K’naan « NxEW.ca

27Nov/11Off

On Canada Live This Week: Amelia Curran, Jill Barber, the World Aids Day Concert & More

CBC Radio 2’s Canada Live delivers the best in live music recorded across Canada. This week includes one of my favorite, and one of Canada’s most underrated, performers Amelia Curran performing with Symphony Nova Scotia at the Halifax Pop Explosion. On Thursday Hope Rising, the World Aids Day concert recorded live in Toronto features K’Naan, Jully Black, Holly Cole and others. Others on this weeks list include Jill Barber, Ruth Moody, David Francey and more …

Monday, November 28, 2011

concert 1: Mon Coup de Coeur Francophone

recorded at Club Soda in Montreal as part of the 2011 Coup de coeur francophone festival

We've all had those amazing “aha!” moments while listening to music, those times when we really connected with the lyrics or melody. In the French-speaking world, this kind of lightning strike is called a "coup de coeur." It literally translates as a 'heart beat,' but for the purpose of this concert, let's say it stands for a 'French musical crush'. And since 2011 was the 25th anniversary of the annual Coup de Coeur Francophone Festival it seemed very a propos for CBC Radio to join forces with our Francophone colleagues at Radio-Canada and Radio Canada International to showcase the great 'aha' songs from the French repertoire. The artists in this performance span very different backgrounds and styles. The lineup includes both established songwriters like Québécois Luc De Larochellière as well as Senegalese-born Elage Diouf along with Coral Egan; Pierre Flynn, Alecka, Juan Sebastian Larobina; Guelph, Ontario-native Andréa Lindsay and Marianne Aya Omac from France. You'll hear these artists interpreting the songs that first turned them on, and became their "coup de coeur.”

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

concert 1: Jill Barber

recorded at CBC Vancouver Studio 40

In this CD preview concert for her most recent album, Mischievous Moon, Jill Barber not only captures the whimsical moods of moonlight, but also explores what's hidden in the shadows it casts. A confident Canadian chanteuse, Jill Barber shatters the myth "they don't write songs like they used to" with her new undeniably cool, and entertaining original tunes. This night, along with her "men in black" band, she wowed the sold out and enthusiastic audience in CBC Vancouver's Studio 40.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

concert 1: Amelia Curran with Symphony Nova Scotia

recorded at The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax as part of the Halifax Pop Explosion

Singer-songwriter Amelia Curran teams up with the formidable Symphony Nova Scotia and their resident conductor Shalom Bard, calls upon the forces of her favourite arrangers (Phil Sedore, Erin Costelo and Rebecca Pellett) and delivers an evening of lush, poetic, beauty.

concert 2: Ruth Moody

recorded at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg

When singer songwriter Ruth Moody hit the stage in her hometown of Winnipeg, the audience knew right away that they were in for a treat, since she brought with her three musical siblings and an assortment of musician friends. Ruth is a full time member of the very popular Juno Award winning band The Wailin' Jennys. When the Jennys went on a year hiatus so that one member could give birth to twins, Ruth took advantage of the time to give birth to a solo project. The result is the highly acclaimed album The Garden, which is now nominated for three Canadian Folk Music Awards: Solo Artist of the Year, New/Emerging Artist of the Year, and Pushing the Boundaries. Ruth performed material from it in this concert and she framed the songs with musicians she loves. Ruth grew up in a musical family that included her sister Rachel, a violinist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, sister Jane, an accomplished cellist who in her spare time is a psychiatrist and Richard, a multi-instrumentalist. Ruth's highly melodic songs and image filled lyrics came alive in this very intimate and achingly beautiful performance at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg.

Thursday, December 1, 2011 -- WORLD AIDS DAY

concert 1: Hope Rising!

recorded on at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto

Hope Rising! was a benefit concert for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, to support grassroots organizations that are working to turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. K'naan, Angelique Kidjo, Jully Black, Lorraine Segato and Holly Cole performed at this spectacular event at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

