Simon Cowell

Breton Music Updates….

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

    It is sad that those who don’t know anything about music get to set on a panel and judge performers. They even have the nerve to tell the performers off that” he or she will not amount to anything”. How did this happen? How did we let these poor guys have the power to tell us what to do and what not to do? They don’t  even know anything about music. If you review their history or CV, there’s nothing there that says something about music except getting involved with bands or performers who capitalize on looks rather than talent. And yet we let these guys run our lives? Simon Cowell should know his place. And it is not on the panel. It’s on the cash register.

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Those who love  Carre Manchot will be glad to know that they have gigs set for February.  I love their groovy music , coupled with sleek  performance. This is another one Brittany will be proud of.

More at: http://www.carremanchot.fr

and : http://www.myspace.com/carremanchot

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Marc Pollier is attracting audiences from all over Europe with his style of playing the Uillean Pipes. There is something warm and exotic with his style. I guess it’s because he’s combining two cultural modes and making them his own. according to his bio(Translated from French though Google and grammatical inconsistencies I tried to address):

Marco POLLIER practiced Uilleann Pipes for 25 years. He perfected his style directly from the Irish musicians he met while residing in Birmingham between 1986 and 1989 with Kevin Crawford (flute group LUNAS), Mick Conneely (Dé Danann) and Paul O’Driscoll (RIVERDANSE). Being a professional musician for 20 years, he traveled throughout Europe, giving concerts in solo or in groups. Then he moved to Ennis, Ireland for 6 years, in  County Clare, where he worked with renowned musicians such as John FAULKNER, Siobhan PEOPLES, Jesse SMITH, Josephine MARSH … Again his talent for piping and virtuosity make him a popular musician. He recorded his solo album EBONY & BRASS which gained   prestigious local acclaim. Since 2003, he played in the group Eitri, with Kevin Ryan, Dag Westling, Esbjorn Hazelius and Fredrik Bengtsson. Back in France, Marco founded a duo with pianist and accordionist Christopher RAILLARD and played in various bands such as: – O’NEILL MOR with Paddy O’Neill (fiddle and flute) and Paul BROUGHTON (guitar-vocals). – SILVER SQUID with Jean-Claude and Camille Philippe – Macalla with Pierrick Lemou, Herve Dréan and Rachel Goodwin – AVALON CELTIC DANCES – with Serge, Patrick and Florentin Desaunay – with Jean-Michel Veillon and Ronan PELLEN – It also provides courses Uilleann Pipes and Tin Whistle (Irish flute) and master classes.

http://www.myspace.com/marcpollier

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Two guys I will watch out for:

Yannig Alory: wooden flutes / Antonin Volson: percussion are a duo worth noting. They play really lively but relaxing tunes. There’s not much clatter here. Unlike the usual ‘wall of sound approach in most Breton music, these guys want to keep it down with minimal noise as possible. So far I’ve only listened to are Ha Ni Zo Tri Breur and Kas-Bar. Trully wonderful tracks that keeps you going. I will be checking more tunes  from them

http://www.myspace.com/duoaloryvolson

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  Our Breton music excursion gets exciting as I discover the music of Erwan Volant. His style is more like Latin meets mediterranean with that typical Breton spicy stuff that appeals to my ear buds! At times his music can escalate into something that you’d hear in movies like James Bond. He happens to be a member of the Martin Harmon Quintet which I featured here. I am impressed by his version of The Tree originally done by The Cure( After all The Celts treated trees as sacred so this is only fitting).  Listen to his music and don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya.

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Susan Boyle: A Scot who didn’t back away.

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

 

I really don’t follow shows like American Idol and Britain’s Got talent.
So it is no surprise that I only got second hand information the day
Susan Boyle made a standing ovation in front of 60 million audiences around the world.
I watcher her performance in youtube and showed it to my folks. They were moved.
 She offered something refreshing. She’s got the style or should I say
the ‘it’.I think  the majority of her appeal comes from the fact that she represents
us-the underdogs of society.
  After all we have been treated to the typical glamour stuff that shows such as this one 
presents.Sure there are other singers who can sing like her. Maybe some can even sing 
better.But what made her special was the fact that her’s was an unwelcomed possibility. I 
mean who doesn’t want a singing contestant who looks like Taylor Swift?But that’s the point. 
For the first time people were made to put their ideals to rest and just listen to the 
song…the melody, what it’s all about and the music.They were made to suspend their 
prejudices and made to focus on the music-the real intention of sincing contests such as 
this one.
  I am glad when things like this happen.For people like us who listen to the music first 
before the artist, it’s a breath of fresh air.  When Simon said”Susan, you’re an old tiger 
aren’t you”?I think the truth couldn’t be far.Just goes to prove what a Celtic Tiger can do.

 

Original news can be found here:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/various-artists/news/unlikely-uk-sensation

-boyle-sings-rousing-memory–61987270

I really don’t follow shows like American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent.So it is no surprise that I only got second hand information the day Susan Boyle(Born April 1,1961 in Blackburn,West Lothian Scotland)   drew a standing ovation in front of 60 million audience around the world.

I watched her performance on youtube.com  and showed it to my folks. They were moved. She offered something refreshing. She’s got the style or should I say the ‘it’.I think  the majority of her appeal comes from the fact that she represents us-the underdogs of society.

  After all we have been treated to the typical glamour stuff that shows such as this one presents.Sure there are other singers who can sing like her. Maybe some can even sing better.But what made her special was the fact that her’s was an surprise probably even to her. Coming from a small town and often bullied as a child in school,Susan was inflicted with learning difficulties.

It’s amazing that for the first time people were made to put their ideals to rest and just listen to the song…the melody, what it’s all about and the music.They were made to suspend their prejudices and made to focus on the music-the real intention of singing contests such as this one.

  I am glad when things like this happen.For people like us who listen to the music first before the artist, it’s a breath of fresh air.  When Simon Cowell said”Susan, you’re an old tiger aren’t you”?I think the truth couldn’t be farther.