Instant Cumbia Dance Party – El Remolon Mixtape

modibanyc — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:37:34 +0000

Produced, remixed, mashed-up, meshed, filtered & bastardized! This is how El Remolón’s mixtape emerges onto the scene, gathering all the insane ideas that stir up the dance floor at Zizek Club in Buenos Aires & that will tour across the world during June through August amidst a frenzy of dancing.

El Remolón has us dancing to his trademark slow cumbias, later guiding us along new electro reggaetons that defy the forces of gravity & finally leading us to his new dubsteps & latin kuduros with mega bass…all without losing his hypnotic & groovy essence.

This is just a taste of what’s to come on his next album & EP, both of which will be released by ZZK Records later this year.

A quick glance at the playlist is enough to show that variety’s where all the fun is…very ZIZEK!

The Fader Mag says:

“forging new paths for tropical music and helping to ensure the longevity of an important Latin cultural art.”

El Remolón ZZK Mixtape Vol. 9 (DOWNLOAD)

1.El Remolón vs Sinead O´Connor – Jah Nuh Dead
2.El Remolón – Mujeres vs Daft Punk
3.Junior Boys vs Ladybox – Tick Tock (El Remolón cumbia mashup)
4.El Remolón feat Fantasma vs Lady Gaga – Love Game
5.Los Pibes Chorros vs El Remolón Jam
6.Un Mono Azul feat Lido Pimienta – Ninfa de la mar (El Remolón mix)
7.El Remolón feat Fantasma – Liga del Sabor Digital
8.Ghislain Poirier feat Boogat – Kalima Shop Titi (El Remolón Remix)
9.El Remolón feat Marina vs Sokio – Vem Que Tem (edit)
10.Los Pericos – Me Late (El Remolón Remix)
11.El Remolón vs Dante – Listo Pa Gozar el Mostro
12.El Remolón feat Boogat – Estilo Acapulco
13.Bomba Stereo – Fuego (El Remolón Remix)
14.El Remolón vs Maluca – El Tigeraso (Cumbiastep Mix)
15.El Remolón feat Lido Pimienta – Basta Ya (Dubstep Mix)

Shasha Marley Wins Best African Reggae Artist

modibanyc — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:32:08 +0000

In the African continent’s version of The GRAMMY awards, Modiba Publishing artist Shasha Marley took home Best African Reggae Artist! Congratulations to Shasha and his team. More from Daily Guide Ghana on the award:

“ONE OF Ghana’s reggae artistes, Shasha Marley, has once again proven that he is a force to reckon with in Africa as far as reggae music is concerned.

This he did by emerging the Best African Reggae Artiste of The Year at the KORA All Africa Music Awards held in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, on Easter Sunday.

The event, which attracted over 3,000 showbiz personalities from various African countries, was hosted by the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, at the plush Palaise De Sports in Ouagadougo.

Artistes from 24 African countries took part in the competition which was judged through a share of public and jury votes.

Also, about 100 television channels in 22 countries broadcasted the ceremony live.

Shasha Marley competed in the Best African Reggae Artiste category with Nominess from Uganda, Burkina Faso, Bennin and Nigeria.”

Read the complete article here.

Billboard features Blitz the Ambassador

modibanyc — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:53:54 +0000

Billboard’s Melanie Bertoldi reports:

“Rapper/composer Blitz The Ambassador may be fairly new to the game, but he’s got the smarts of a veteran when it comes to branding. The 27-year-old Brooklyn MC says plenty of times he’s walked by people wearing his promotional T-shirt on the streets, which he designed himself. Depicting a suited man with a stereo in place of his head, holding a pistol to it while blood gushes from the other end, the image is the same Blitz — a self-professed “visual artist” — used for his latest album cover. “They pass me and they don’t even know it’s me,” he chuckles. Additionally, Blitz has a backing band, his own independent label, Embassy MVMT, and his very own mascot — the inspiration behind the T-shirt and album cover art — who usually appears on stage during their live shows. While he’s indifferent to subgenre labeling and doesn’t identify with the ‘conscious rapper’ label, the unsigned trilingual rapper (Blitz speaks English, French and the native Ghanian Dialect Twi) rhymes about issues that affect him directly and other, more worldly ones. “I don’t think just because I don’t talk about ‘money, cash, hos’ that I’m better. I think I’m necessary,” he says matter-of-factly. “I try to make music that I would hope that my favorite artists make and it seems to be catching on.” Indeed it is. His third album, “Stereotype,” dropped digitally last July and reached the top 10 of iTunes’ hip-hop albums chart in its first week of release; he was featured on MTVU’s Artist Spotlight video series, “House Band;” he scored the PBS documentary “Bronx Princess;” and has a six-city California tour under his belt. He recently released his latest single, “Something to Believe” (Watch the video to “Something To Believe” below) and will soon release an EP called “Native Son,” which features songs written entirely in Twi.”

Read entire article here.

The Huffington Post’s Derek Beres reviews Eccodek’s latest iteration

modibanyc — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:01:46 +0000

Andrew McPherson and Deliveryboy performing Metropolis Re:Scored in Toronto.