Friday, December 2, 2011

concert 1: David Francey

recorded at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec

David comes home to the first place that ever gave him a gig: The Black Sheep Inn. David Francey is an Ottawa-area story-teller with a pretty great story of his own. He was born and raised in Scotland but came to Canada at age 12 -- just late enough to keep that lovely Scottish brogue on his singing tongue. Remarkably, he didn't even pick up an instrument until after he started his professional musical career, and that wasn't until age 45! A construction worker by trade, he hung up his hard hat for good after the Juno committee stuck a trophy on his shelf. Now a three-time Juno winner, Francey is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters appearing on the roots circuit today - not just in Canada but around the world. It stands to reason that your appeal is going to spread beyond your base. That's why he finds himself co-writing with The Trews while remaining an unrepentant old-school folksinger whose hilarious tales introducing his tunes are almost as long as the songs themselves! He now finds himself nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards: Solo Artist of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year (wonder how a Scotsman feels about that?!).

concert 2: Mae Moore

recorded at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, BC

Mae Moore is often mentioned in discussions of great Canadian singer-songwriters. And yet, she clearly stands apart, with a musical vision that has remained her own. And Mae Moore has released a stunning new Canadiana roots album, Folklore, after nearly a decade away from the music scene. So where has she been? Living on a BC Gulf Island. Mae is an environmentalist, a landscape painter, and an organic farmer with a heritage orchard and a flock of strictly organic hens. Mae's new CD, Folklore, features her own artwork in the album, and the companion coffee table book contains 19 of her paintings. And to top it off, on the strength of Folklore, Mae Moore is up for two Canadian Folk Music Awards: English Songwriter of the Year, and Solo Artist of the Year. With her return to her solo recording career, Mae Moore is combining her many facets like never before, and to critical acclaim.

CBC Radio 1 broadcast, Fridays at 2:05 PM

Friday, December 2, 2011 on CBC Radio 1

concert 1: Jill Barber

recorded at CBC Vancouver Studio 40

Canada Live podcast, released on Fridays

Friday, December 2, 2011 on the Canada Live podcast

Whitehorse

recorded at Le Petit Campus in Montreal

Arguably the first couple of Canadian roots music, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland have toured and recorded together extensively over the last six years. The newly released self-titled CD introduces Whitehorse as a band, as an entity and as a musical marriage. New jointly written originals include the dramatic "Killing Time is Murder" and dreamily poetic "Night Owls". Doucet states,' We have a more definable sound as Whitehorse than individually. There is chemistry -- an artistic union does produce something larger than the sum of its parts. We have often gone out on the road as a duo act, trading songs back and forth, singing harmonies, but now we are a band.' When asked about her role models - McClelland's response is clear, 'Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash have that epic musical love story. There is something very beautiful about that. That final video Johnny Cash made brings me to tears every time I see it. Such a beautiful final mark, and there's the legacy of that marriage. There's something not very rock 'n' roll about growing old together, but when you see that, you can't deny the romance." In this Canada Live recording at Le Petit Campus in Montreal, Whitehorse brings in loops, keyboard samples and a video projection that clearly makes an impression on the crowd.

Tagged as: Amelia Curran, Canada Live, CBC Radio 2, Jill Barber, K'naan No Comments

28Mar/11Off

Hip Hop Week on Canada Live

This is the weekly thing where I tell you what's coming up on Canada Live, or rather I pass it along. Every weeknight Canada Live on CBC Radio 2 brings you live concerts recorded all over Canada. Someone at Radio 2 passes the list on to me, and I pass it on to you. This week on Canada Live is all hip hop featuring some of Canada's best from across the country including K-Os, Shad, Buck 65, Grand Analog, K'naan and more!

