Kickstarter has been a successful way for bands to fund recording and distributing albums and now the concept has been applied to live performances.

Launched in London, Detour, from London-based start-up Songkick, allows fans to crowd-fund the logistics of a concert by pledging to buy enough tickets to cover costs.

Songkick‘s co-founder Ian Hogarth hopes it will eventually encourage bands to play in parts of the world they would not have previously considered. The company takes a 10% cut from tickets sold through the site.

• BBC news item

Epidode 109 of the Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast is now available from:

• iTunes
• Libsyn
• MixCloud

Tracks

1. Karma Police
   Shefita and Sabbaba
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xt4ObtKas
2. Odd Shaped Nightfall
   Datax and Bymski
   https://soundcloud.com/#datax/datax-bymski-odd-shaped
3. Hakawati
   Secret Archives of the Vatican
   http://www.brokendrumrecords.com
4. 2nd Night in Tokushima
   Bymski
   https://soundcloud.com/#bymski
5. Free Syria
   Seelensack
   http://seelensack.bandcamp.com/track/free-syria
6. Into City of Homs
   Hevalkelli
   http://hevalkelli.bandcamp.com/album/free-syria
7. The Battle
   Hevalkelli
   http://hevalkelli.bandcamp.com/album/free-syria
8. Free Syria
   Hevalkelli
   http://hevalkelli.bandcamp.com/album/free-syria
9. I Wish I Could Play Dabke for all the Weddings in Syria
   California Crisis
   http://mchammerandtongs.bandcamp.com/track/i-wish-i-could-play-dabke-for-all-the-weddings-in-syria
10. Ait Oumrar
    Karim Ziad
    https://www.facebook.com/karim.ziad.96
11. Prophet, Priest & King
    Benjamin the Esquire
    https://soundcloud.com/#christcentric/benjamin-the-esquire-prophet

“Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control. They frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit – in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever.”
Chinua Achebe

Episode 107 of our podcast is now available. You can find it here:

• iTunes
• Libsyn
• MixCloud
1. Sahar
   Niyaz
   http://www.niyazmusic.com/sumud-acoustic-ep
2. Peregrinus
   ArHai
   https://www.facebook.com/TheArhai
3. Abyssinia
   Fanu feat. Gigi
   https://www.facebook.com/TheArhai#!/FanuMusic?fref=ts
4. Silent Warrior
   Dub Gabriel feat. PH Higgins
   http://dubgabriel.bandcamp.com/
5. Luv n’Liv (Dub Gabriel None Shall Escape the Dub Mix)
   Dub Gabriel
   http://dubgabriel.bandcamp.com/
6. Drunken Princess
   Andreilien
   http://www.addictech.com/p/121605
7. Medusa’s Path
   The Prodigy
   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Medusas-Path/dp/B001UF715Q
8. Universe
   Nine Invisibles
   http://earthcityrecordz1.bandcamp.com/track/universe
9. Namaste
   Kryptic Minds
   http://www.addictech.com/p/125094
10. Kali Goes to Rio
    Dilen Magan
    https://www.facebook.com/dilen.magan
11. Wheel of Dharma (Dharmachakra)
    Boofy
    http://www.addictech.com/p/123035
12. As-Sirat al-Mustaqeem
    JEKKS
    http://jekks.bandcamp.com/track/as-sirat-al-mustaqeem

‘Do not be like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life shortens.’
Imam al-Ghazali

A while back we reviewed a stunning album release, Sumud, by Niyaz, one of our favourite bands.

Niyaz create stunningly evocative music rooted in Persian traditional music but growing firmly in the soil of electronica and modern production values. Back in 2008 they released Nine Heavens which came in both electronic and acoustic versions. It worked well; acoustic instrumentation is at the core of the songwriting so both versions of each track are excellent.

Niyaz have now released Sumud: The Acoustic EP which features acoustic versions of three songs from Sumud: Parishaan, Mazaar and Vafa and three new songs: Sahar, Nalona and Naseem.

