France

Kitus:Folk / World / Celtic

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

Something to make you boogie with your kilt!

Kitus are a French group  based in Lyon France composed of  Yannick Guyader (diatonic accordion), Sylvain Vuidart (flute, wood and metal), Luke Roche (violin) and Fabien Guiloineau (acoustic guitar, bouzouki).  They play a brand of jazz influenced Celtic music combined with waltzes, mazurkas and even Latin rhythms. The album called “Après l’After” was released in 2009. One of their notable performances was in Gannat Cabaret Festival in 2011. They are on tour and you can check the details through their reverbnation page : http://www.reverbnation.com/kitus and details for purchasing the CD are found in their official website where you can also listen to the  tracks for free.

 

Kepa Junkera

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Kepa Junkera : Definitive music of the Basque country.

I love the music of Kepa Junkera and how it drives your senses into a wild abandon. The music has a primal but beautiful appeal. I can’t describe the feeling I have when I first heard the song Bok Espok. But I think the closest thing I can come up with is that feeling upon seeing a cornucopia exploding  with deep colored fruits, juices oozing in irresistible sweetness .  From 1988 to the present, he already recorded 10 albums.

More here : http://www.kepajunkera.com/

and: http://www.myspace.com/udalekumusak/music

Happy Breton Weekend

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 7 Comments

Some Breton music as the week goes to a close…

As weekend is here, I will be away from the Internet(I hope so but after getting a smart phone that would be hard to resist but still… ). I was trying to figure out what to post to cover my weekend of absence. I always make it a habit now to avoid checking even social networking sites like facebook or myspace. maybe I’d be with a nice book or be somewhere having an interesting conversation with someone at Bob’s Cafe. Whatever the case I will be away.

It’s usually important to detach oneself from the virtual world and enjoy the sunny outdoors-even for just two days! So what will I post here? I don’t have any interview with a Celtic musician yet…or album to review. And then it hit me. I have been posting videos from youtube on my facebook profile today. I have been inspired once again by the music of Brittany. So our ears point to the West of France this week 🙂

Take for instance this beautiful presentation with the music of Dan Ar Braz “Borders of Salt”….

More scenes with the band Tri-Yann..

 

Have a nice weekend!

40th Festival Interceltique de Lorient 2010-It’s Happening!

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Wake up! Wake up! the Irish are coming to France.

Well..not just the Irish but the Scots,Welsh, and the rest of the people from the Celtic nations including Cornwall, Isle of Man, Galicia and Asturias. We should also remember that it stretches into the far reaches of the globe where Celtic influences can be found. They are all coming to Brittany to celebrate the colors.the talents and diversity. It’s been forty years! Can you believe that? Here’s more to another forty years and beyond.

Visit the gallery and videos here.

Brenda Wootton and Alan Stivell Duet

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This is a great find in YouTube. Yesterday I blogged about  a feature in livingincornwall.com where a never released live recordings of Brenda Wootton resurfaced. I also talked about Alan Stivell‘s new album Emerald. As we all know, France adored Brenda , a prominent figure in the Interceltique Festivals up to the time she passed away in 1994. This video (Amazing Grace) I think was taken around 1984. The quality is not that good but the audio is fine. Here you can witness the vocal power of this lady and how Alan Stivell accompanied her!

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For those who hasn’t sin up for a Marc Gunn newsletter, you better get one. Marc is a great source for new Celtic bands out there. There are also free MP3 samplers that you can listen to on his site . A great thing before your conviction to buy the complete album. He is a musician himself and at the same time he supports other musicians.

http://www.marcgunn.com/