Monday, March 28, 2011
concert 1: K-os
recorded at The Opera House in Toronto
K-os was born Kevin Brereton, and grew up in arguably the most polyglot and multi-cultural city on the planet: Toronto. And he's quite vocal about not belonging to any one genre - he belongs to them all. Says K-os: "I'm a historical opportunist who's grown up on everything from Dylan to Marley to KRS-One... I've never seen myself as just a hip hop artist." K-os explores many of those genres while performing old and new tunes from his four studio albums in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd at The Opera House in Toronto.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011
concert 1: Shad
recorded at The Kool Haus in Toronto
Kenyan-born, London, Ontario-raised hip hop artist Shad dropped his latest disc TSOL in May of 2010. It was the third in a line of CDs that brought rave reviews and an ever growing fan base. One of those fans is another African-born, Canadian-raised hip hop artist, K'naan, and when K'naan was asked who he would like to open his triumphant Canadian homecoming tour in the fall of 2010 he said it had to be Shad. That is where Canada Live caught a blistering set by The Old Prince himself, warming up the crowd for K'naan at the Kool Haus in Toronto.
concert 2: Buck 65
recorded at The Rivoli in Toronto as part of the 2010 NXNE Festival
Hip hop artist Buck 65 has been writing and performing since 1990; his latest album is aptly named 20 Odd Years. His style of hip hop is unique, with influences ranging from minstrel music to Afrika Bambaataa. For this performance at The Rivoli in Toronto, Buck 65 is joined on stage by Toronto singer-songwriter Valery Gore, and together they debut some of Buck 65's newest material.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
concert 1: Socalled
recorded at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts
Klezmer-hip hop maestro Socalled is a musician, producer, composer, arranger, magician, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist based in Montreal. Born in Ottawa, he grew up taking piano lessons and loving funk and hip hop. When Socalled first heard klezmer music on an old Yiddish record, he was fascinated by the cool sounds he could sample to make hip hop beats. Then he realized that integrating this Jewish music from the 1930s into his songs was a way of representing himself and his cultural heritage. It enabled him bring something of his own to funk and hip hop, giving him what he calls "a real reason to make music." Joining Socalled on this Routes_Montreal recording at the Segal Centre in Montreal is the talented singer-songwriter Katie Moore, along with Haitian guitarist and singer-songwriter Wesli.
concert 2: Grand Analog
recorded at The Rivoli in Toronto as part of the 2010 NXNE Festival
Grand Analog is a forced to be reckoned with, and this appearance at the Radio 2 Showcase at NXNE 2010 is no exception. They came to rock the house with their brand of funk-jazz-reggae-hip hop, and they certainly succeeded.

Thursday, March 31, 2011
concert 1: K'naan
recorded at Kool Haus in Toronto
K'naan comes home for the first time since he began his whirlwind world tour with the FIFA World Cup. But now that the cup is in Spain, K'naan can get back to the business of making world-class hip hop. This concert is a triumphant return for K'naan where a capacity crowd blew the roof off Toronto's Kool Haus.

Friday, April 1, 2011
concert 1: Hip Hop Summit
recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
The Hip Hop Summit concert on March 29th, 2011, is the largest and most comprehensive gathering of Canadian hip hop artists in the history of the genre. The concert is a celebration of over 25 years of hip hop in Canada. Influenced by the hip hop movement from New York, hip hop in Canada got its start in the neighbourhoods of Toronto in the mid-to-late 1980s. From the humble beginnings of basement and community centre concerts, the art form in Canada has grown to tremendous heights. Hip hop artists can now be found in every community in the country and Canadian artists like K'Naan and Drake are now international superstars. The Hip Hop Summit traces this growth through live performances of some of the greatest and most influential Canadian hip hop songs by the artists who created them. , including K-os, Shad, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Maestro, Michie Mee, Ghetto Concept, Reema Major, Classified, Cadence Weapon, Saukrates, Red1 (from The Rascalz), Dream Warriors, DJ Skratch Bastid, and DJ X. The concert also features special collaborations between many of the artists.

CBC Radio 1 broadcast, Fridays at 2:05 PM
Friday, April 1, 2011 on CBC Radio 1
concert 1: K'naan
recorded at Kool Haus in Toronto
K'naan comes home for the first time since he began his whirlwind world tour with the FIFA World Cup. But now that the cup is in Spain, K'naan can get back to the business of making world-class hip hop. This concert is a triumphant return for K'naan where a capacity crowd blew the roof off Toronto's Kool Haus.

Canada Live podcast, released on Fridays
Friday, April 1, 2011 on the Canada Live podcast
Hip Hop Summit
recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
The Hip Hop Summit concert on March 29th, 2011, is the largest and most comprehensive gathering of Canadian hip hop artists in the history of the genre. The concert is a celebration of over 25 years of hip hop in Canada. Influenced by the hip hop movement from New York, hip hop in Canada got its start in the neighbourhoods of Toronto in the mid-to-late 1980s. From the humble beginnings of basement and community centre concerts, the art form in Canada has grown to tremendous heights. Hip hop artists can now be found in every community in the country and Canadian artists like K'Naan and Drake are now international superstars. The Hip Hop Summit traces this growth through live performances of some of the greatest and most influential Canadian hip hop songs by the artists who created them. , including K-os, Shad, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Maestro, Michie Mee, Ghetto Concept, Reema Major, Classified, Cadence Weapon, Saukrates, Red1 (from The Rascalz), Dream Warriors, DJ Skratch Bastid, and DJ X. The concert also features special collaborations between many of the artists.

