for going into the hotel sauna with my trunks on. I’m all for Europe’s free attitude toward nudity, but it doesn't make it feel any less weird, sitting in a small wooden room sweating out toxins surrounded by a whole load of naked grannies and granddads. Scotland is a part of Europe after all, but we seem to have bypassed (or ignored) the liberal discarding of clothes when poolside. I think Calvinism has a lot to answer for. Or maybe it’s all down to the beer. Thoughts to ponder as l board the train to Cologne. ldlewi/d’s new album Make Another World is reviewed on page 65.
15 Feb—l Mar 2007 THE LIST 63