The EP is classic Niyaz with Azam Ali‘s vocals creating magic over Loga Ramin Torkian‘s exquisite musical chops. Frame drums dominate the percussive grooves that drive it all along and various guest musicians contribute to the melange. Habib Meftah‘s flute is beautiful in Naseem and AR Rahman‘s voice and Salar Nader‘s tablas bring subcontinental flavour to Mazaar.

This EP is well worth acquiring and, like all of Niyaz‘z music, will still be listened to for a long time to come. It is timeless.

Andrew Dubber is an academic, author, public speaker, blogger, music reviewer, radio and music industry consultant, whisky writer, podcaster, record collector, DJ, broadcaster and record producer. He is Professor of Music Industry Innovation at Birmingham City University, an advisor to Bandcamp and Planzai, manages half a dozen blogs, and is the founder of New Music Strategies, a pan-European music think tank and strategy group. He also coaches on productivity and time management.

The 360 Deal is an e-book from New Music Strategies that brings together short articles by a diverse range of people with a lot of experience in music and the music business, each giving the best possible advice they can think of to pass on to someone just starting out.

The 360 Deal is a work in progress. It will grow as more advice from musicians and music business professionals from around the world are collated and added to the project. There are almost 100 articles in the book already – and the author is aiming for 360 in total. It costs US $3.60, hence the cunning title.

All the proceeds are going to a music charity in India. Music Basti is a youth-run charity based in New Delhi that brings music workshops to children affected by extreme poverty.

• Get The 360 Deal HERE.

DubRaJah is Sergey Gabbasov, a social anthropologist, specialising in peoples of the Himalayan region, director of several ethnographic films about different cultures of Asia and Africa, traveller and musician.

Ethnic Profound is DubRahjah‘s second release on one of our favourite dub-orientated netlabels, Angel Dust Records. It’s a fairly chilled collection of dub-inflected ethnotronica – and it’s a free download!

Get Ethnic Profound HERE.

iTunes
Libsyn
MixCloud

Tracks

1. Tabla Dub
   Darrocha (Move Until Motionless – MUM)
   http://earthcityrecordz1.bandcamp.com/
2. Ethnic Suicide of the Volga Boatmen
   Black Star Liner
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Star_Liner
3. Kashmir
   Koby Israelite
   https://www.facebook.com/kobyisraelite/timeline
4. Freedom is Free (Jef Stott Super Mix)
   Opium feat. MC Rai
   http://chebisabbah.spinshop.com
5. Samurai
   DubRaJah
   http://petecogle.co.uk/angeldustrecords/home/releases/adr-010-dubrajah-ethnic-profound/
6. Ismail
   ArHai
   http://arhai.com/
7. Istanbul
   Orient Expressions
   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orient-Expressions/34674489144
8. 24 Yearzz Later
   Vlastur
   http://earthcityrecordz1.bandcamp.com/
9. Here B4 (Vlastur Remix)
   Tiburk
   http://www.soundcloud.com/vlastur

“The people who live in the last places – the people who are most neglected and least valued by the larger world – often represent the best of who we are and the finest standard of what we are meant to become. This is the power that last places hold over me, and why I have found it impossible to resist their pull.”
Greg Mortenson, Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan

ArHai have been around since 1999 but Eastern Roads in only their second release, following their 2006 album, Mysterion.

ArHai are Jovana Backovic and Adrian Lever, supported by a strong cast of vocalists and instrumentalists. Belgrade born Jovana Backovic founded ArHai back home in Serbia and when she moved to the UK for studies, started working with guitarist and tambura player Adrian Lever.

Their music features multi-layered vocals and skilled instrumental workouts that combine understated electronica with elements of traditional Irish, English and Balkan music.

Eastern Roads‘ eleven tracks are a very accessible listen for those not familiar with Balkan inflected collaborations, even though the album strays away from our standard 4/4 time rhythms in places. Strangely, perhaps, it feels to me like the music of Afro Celt Sound System with Balkan music replacing the African component. About half the tunes are traditional songs from Kosovo, Serbia or Macedonia and the remainder are their own works but it’s not obvious which is which, highlighting their ability to both make traditional tunes contemporary and write contemporary tunes that are deeply rooted in folk traditions.