Tagged as: Canada Live, CBC Radio 2, Grand Analog, K'naan, K-Os, Shad No Comments

12Dec/10Off

the Good Lovelies, Sarah Slean, K’Naan + more coming up on Canada Live

Monday, December 13, 2010
concert 1: Sarah Slean
recorded at the CBC Regina Galleria
Sarah Slean is one of Canada's great creative visionaries. She's been nominated for two Juno awards and two Gemini awards and is a true Renaissance woman in her artistic expression. Trained as a classical pianist, Sarah's performances continue to be informed by that musical sensibility, especially in her collaborations with many of Canada's finest classical orchestras and ensembles. A gifted songwriter, Sarah is also a poet, and books of her poetry have even accompanied album releases. She's also a visual artist. Given her diverse forms of creative expression, it's not surprising her list of influences is equally eclectic including Glenn Gould, Tom Waits, PJ Harvey and even Irving Berlin. This private concert was put together by the Regina Folk Festival as a special thank you to their volunteers in celebration of the organization's 40th anniversary.
concert 2: Courtney Wing
recorded at a Routes_Montreal taping at The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in Montreal
Courtney Wing is a brilliant singer/songwriter who has completed three albums, beginning with For the Good Times (2001) and Starlight Shuffle (2005). In 2009, he released his third CD, Bouquet of Might and Fury, a magnum opus that featured over thirty musicians, including the opera collective Liederwolfe and members from Bell Orchestre, Torngat, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Arcade Fire, and more. Courtney and drummer Eric Thibodeau played on the first show of the Routes_Montreal 2009 season at The Segal Centre in Montreal.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010
concert 1: Jane Bunnett and the Cuban Piano Masters
recorded at Dominion-Chalmers United Church in Ottawa
Jane Bunnett might have a mantle full of Junos, a list of Grammy nominations, and a pin for the Order of Canada, but one of her noblest, unrecognized achievements is her effort in musical diplomacy. She brings Cuban music to Canadian soil, fuses it with jazz, and makes it feel like this was the birthplace of both. This latest endeavor focuses on Cuban piano masters. It features three pianos played by Elio Villa Franca, Hilario Duran, and 83 year-old Guillermo Rubalcaba (father of Gonzalo and founder of Charanga Rubalcaba and pianist with Buena Vista Social Club). This was a historical venture laid to tape for posterity. Despite the damp of a rainy April evening the church was swinging with the sounds of Cuba and by the end, the audience was up on their feet, dancing in the pews!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010
concert 1: Don Ross
recorded at Hugh's Room in Toronto
For the past five years, Don has been percolating the idea of recording a vocal record on which he would also play all the instruments. In late 2006, he finally started working on the CD between tours, and wrapped up recording and mixing Any Colour in early 2009. Much like some of his musical heroes Prince, Steve Winwood and Todd Rundgren, Don has engineered, produced, performed and mixed an album of vocal material that sounds like a tight band...but it's all Don! But tonight we catch Don performing this new material with a hot band in tow. The band is at Hugh's Room, Don's second home, and is made up of Jordan O'Connor on bass, Colleen Allen on sax, Brooke Miller on guitar and vocals and Al Cross on drums.
concert 2: Alpha Yaya Diallo and the Bafing Riders
recorded under the Grand Chapiteau at Le Village International de la Francophonie in Maillardville, BC
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Alpha Yaya Diallo is a true multi-cultural Canadian artist who performs in French, English and his native Guinean languages of Foulani and Souso. Diallo is a multi-instrumental artist with dexterous acoustic and electric guitar playing, fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves that place him in the front ranks of African musicians. And Diallo continues to nurture and build upon his roots. His band, the Bafing Riders, bring along high-energy African rhythms, dynamic percussion, and visually stunning dancers. By uniting the traditional and the contemporary, Diallo has carved a niche for himself beside such West African luminaries as Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Youssou N'Dour, and Ismael Lo. Canada Live caught up with Alpha and the Bafing Riders under the Grand Chapiteau at Le Village International de la Francophonie 2010 in Maillardville, B.C. on a dark rainy night. While never straying far from his musical inheritance, Alpha Yaya Diallo let loose and inspired the mostly francophone audience to dance the night away.

