Our dub-king Andrew “Moon” Bain’s star Turbulence in FADER

http://www.thefader.com/articles/2008/8/27/freeload-turbulence-gone-with-the-wind

Big up to Digital Ancient!! This guy just keeps dropping gems…

Chicago Afrobeat: Off the Grid

“The group’s songs are musical snowballs, opening as minimalist skeletons – a buoyant bass line or a lone, repeated guitar chord – before picking up keyboards, horns and various percussive elements. Gathering momentum, the songs thunder to a hip-shaking climax.”
- Chicago Tribune

As the world’s cultural and political climate evolves, so does its music.  Rooted in the turbulence of social change, afrobeat coalesced decades ago from a fiery political landscape of Nigeria in the ‘60s and ‘70s.  Now, with the polarized state of society since the turn of the millennium, afrobeat again grips the world – this time, the American musical climate. Chicago Afrobeat Project, emerging in 2002 from an industrial, urban Chicago art community, has established itself as leaders in the non-traditionalist side of the afrobeat movement.  The 7-14 person ensemble energizes the classic afrobeat influences of juju, highlife, American funk, and afro-Cuban music with a formative infusion of experimental jazz and rock elements that thrive in the Chicago music scene.  Inherent in the group’s sound is an expression of world cultural unity and social awareness within a medium of music, dance and
rebellious celebration.

Afrobeat’s range of influences sit in a restless state of hypnotic, dance-compelling energy at times juxtaposed against a left-leaning poignant political message.  The CAbP formula injects unique songwriting and solo experimentation to push the group’s sound forward both at their live performances and on studio recordings.  The individual players, coming from diverse backgrounds, each hold their own as soloists to add uniquely musically informed characteristics to the performances.

Melodic and hard-hitting horn lines create a lyrical flow delivered by a cutting, driven rhythm section dynamic.  The group disperses complex call-and-response percussion songs throughout the shows.  African dancers from Chicago’s Muntu Dance Theatre accompany the band at select performances.  Combine these organic musical and visual elements together, and the overall presentation contributes further to the impact and originality of the band’s music.

Haale’s “No Ceiling” gets multiple nods in “Best of 2008″ lists

Our girl Haale is making all the right moves…

She gets props from the red alert.com: http://theredalert.com/features/bestof2008-page-2.php

and the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/ae/music/packages/cds2008/gallery/14mitter?pg=2

for her sensational new album “No Ceiling”.

A beautiful talent, Haale is poised for great things to come in 2009… congrats to her and her band!

Nation Beat’s “Legends of the Preacher” named #1 world music album of 2008 by Star Ledger

“THE TOP 10 WORLD ALBUMS

While the world music category provides a stunning array of pure ethnic and traditional music, this year belonged to the category busters — artists who didn’t just create music with hyphenated heritage, but that defied cultural expectations. The obvious examples populating the pop charts were Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A: and the African-music inspired of Vampire Weekend. But the stew has been brewing on the industry’s back burner world-music charts too. Lila Downs, who is both Mexican and American by birth, created an album that triumphantly rose above categorization — and would have topped my list if we didn’t offer she Latin music list. Rupa, an Indian-American, made an album of French swing. Nation Beat and the Klezmer Mountain Boys mixed American country with poor-folks music from Brazil and Eastern Europe. In the age of a mixed-race president who grew up in Hawaii with a Kenyan name, Americans may have a tough time holding on to their expectations.

1. “Legends of the Preacher,” Nation Beat (Modiba)

This New York-based band combines rural music from northeastern Brazil and the American South, but that’s just the beginning of this joyful mash-up. The ethnomusicological dissections, however, are tossed in the back seat for this careening joy ride. “
-Marty Lipp, Star Ledger, Dec 28, 2008.

Congrats Nation Beat!!!

Noble Society’s “Take Charge” voted iTunes 2008 Best Reggae Album

Yas – Iran’s answer to Tupac – featured in the Huffington Post!

check out the story here

Modiba profiled in The Huffington Post!

Check it out here

Bajah + Dry Yai Crew head back to Salone for Christmas

Modiba bids a momentary farewell to Bajah + Dry Yai Crew as they return to Freetown, Sierra Leone on Monday to headline packed-out stadium shows and maybe even enjoy a hard-earned vacation.  Since April, Dry Yai have been recording their international debut supported by some of today’s hottest hiphop producers and MCs, with the album’s production being headed by Fyre Dept — the dynamic production duo of Eric Krasno (of Soulive) and Adam Deitch (of Wyclef Jean and John Scofield), who have produced tracks for 50 Cent, Redman and Talib Kweli among others.

Since starting production with Fyre Dept, the boys have had the privilege of welcoming a host of guest MCs and producers to the studio, including Idle Warship (Talib Kweli + Res + Graph Nobel), Questlove, Wale, Rashad Smith (The Notorious B.I.G, Erykah Badu), James Poyser (Mariah Carey, Common), the Antibalas horns, Abena Koomson (of the theater production ‘Fela’), and even best selling author Ishmael Beah.

The Crew will return in February to put finishing touches on the album and prepare for launch in 2009.  Best of luck in Salone, guys!  See you in February!

www.DryYai.com

Youngblood Brass Band @ Joe’s Pub: CMJ 2008

Courtesy of Ron Harrell

Modiba CMJ Showcase #2: NATION BEAT, HAALE, YAS, MAX ZT, NOBLE SOCIETY

Noble Society is a trio broadcasting, from Brooklyn, New York, a musical hybrid of dancehall and hip hop, with a whole lot of reggae thrown in.

Haale (as in halle-lujah), is a Bronx-born woman of Iranian descent whose songs are trance-inducing, rhythmically propulsive, and lyrically engaging tapestries that draw on both Persian mystical and American psychedelic musical traditions.

At the heart of Nation Beat, a 6-piece group from Brooklyn, lies a totally original 21st century fusion between thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music, funk, rock, and country-blues.

Yas, Iran’s premier rapper a.k.a.the “Persian Tupac” — is the voice of the young and restless generation of Iranian youth hungry for change in their own country and around the world.

Max ZT, a hammered dulcimer player born in Chicago but currently living in Brooklyn, combines fast hands and an ear for African rhythms into a style of music that merges the influences of the East and West seamlessly.

Modiba Publishing+ is America’s first and only consolidated international music publishing catalog. To celebrate our launch, we are pleased to present 6 fantastic artists from our catalog together in one unforgettable night of music spanning the globe. Join us to discover the best in music from the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.

ARTISTS INFO: http://www.modibapublishing.com

TICKETS: http://dromnyc.com/home/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=226&category_id=2&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=69&vmcchk=1&Itemid=69

http://www.modiba.net