The stringed instruments are played with great precision and are well recorded, capturing a beautiful clarity. Percussion is supportive rather than hard-driving. The backing vocals remind me somewhat of the Trio Bulgarka who collaborated with Kate Bush back in the late 80s. In one or two places they also remind me of Sandy Denny on Led Zeppelin’s The Battle of Evermore. Jovana Backovic’s voice is often mixed a little less up front than it might be on a pure radio pop album, becoming a part of the overall seamless blend of melody lines. If I were to compare her voice with anyone’s, I’d say it’s reminiscent of Iranian Azam Ali - and that is a compliment, believe me!

This is a finely-crafted work of great sophistication.

• Eastern Roads is due for release on 6 May 2013
• ArHai Soundcloud
• ArHai Facebook

]]> http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/album-review-eastern-roads-by-arhai/feed/ 1 vincemillett 0-300x298 http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/future-sound-of-the-underground-volume-2/ http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/future-sound-of-the-underground-volume-2/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:55:42 +0000 Vince Millett http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/?p=4702 ]]>

Earth City Recordz has released Volume 2 of Future Sound of the Underground, a 20 track compilation that dips into several bass-driven styles: dub, dubstep, breakbeat, drum and bass, techno and more.

It includes a track by us, from our next release, Storms. It is called The Fall of the Second Ember (to the Water). For anyone who is interested, it’s a 9/8 karsilama rhythm and the musical scale is Hicaz Kar on G. It has three notes that are not tuned the same as in Western music.

Other artists on the compilation include Celt Islam, Nine Invisibles, Mosienko Project and another Croydon homeboy, 16 year old producer CAMZIFY. The opening track is by Eat Static.

You can get the album for £5 from HERE.




]]> http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/future-sound-of-the-underground-volume-2/feed/ 0 vincemillett 610507329-1 We like music http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/encyclopedia-orientika-secret-archives-of-the-vatican-podcast-105/ http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/encyclopedia-orientika-secret-archives-of-the-vatican-podcast-105/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:19:14 +0000 Vince Millett http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/?p=4693 ]]> Episode 105 of the Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast is now available from iTunes, Libsyn and MixCloud. As always, we have an excellent collection of Eastern-inflected beats, old and new.



Tracks

1. Dervish Funk
   Eat Static
   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eat-Static/19615493659
2. Ranjha
   Sound Shikari
   https://soundcloud.com/#soundshikari/sound-shikari-ranjha-free
3. Switch
   Shandy
   http://www.nasha.co.uk/?RELEASES
4. Swordfight
   Budjunky
   http://subbass.bandcamp.com/album/eidolon
5. Orientika
   Arkeytexture
   http://subbass.bandcamp.com/album/ethnostep-3
6. One God Dub (Dubsahara Remix)
   Kaya Project
   https://soundcloud.com/#interchill/kaya-project-one-god-dub-dubsahara-remix
7. Teshuvah
   Secret Archives of the Vatican
   http://secretarchivesofthevatican.bandcamp.com/track/teshuvah
8. Ni Hao
   DJ Chamber
   https://soundcloud.com/#djchamber/ni-hao-free-download-link
9. Sultanz Dub
   Bass Mekanik and Bassotronics
   http://bassmekanik.bandcamp.com/track/sultanz-dub
10. Eastern Shadowboxing
    Theory Hazit
    http://theoryhazit.bandcamp.com/album/eastern-shadowboxing
11. Eastern Skies Reprise
    Eschaton
    http://omnimusic.bandcamp.com/track/eschaton-eastern-skies-reprise

“It is, indeed, a remarkable circumstance that when Western civilization discovers Relativity it applies it to the manufacture of atom-bombs, whereas Oriental civilisation applies it to the development of new states of consciousness.”
Frederic Speigelberg




]]> http://secretarchivesofthevatican.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/encyclopedia-orientika-secret-archives-of-the-vatican-podcast-105/feed/ 0 vincemillett Podcast 105 ct53512