Supergroups International
OK, not every nation on the planet has a page on TheRyanO'Riain22 yet but the worlds best don't all come from english speaking nations or even sing in English either.Forty years of 'Eurovision' song contests probably did more harm than good for artists, bands and singer songwriters wanting to sing in their own languages..especialy for Scandinavian bands where 'nil point' became a regular occurance for anyone not following on in ABBA's 'lets sing in English instead' lead. But if we step back from the horrendous multinational farces that seemed to annualy reinforce the european belief that only one language sounds good in song and actualy start listening to genuine artists from other nations, we'll suddenly begin to realise that there are some truly fantastic musicians, bands and singers who sound just as incredible wether they are singing in Italian, Farsee,Japanese,Ghanaian or even Swedish! We've decided to call these our International Supergroups. Thanks to the world wide web some of these up and coming international heroes of audible audio genius are aleady starting to find their appeal transcending far beyond their own percieved regional, national, ethnic or cultural boundaries. Have a peek at some of these and it shouldn't be too hard to see or hear why....
We thought we'd kick off the page with proof that a fantastic riff can soak into your bloodstream and make even the most restrained human beings want to shake their heads about and tap their feet by showing you how the Italian answer to the Ting Tings do it. Biacami is the title of the song we've featured by Italy's 'Serpenti' and there's plenty of venom in both the riff and the vocals to shake your bloodstream out with too.Serpenti are Louis Serpenti on bass, Roland MC909's and assorted grooveboxes and Gianclaudia Francini aka ' Clou' on assorted dance moves and vocals that rank alongside other greats such as Chrissie Hinde or even Carol Decker with a subtle ' souxie and the banshees' twist.
If you're at all familiar with the Italian music scene of the last decade then you may well notice something very familiar about Clou and Serpenti and might just be wandering where you could have seen them both before? Not only that, but if you take a closer look at their live version of the debut single 'Sinuoso Vortice' filmed during this years 'Cube' festival, then you might just notice the
remarkable resemblance that two of the cameramen have to a certain Italian guitarist named Daniele Quarto and a drummer called Antonio Mastrorilli ...has it clicked yet?? ...No!?? ...Well it seems that just like The Violent Kin - who are Canada's own amazing answer to the UK's 'Ting Tings'- that Serpenti also had their musical roots in one of the best rock bands of their nation ...namely 'Ultraviolet' (The Violent Kin being former members of The Junior Pantherz and Bloodlines -see Supergroups Canada). If you'd like to hear more of Serpenti's Italian sound then follow the link to their MySpace, and if you still can't get your head round awesome music in another language then don't worry because Serpenti have recorded special 'English' versions of all their songs for the linguisticly challenged of the western world too..So at least you should be able to figure out how to say 'kiss me' and 'touch me' in Italian without too much effort.We've also added a link to the amazing Ultraviolet site with plenty of amazingtracks and familiar videos from the last few years too. So start an Italian feast of world class music
by clicking on the following links....
In 2006 one of the first bands we featured was MirageTown led by the highly talented guitarist Amir Badamchi. Mirage Town are from Iran and were in the process of recording their debut album when we last spoke to Amir.Apparently sites such as MySpace and Facebook were banned recently in the Islamic Republic of Iran , so many people from Iran are a little unsure about 'contacting home' via social networks at present -especialy due to the recent protests surrounding the elections. In times of national insecurity or change it's worth pointing out that even the most innocent of 'comments' on a social networking site could end up being seen as an incriminating innuendo by those who are already suspiscious of musicians with a 'western rock based edge' regardless of how passionate and loyal they are to their own national identity or culture. Amir Badamchi is not only one of the best guitarists of his nation but (as our original article from our old 'potential supergroup' page made clear) is incredibly proud of his cultural heritage and has also been a strong advocate for modern Iranian culture and identity...one that bares little likeness to the former 'axis of evil' images created by former western leaders too. Due to the recent unrest in Iran it is a little difficult to verify that those Iranians on Social Networks realy are the actual people who originaly opened those profiles. Our hope for Mirage Town is (that apart from selling lots of multi platinum albums) that these young musical patriots are as highly valued and honoured by the country that they love as that very country, it's culture, history, heritage and people are by them. Here's the original article on Amirs lead work that we penned shortly after being wowed by his lead work on the track 'Wasted Man' in 2006 with a link provided to the official Mirage Town site. We wish the band lots of love ,happiness, safety and the freedom to continue making fantastic music within their own borders and beyond...