“…there’s no way I could leave out the latest creation from Guelph, Canada’s beloved son, Andrew McPherson. I’ve had the pleasure of staying in his two-floor home/instrument warehouse, the Monastereo, which is essentially the studio to record at in the small but surprisingly important city an hour north of Toronto. He’s been making his way as a folk singer covering the occasional Bjork song, as well as winning national awards for his African-Turkish-Dub-Whatever Fits electronic and live project, Eccodek. His latest output features fellow Eccodekian Deliveryboy (I’ll let you figure out that name, if you can imagine what goes down in the agricultural pastures of Guelph), which is a re-scoring of the eternally strange Fritz Lang cult classic, Metropolis. Brazil years before Terry Gilliam could make it, Orwellian in Orwell’s time, the piece was commissioned by Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Square for their 2007 Summer Festival series. Over eight hundred people tripped out to the sonic bleeps and beats conjured by these two men accompanying the 1927 film. While the press release goes on about the stylistic influences involved in the soundtrack’s creation, it is so far left of field you’d just have to–and should–experience Metropolis Re:Scored for yourself. One listen and you’ll be throwing virgins to Moloch too.”

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-beres/global-beat-fusion-kirtan_b_517248.html

Blitz the Ambassador blazes up MTVu and the left coast

modibanyc — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:45:08 +0000

Blitz the Ambassador, the Ghanaian-American hip-hop artist whose video “Breathe” has been in heavy rotation at MTV2, will kick off a 6-city tour of California with an acoustic set at La Peña in Berkeley on Wednesday, February 10th. Blitz’s live performance, where he leads a 6-piece band with a blaring horn section, sets him apart from the pack as a unique musical force in hip-hop. After a series of high-profile East Coast shows like opening for Big Daddy Kane at Celebrate Brooklyn! and sharing the stage with the Roots at the Okayplayer Holiday Jam, Blitz is set to take his live show to the West Coast. Following the show at La Peña, Blitz will travel to CSU Chico on February 11th, Sacramento on February 13th, San Francisco for an exclusive performance with Soul singer Martin Luther at the Elbo Room on February 15th, and then Los Angeles for a set at the UCLA Hip-Hop Congress on February 17th, before wrapping up with a set at Zanzibar’s Afrofunke in Santa Monica on February 18th.

Blitz the Ambassador’s Stereotype (Listen/Download) was recognized as the Best Album of the Year by DJBooth.net and the [Society of Cinema and the Arts] (http://www.sociarts.com/content/top-25-releases-2009-5-1), who said that despite his independent status, his use of “rousing horns beat-wise…and the passion and urgency with which Blitz delivers his rhymes make him impossible to write off.” Last year ended with a flurry for Blitz, as he completed a recording session for MTVu’s House Band that featured John Forte, among other special guests, excerpts of which can be viewed here

Blitz the Ambassador is featured in Beyond Race Magazines current issue which is on newstands now! Beyond Race Magazine is an internationally distributed publication spotlighting cutting edge music, entertainment and lifestyle.

Somi is #2 on World Billboard Charts, performing Valentine’s Day in NYC

modibanyc — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:15:59 +0000

In a special Valentine’s Day event, Somi will perform an intimately acoustic set of her favorite love songs. The evening will feature complimentary sweets by Divine Chocolate (a fair trade organization that supports Ghanaian cocoa farmers) and additional sounds by DJ Moni. Somi will share the stage with celebrated guitarists Liberty Ellman and Brandon Ross.

Doors at 7:00PM / Showtime at 8:30PM
Only $15 in advance / $20 at the door

Littlefield Performance and Art Space is downtown Brooklyn’s hippest new venue. Located at 622 DeGraw Street, please visit www.hopstop.com for directions.

Lastly,we are happy to share that Somi’s album is still #2 on Billboard’s World Chart this week. Thank you for your continued support!

Jahdan profiled on Pitchfork’s Guest List

modibanyc — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:23:35 +0000

Check out Pitchfork’s Q&A with one of our favorite artists, Jahdan Blakkamoore! Full article is here, and his latest Buzzrock Warrior album is here. And below is a track from the Kings of Salone mixtape from Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew, feat. Jahdan. Enjoy!!

Kae Sun in top of Canada’s iTunes HipHop 2009!

modibanyc — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:35:40 +0000

After releasing his debut album in October and touring Dubai and the UK in November, December seems to be off to a great start for Kae Sun. Yesterday iTunes announced their “Rewind 2009” a summary of the years best. Kae Sun’s album “Lion On A Leash” was included in the list amongst some greats.

iTunes Rewind 2009 – Hip-Hop Albums of the Year:

Troubadour – K’naan
The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
So Far Gone – Drake
Deeper Than Rap – Rick Ross
Slaughterhouse – Slaughterhouse
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 – Raekwon
Man On The Moon – Kid Cudi
Lion On A Leash – Kae Sun
The Ecstatic – Mos Def
Born Like This – Doom
Self Explanatory – Classified
808s & Heartbreak – Kanye West
Asleep in the Bread Aisle – Asher Roth
Padded Room – Joe Budden
Yes! – K-OS

