Culturekiosque Nouveau: Portraits

Profiles of musical styles and artists.

Most recent features:

R.E.M.: The Carnival Comes to Town - Singer/Songwriter Michael Stipe Interview during 2005 World Tour

Smart, politically savvy band R.E.M. is still alive and well after 25 years, and is currently on world tour. Point-man Michael Stipe is interviewed by Culturekiosque rock critic Mike Zwerin in Antwerp.

Jean-Paul Poletti And The Men's Chorus Of Sartene: Corsican Songs With A Cause

Corsica and Corsican singing is the story of the Corsican people as told by Jean-Paul Poletti and the Men's Chorus in Sartene made up of seven male voices.

Tété: A Hot Young French Singer-Songwriter Doing Something New

French singer and songwriter Tété is a hot young musician whose new CD À la faveur de l’automne has sold gold in France. The Nigerian singer Keziah Jones proved to him that it's "possible to be a black musician without playing reggae or rap or African music."

James Taylor: Singing for Kerry

"I'm just a citizen and I am concerned about the direction my country is going in. For the first time since Nixon I am waking up at five o'clock in the morning worrying about the state of the nation. I want to chip in as much as possible."

Zebda: the Sound of the New France

Rai band Zebda's Magyd Cherfi says, 'If you reject the only tools at your disposal, what are you left with? Either you wait for help that will never come, or you flee into the addictions of drugs and religious fundamentalism.'

Todd Levin Le Warhol de la Musique?

Sorte de Warhol de la musique, Levin nous dépeint la banalité culturelle de tous les jours. "Les images ont un pouvoir très séduisant et 'manipulateur'", dit Levin. "La musique avait ce pouvoir, mais il s'est éffrité au fil des ans. Avec 4% du marché du disque aux Etats-Unis, la musique classique est tellement marginale que c'est risible! - J'ai traversé un moment où je me demandais si je devais me lancer dans quelque chose d'aussi marginal."

Virginia Rodrigues: The Unsuspected Liberties That Beauty Takes When It Presents Itself

Her voice is more reminiscent of opera arias, of leider and gospel, than of jazz, rock or the samba. Regardless of the meaning of the words, her texture is spiritual, even religious...'

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