Thursday, December 16, 2010
concert 1: K'Naan
recorded at Kool Haus in Toronto
K'Naan comes home for the first time since he began his whirlwind world tour with the FIFA World Cup. But now that the cup is in Spain, K'Naan can get back to the business of making world-class hip hop. This concert is a triumphant return for K'Naan where a capacity crowd blew the roof off Toronto's Kool Haus.

Friday, December 17, 2010
This program is from a two-night concert series, called Bands @ The Grand, produced by CBC at The Grand Theatre in Calgary. These special evenings presented Alberta performers who were at the top of their craft, and firmly established in the Alberta music scene. Tonight, Canada Live presents three of those artists.
concert 1: Karla Anderson
Most singer-songwriters write of love in some manner or other. When Karla Anderson writes of love, there is certain validity to her words. As the mother of three boys she has seen a lot of it go by in her time. She writes of what she knows. On the stage of the Grand Theatre in Calgary, Karla Anderson was joined by Tim Leacock on guitar and Kit Johnson on bass. These are just a couple of the musical figures who have recognized the talents of Karla Anderson.
concert 2: Steve Pineo
Steve Pineo stood on the stage of the Grand Theatre in Calgary like he has been there all his life. Guitar in hand, he warmed up the audience with embracing hooks and melodies, backed up by his band the Joe Defendants. Despite his easy stage presence and his immense guitar prowess, Steve Pineo's songwriting has always been his hallmark. Jazzy, bluesy, folky, old-timey, he does it all.
concert 3: Tim Hus
Tim Hus is a long-haul musician. His music defines a new generation of cowboy: country truck drivers. He is the newest in a long generation of songwriters devoting their craft to telling Canadian stories in the Canadian language. And the stories indeed made the show as he took the stage at the Grand Theatre in Calgary with his band The Rocky Mountain Two.

CBC Radio 1 broadcast, Fridays at 2:05 PM
Friday, December 17, 2010 on CBC Radio 1
concert 1: The Good Lovelies
recorded at Le Petit Campus in Montreal
In a word this trio of multi-instrumental lovelies are charming! The Good Lovelies are this year's 2010 Juno Winners for Roots Album of the Year and winners of the New Emerging Artist Award at The Canadian Folk Music Awards. Armed with a pile of instruments, a repertoire of sassy and sophisticated songs and an effervescent sense of humour they never fail to charm even the toughest audiences. The Good Lovelies are Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore, all of them best friends and refugees from solo careers. Described as "flirty-bluegrass" and "the mischievous Andrews Sisters" the Toronto-based trio relies on unerring three-part vocal harmonies, clever songs and, onstage, convulsively funny repartee. The trio started as a group only three years ago. Since then, they have quit their jobs, played countless clubs and coffee houses and half a dozen folk festivals, completed over 130 dates this year ( from Montreal to Vancouver Island and back ) and released a brand new Christmas CD called 'Under The Mistletoe'. This Canada Live taping finds them in friendly company at Le Petit Campus in Montreal. Although there was a storm raging outside the Good Lovelies did everything right and made the crowd forget the weather and focus on having a lovely time!

Canada Live podcast, released on Fridays
Friday, December 17, 2010 on the Canada Live podcast
Maybe Smith
recorded at Louis' Pub on the University of Saskatchewan campus, Saskatoon
Saskatchewan likes to think of him as their very own indie indie superstar, but CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence is right when he refers to Maybe Smith as "Canada's best kept musical secret". Since 2002 Maybe Smith - otherwise known as Colin Skrapek - has been releasing one album a year from his home in Saskatoon . His catchy and clever pop tunes reference subjects as varied as mythical gunswordaxes, Saskatoon's famous synchrotron particle accelerator, and even the feeling of the early spring slush between the toes of your bare feet. Over the years Colin has collaborated with many Saskatoon musicians. For this show he's joined by former Carbon Dating Service members Steve Reed and Zach Low; Joey Lorer of Old Joe and the Truth Hurts and Little Miss Higgins' band; and the Fjords' Jeff Pederson. This concert was part of 'On a Cold Road', an annual showcase of some of Saskatoon's best and brightest bands that's co-presented by CBC Radio and SaskMusic.