**To view the list in iTunes click here: http://bit.ly/4ZZZUm

If that wasn’t enough to make a great month a song featuring Kae Sun (Miles Jones Ft. Kae Sun – Coast To Coast) was picked up by CSI for Season 10 Episode 7, and CTV’s Music Of The Nation for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The song was also short listed for the Independent Music Awards Hip-Hop Song of 2009.

iTunes names Jahdan Blakkamore’s “Buzzrock Warrior” best reggae album of 2009!! 2nd straight year our boy Jahdan wears the iTunes crown!

modibanyc — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:56:33 +0000

For two years straight, Jahdan has topped the iTunes selections for best reggae. Last year, it was his phenomenal reggae-hiphop-grime ensemble Noble Society that took the top title. This year, he is celebrated for his solo effort: “Buzzrock warrior”

Modiba is thrilled and honored to be representing Jahdan Blakkamore, and dozens upon dozens of other talented artists from all over the globe.

congrats Jahdan!!

Boston Globe raves Somi’s new album “…glistens with the sheen of an almost impossibly perfect cosmopolitanism…”

modibanyc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:03:21 +0000

By Siddhartha Mitter / Globe Correspondent / November 15, 2009 / Full Article at Boston Globe

Somi’s new album, “If the Rains Come First,’’ glistens with the sheen of an almost impossibly perfect cosmopolitanism, but that shouldn’t be held against her.

It could hardly be otherwise. Recorded in Paris and New York, with a group that includes a Senegalese guitarist, Hervé Samb, a Japanese pianist, Toru Dodo, and a British-Nigerian bassist, Michael Olatuja, this subtle, rhythmically taut gem of an album documents global nomads sharing personal as well as musical experiences.

Centering the frame is Somi, daughter of Rwandese and Ugandan parents, raised in a Midwest college town, and now based in New York, who writes lyrics full of poetic intimacy in English laced with Swahili, Kinyarwanda, and Rutoro. Her quiet feel and indeterminate allure have prompted comparisons to Cassandra Wilson and Sade.

A better indicator of Somi’s reference points may be the appearance, on the beautiful track “Enganjyani,’’ of the great South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela – one who knows a bit about melding jazz and African material to great emotional effect.

For Somi, whose full name is L. Kabasomi Kakoma and who plays at Scullers on Wednesday, this album represents the latest stage on a journey of exploration that she traces all the way to her childhood, and beyond the scope of music alone.

“I was always preoccupied with the cultural side of myself,’’ she says on the phone from her parents’ home in Champaign, Ill., where she spent her childhood. “I felt as though I wasn’t really from here. In high school I felt cheated.’’

As a teenager, she joined a Ugandan-American association and would attend conventions some weekends, returning unable to share the experience with her mostly white, Midwestern friends. “When you’re 15 or 16, you’re not even sure how to begin that conversation,’’ she says.

Her parents, medical professionals, encouraged music and arts but not necessarily as a career. “It was more about me being well-rounded,’’ she says. At the University of Illinois she focused on African studies and cultural anthropology – with the aim, she says, of understanding her ancestry.

But it took returning to East Africa for a year after college for Somi to give herself permission to follow her muse. She spent time in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and worked for part of the period with children with HIV. The trip brought her American and African identities finally into balance.

“That’s when I really was: I’m both. It’s OK,’’ she says. “And now that you know where you are from you can see where you want to go. And I chose to come to New York, and music became the first thing for me.’’

In a decade in New York, Somi has found a space at the crossroads of the jazz, hip-hop, and world-music scenes, and made two albums before the current one. Self-released, they garnered some underground buzz, but she says she was only starting to find her voice.

“I was actually shying away from the African and world side of things,’’ she says of her first project, “Eternal Motive.’’ “I was getting advice that people just wouldn’t get it. I didn’t take many risks vocally. I was also very young in the journey.’’

Her second disc, “Red Soil in My Eyes,’’ was less self-censored. “I started singing in other languages,’’ she says. “I began to tell a full story. That’s when I totally backed away from using electronic instruments. I wanted a natural, organic aesthetic to be at the forefront. It freed me.’’

The new record is a quantum leap forward, backed by the resources of jazz label ObliqSound and crafted with a full production team. “We wanted her sound to be on another level,’’ says bassist Olatuja, the album’s co-producer. “We tried to capture something of where she is now.’’

Lately Somi has been a cultural entrepreneur as well. She has organized New York showcases for musicians like Nigerian singer Asa, South African rockers BLK JKS, and Somali rapper K’Naan, who go beyond what she calls the “homogenized notions’’ of African music.

Olatuja says Somi’s efforts make her a role model to other bicultural artists. “She has been so brave to do her own music,’’ he says. “I definitely look up to her.’’

Somi expects she will move back to Africa more permanently. She says it’s more realistic than ever to make a living as an artist in the region, and she also feels the call of development needs in Rwanda, where her father’s roots are, and the villages in Uganda where both he and her mother grew up.

Still, Somi says she will always keep a foot in New York. “The ideal is to be in East Africa,’’ she says. “But I have multiple homes.’’