What is there to say about Sezen Aksu? So much and so little! No words can be compiled to describe her successful carreer as singer, song writer and composer. She has released 23 albums and has won many many awards for her work. Besides writing songs for her own albums, she also supports new artists in their carreers and with her songs. Sezen has many hit songs sung by a variety of artists, including the world famous Tarkan. Originally from Izmir, the Aegean coastal town, Sezen has always not only known what ticks for the Turkish people, she has also created a reputation on the multi-ethnicity based on the culture she was born into. From Balkan to Greek melodies, her music is a harmony of cultures.

She has worked with many world performers such as Goran Bregovic and Haris Alexiou, and has gained a fair international reputation. However, internationally I don't think Sezen Aksu is where she really deserves.

Sezen Aksu participated in the Kardelen project initiated by the deceased Prof. Dr. Türkan Saylan. The aim of the project was to encourage in rural areas to send their daughters to school.

With all these achievements, I wish the best for Sezen Aksu and her creative soul.







Related Links
Sezen Aksu official website

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Soul, jazz, afrobeat, reggae, folk, ...

Her music is so rich, but at the same time reflects so much simplicity. The same is with her background. She is a child of a Nigerian father and a Romani Gypsy mother, raised in Germany. She has a multicultural ethnicity, but she is so plain and open with her looks, voice and music. She catches you in the first note.

Her name means joy in the Nigerian Yoruba language. Joy is what she is seeking, and what she wants to give as you can understand from the title of her debut album "Joyful" in 2006. Her albums represent her life experiences. With her second album "Gravity at last" she gives us another message of stability.

Ayo and her guitar act like one, on any performance, with a dialogue that seems more than real. You must listen to Ayo. Especially her live performance!
Although she has only two albums it was difficult for me to choose from her videos to publish in this post. They are all so good! Happy listening...

Visit:
Ayo's official website
Ayo @ myspace
Ayo @ banana republic

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Dengue Fever, the group singing Cambodian Psych Rock, is a six member band, a Cambodian lady and six guys from L.A., making music influenced from the sixties Cambodian rock songs, as you can experience if you listen to the songs they covered in their first debut album "Dengue Fever" released in 2003. They have released 5 albums to date and using the same style they have produced more original songs. The theme of singing songs in Cambodian is very original and adds a different taste.







Further Reading:
Dengue Fever @ myspace
Dengue Fever @ wikipedia
Dengue Fever @ National Geographic world music

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What a lovely voice and creatively attractive style! This French lady born to a French academic family, has fluent English and studied political science previous her music career. While singing at jazz clubs in France, she also started acting with the film Les Morsures de l'Aube, for which she also contritributed to the soundtrack. In 2002 she released her first album Le Sac des Filles by Virgin Records. In 2005 came her second album Le Fil with an avant garde concept of a a string (le fil) to be a drone that continued throughout the album. The only instruments used in this album were bass, double base and keyboards, encompanied only by explorative vocal sounds. In 2007 she took part in the soundtrack of Pixar's aniation film Ratatouille, with the leading song Le Festin. Last year in 2008 she released her last album Music Hole.

For her inspirational and creative work she has received 5 awards including the Prix Constantin, 3 awards at the Victoires de la musique , and European world music winner from BBC Radio 3.

This lady has caught my ears and sight at a note and a glance. Even though I don't know French, I immediately understand that her work is very deeply conceptual, and her voice and music is very good, even better than most recent artists I've heard in the last decade. She is definitely worth listening to and watching.

Further Reading:
Camille's Music Hole
Camille's Le fil

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Manu Chao, a French singer of Spanish origin sings in many languages; Spanish, French, English, Arabic, and Portuguese and some other languages. This multi language singer first started his musical career with the French band "Hot Pants", making music with multiple styles. He then formed the group "Mano Negra" in 1987, but because of politic reasons left the group in 1995. He then went solo and formed a new group, "Radio Bemba Sound System". With this group he made a steady rise in his career releasing his albums Clandestino, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, and La Radiolina.
He mixes many styles such as punk, rock, reggae, ska, the French chanson and even Algerian raï. His songs are mostly about love, immigration and politics, and some songs have a left wing message.
Although this talented artist is one of the world's best selling, he is not that well known in the English speaking countries.
I expect to listen to more of his work, and hope to see him on tour soon.