'Keeping with the subtle middle eastern twist we have one more lead guitarist worth more than a mention or two. The setting for this genre is 'Nu Metal' but the national root is Iran. Playing rock music there is a scary occupation as not only is it frowned upon by many -in much the same way as Irelands culturaly explosive rock cornerstone was when they emmerged in 1970 (see our rock cornerstone page to see why) but, occaisionaly in Iran, it could also mean losing your liberty - (which was once the case for many rock musicians under general Franco's Spain in the not so distant past). Despite the risks many musicians and bands are raising their heads above the cultural parapet (Meera being the most well known). This particular musician is running along the top of it, proud of his ancestoral roots and singing in both Farsi (Persian) and English. A few thousand years ago - before Alexander trounced it- Persia ,or Iran, was once the worlds original cultural melting pot and centre of free speech and religeous tolerance. This is something Iranians are very proud of in spite of the current 'Axis of evil' labelism yet many musicians loyal to their roots can only freely excercise their creative abilities by leaving the country. This guitarist is one of those who has chosen to remain and his abilities are at times comparable to and equal to Pink FLoyd's David Gilmour (listen to the sample of the 'Wasted Man' track to judge for yourself on his site below) - so don't be blinkered by the Nu Metal 'tag' this 23 year old is a real pro and destined -we think- for great things. His name is Amir Badamchi - founder of Mirage town and currently in the middle of recording his debut album in Tehran.His site is a flyer -but with some excelent sound samples'
South Africa is a nation bursting at the seams with all kinds of musical and creative home grown talent..but as it has also become the main musical destination and home for musicians from all over the continent and beyond we thought we'd highlight two world class female vocalists and singer songwriters (one home grown and one not) who are both major reasons for people to want to trade in their World Cup tickets in for concert tickets once the extra million visitors swamp the country in the summer of 2010.
While artists and producers in the UK (such as Lilly Allen, AmyWinehouse, Marc Ronson etc) have been trying to recreate the early 'melting pot' sounds, styles and imagery of the UK jazz ,ska or even motown scene it's worth pointing out that -even when it was still illegal- the clubs and underground bars of South Africa were rife the the multicultural styles and sounds of cutting edge jazz and 'nu jazz' going right back to the forties! And right now Simphiwe Dana has topped up that style with a wardrobe to rival any Allen or Winehouse video shoot and just as much sharpness to the crystal clear sounds of her own cutting edge nu-jazz.Simphiwe was raised in the Eastern Cape and reared on the sounds, songs and stories of Xohsa (the main language and rich culture of the Transkei area of the eastern cape). Her songs reflect her deep love for her culture and heritage as well as the desire to see true equality -which is stil a work in progress -become the norm in south africa and her songs have gone a long way in restoring self respect and pride in the peoples of a nation where many have and are still being denied opportunity despite the end of aparthied. In 2005 she was named the nations 'best newcomer' at the South African Music Awards(and very nearly lost her life through a horrific road accident while pregnant with her first child..thankfully the following hours of surgery rescued both lives). When she returned to the stage in 2007 her songs also landed her the title of Best Female Artist at the awards too once releasing her second album under the Gallo Music label and Sony.One Love on Banto Biko Street is a classic example of songs and lyrics that rebuild self esteem in the human soul with music that smoothly glides over some of the best jazz on the planet (-think Steely Dans 'Aja' and the piano skills of Donald Fagan being woven through some of the clearest south african harmonies you could ever hear).
You don't have to be fluent in Xhosa to be built up or touched by her words and her 'One Love Movement' has been regularly touching the hearts and minds of musicians and fans throughout the entire globe.
You can find Simphiwe here....
Our next vocalist headlining South Africas music festivals and venues comes from the other side of the southern half of the continent having been raised in Swakopmund - a small desert town on the Namibian coast. Andra's roots, despite being taught as a classical guitarist are firmly embedded in acoustic folk rock ( she was first inspired into taking up the guitar as a nine year old after being reared on the sounds of Bruce Springstien) and she has even been described as 'the female 'Bob Dylan' of the desert'.Now based in Pretoria, her husky voice twists through lyrics that would make the twisting Tanika Tikarems songwriting look bland with vocal sound that despite sounding similar to a blend of Amy MacDonald, Alanis Morisette and Sinead O'Connor also has a raw power and stability entwined in her own lyrical subtlety that places her far above any comparrisons. Her desert town roots and experimental use of multicultural traditional instrumentation add an extra edge and flavour to her sound -and, just like Simphiwe, her voice and originality are making alot of non africans look to her for inspiration too.So don't be too surprised to find her becoming a household name worldwide once the worlds media zeros in on South African culture when those World Cup football/soccer finals kick off. So if your having problems trying to find someone as good as the Frames for your next world tour Bob, then you might want to try and book her while you stil can!! The 'Bob Dylan and rose of the Namibian desert' can be found here with a wealth of sounds and info on both her official band and MySpace sites...
By the way, if the man in Andra's video for 'The Dream' looks a little familiar..it's probably because he's the actor Neil Sandilands - who also produced, directed and concieved the idea for the video too. So he'll never have to worry about another screencast for a batman movie ever again!!
Copyright 2009 Mairtin O'Riain and Martin Ryan - The Ryan O'Riain22
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