Further Reading:
Manu Chao Official Website
http://www.myspace.com/manuchao

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Directed by Ezel Akay, this film depicts a true story from the life of Özcan Deniz, the lead actor of this film, together with Demet Akbağ, Haluk Bilginer and many more talented artists. A melodramatic musical comedy with a taste of Bollywood and and the 1970's retro, this film is a visual feist and gets my A + in every aspect.

The story is shortly about Hayri and Sahin, 2 music producers trying to get out of their massive debt caused by unsuccesful album sales. Ferhat who formerly lived in Germany comes along gives hope to our producers. Then they get into action to produce a hit album for Ferhat and get rid of their debts. Things don't go smoothly and they need extra help. This is when Firuze comes along...

Of course there is no need to ask about the soundtrack, it is explicit also. Most are already popular songs sung with new arrangements especially prepared for this film. Although it isn't common for newer versions of a song to get a good vote, the versions in this do, thanks to Sunay Özgür and Ender Akay. They have done such a great job.
This film has won 2 awards at Ankara International Film Festival, but I think it deserves much more attention especially internationally. I especially recommend the songs "Ahirim Sensin" originally a folk song by Neşet Ertaş, "Ya Evde Yoksan?" originally by Orhan Gencebay, and the theme song "Gaip Arabesk".
If possible, I suggest you not only listen to the soundtrack but watch the movie also, the songs would fit in much better.





Related Sites:
Where is Firuze? (Neredesin Firuze?) @imdb.com

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Are you ready for timeless music from Zakir Hussain? Here we go...

Indian prodigy child Zakir Hussain or in other words Ustad (grand master) of tabla, was touring the United States by the age of 12. As a master of percussion, he plays classical Indian tunes and has performed in collaboration with contemporary jazz artists such as John McLaughlin and Mickey Hart. Hussain is the founding member of Tabla Beat Science "World music supergroup" of Bill Laswell. Besides his musical practice he also teaches tabla to students in San Francisco, USA and Mumbai, India.

He is the founder of Moment! records dedicated to featuring original collaborations of world music, and concert performances of great masters of classical indian music.
He has also starred in various films and has recorded soundtrack albums for films such as Heat and Dust in 1983, The Mystic Masseur, In Custody, and has played tabla for Apocalypse Now, and Little Buddha. In 1999 he wins many awards and is nominated for the many more with the film Vaanaprastham, where he composes, performs and acts as a music advisor.

He has won many awards including the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, a prestigious award given to masters of traditional art, and the grammy in 2009 for contemporary world music category.



Read more about Ustad Zakir Hussain:

Ustad Zakir Hussain @wikipedia
Ustad Zakit Hussain @imdb
Ustad Zakit Hussain @allaboutjazz

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Born in 1956 Mari Boine is a Norwegian Sami musician who combines her native Sami tunes with jazz and rock providing a touching emotional and moving sound. Her music is her voice for her fellow Sami people who are a minority of the Norwegian colonization and live in difficult conditions in the northern skirts of the country.

She made her first debut with "Gula Gula"



This is a film where Mari plays a woman who tries to escape from the difficult conditions of the Sami minority after the region was colonized.
Vuolgge mu mielde Bassivárrái



Related reading and listening:
mariboine.no Mari Boine official homepage
Mari Boine.no at Myspace

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This band is a compilation of New Yorker immigrants from eastern Europe. Their music is rich and composite full of gypsy, punk, rock music and Ukrainian influence sung in multiple languages. After forming an amateur band and being banned from a few musichalls for being too over the top they made their first album 'Voi-la Intruder' with the help by Jim Sclavunos of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Grinderman (ex-Sonic Youth, the Cramps). After that they have recorded 5 albums, 4 singles and have received rewards such as the BBC World Music Award in 2007. The band is nearly always on tour with world festivals, and espicially collaborating with other gypsy bands such as Manhattan Samba, Yuri Yunakov, Ivo Papasov, Piroshka Rac, Sasha Kolpakov Trio, Asian Dub Foundation, Kultur Shock, Rootsman, La Phaze... They were also much talked about with their wonderful show with Madonna at Live Eight. Gogol Bordello also stars in Madonna's directorial debut 'FILTH AND WISDOM'.
Their shows are colourful and theatrical and their musical performance is fabulous.





Read more about Gogol Bordello:
Gogol Bordello, official website
Gogol Bordello @myspace

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