We are pleased to announce a European tour for summer 2014 in collaboration with our partners, the excellent tour agent Run Productions. Any venues wishing to book, please contact us.
TOTO LA MOMPOSINA y Sus Tambores have added some extra dates in Europe this autumn.
11.10.2013 Festival Ville et Musiques Du Monde (FR)
12.10.2013 La Source (FR)
18.10.2013 Sala Penelope (ES)
25.10.2013 Festival Fiesta des Suds (FR)
![toto_new_smile[2]](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/59efaf9932601e1c3320f8e2/59efbce914fd831d8f9244c9/59efbceb14fd831d8f92463d/1508883691111/toto_new_smile2.jpg?format=original)
Congratulations to Totó who is to be honored with The Latin Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.
She will be acknowledged at a special invitation-only ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas as part of the weeklong 14th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards® celebration.
"It is with great pride that we announce this year's honorees, who not only epitomize the essence of true masters of their craft and genre, but represent the global musical spectrum that encompasses the Latin community at large," said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. "We continue to be humbled by their contributions to the musical legacy of the Latin world, and celebrate and honor their accomplishments and the talent that they have graciously shared with us over the decades, which will continue to endure for generations to come."
The debut album from Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita is now availble for preorder exclusively from this site.
To order a copy and stream the featured track click here.
You can sign up to the newsletter and download a free track by clicking here.
To listen to previews of the tracks, please use the player below. Enjoy!
The AMJ Collective play their first live shows starting this week at Shambala ….
Dub Maestro Rob Smith is no stranger to innovative sonic adventures, a Bristol man who emerged from the reggae scene of the 80s as a guitarist and engineer, later developing his craft as a producer, DJ and re-mixer. Known for his work in Smith & Mighty and More Rockers, now piloting his own unique RSD sound, Rob tours constantly, performing in many countries across the globe.
Space mixes
Jonathan Lane worked with the BBC for ten years, plying his craft as an engineer with Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 and network TV. Afterwards he set up his own recording business in Bristol specialising in acoustic and classical music working with many artists from Andy Sheppard to the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Astar and Theatr Mwldan are delighted that Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita has been one of three Welsh music acts selected for a prestigious Horizons Stage appearance at Womex 2013 in the Welsh capital Cardiff.
This stunning shared musical journey between two world class virtuosos – Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and West African kora player Seckou Keita, blends the Manding music of West Africa with Welsh melodies to make ‘gorgeous, eloquent, elegant music’ (Thomas Brooman CBE).
The announcement comes just as preparations are underway for the launch of a major autumn UK tour for Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita, which starts at Hall for Cornwall in Truro on 20th October before going on to another 17 venues around the UK. This Autumn also sees the launch of their new album 'Clychau Dibon' on 14th October.
The Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita project reflects the vital role of the harp in the incredibly rich cultures of both West Africa and Wales. Remarkably, both nations share centuries-old bardic traditions of intricate oral history, expressed through music, song and verse. Together, Finch and Keita have risen to the tough challenge of blending two completely different musical cultures and creating something sublime, relevant and entirely new.
WOMEX received more than 850 proposals from all around the world. 38 were shortlisted for the Horizons stage for the nine slots by a panel of the UK and Ireland partners and independent music professionals. They represent the very best and most exciting world music talent emerging from each nation right now.
Tickets for the WOMEX Showcase Festival nights are £17 in advance and £22 on the day. If you wish to attend all three of the WOMEX Showcase Festival evenings, you can purchase a three day ticket for £45 from the Wales Millennium Centre Ticket Office by calling 029 2063 6464. A limited number of concession tickets are available in advance for Students and Over 60s. Please call the Ticket Office for more information.
Press and publication Quotes:
‘Old Welsh harp songs, Manding kora staples, Latin dashes, Celtic arias and more woven together to create something new that also possessed enough depth to sound sage, even timeless.’ Andy Morgan
'Gorgeous, eloquent, elegant music' Thomas Brooman CBE
'If you closed your eyes you might just have glimpsed the late medieval Welsh harpist Robert ap Huw landing on a West African shore, trading his slate-grey skies for the shimmering light of Africa and the busy dark flow of the Taff for the lazy effortless meander of the Gambia river.' Andy Morgan
‘the marriage of harp and kora seems blessed to be long, warm and fruitful.’ Andy Morgan
We are please to announce (and very excited too) that Catrin and Seckou will be touring again in the Autumn.
20/10/13 TRURO Hall For Cornwall
30/10/13 BURY ST EDMUNDS The Apex
01/11/13 SALISBURY Salisbury Arts Centre
02/11/13 BROMSGROVE Artrix
06/11/13 Brecon Theatr Brycheiniog
07/11/13 FELINFACH Theatr Felinfach
08/11/13 LLANELLI Y Ffwrnes
09/11/13 MILFORD HAVEN Torch
10/11/13 HARLECH Theatr Harlech
13/11/13 PONTARDAWE Arts Centre
14/11/13 NEWTOWN Theatr Hafren
15/11/13 BANGOR Neuadd Prichard Jones
16/11/13 PWLLHELI Neuadd Dwyfor
17/11/13 HOLYHEAD Ucheldre
20/11/13 NOTTINGHAM Lakeside AC, Djanogly Theatre
21/11/13 KENDAL Brewery Arts
22/11/13 HULL Hull Truck Theatre
The full details can be found in the "Live" section of the website.
Following on from the success of their Depth Drop and Sign Of The Dub 7" release and as a taster to the full blown album due in the Summer, AMJ have now released Sign Of The Space. A fabulous ambient 4 track EP remixed by Jonathan Lane.
Jonathan Lane joined the BBC in 1979, plying his craft as an engineer for ten years with Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 and network TV, working with many major artists and producers as well as presenters from John Peel and Paul Gambaccini to Kenny Everett and Terry Wogan.
In 1989 he left the BBC and set up his freelance studio and location recording business in Bristol. Working on countless classical and jazz sessions with figures including Andy Sheppard, Pewee Ellis, Sir David Willcocks, John Lill, Mark Padmore and ensembles such as the Solomon Trio, the Sun Life Band and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, he has developed a very fine understanding of acoustic instruments. In 1998 he began engineering sessions for producer John Hollis who brought a steady stream of international artists into the studio from Totó la Momposina and Cimarron to Billy Cobham and Asere, then finally the AMJ Collective.
AMJ is Andy Clark, Mark Spence and John Hollis. Brought together by reggae and motivated by a shared dub sensibility, they have been working with a collective of musicians from harpist Catrin Finch to kora player Seckou Keita (both of whom feature on these sessions) building a unique sound which they take into very different sonic and musical spheres.
Jonathan was given the challenge of ‘space mixes’, the concept being akin to dub but using subtle acoustic arrangement rather than relying solely on effects. He responded by drawing on a lifetime of musical experience, from which he weaves a rich and innovative sound world. Enjoy the journey.
Toto La Momposina has announced the following dates as her European tour this summner.
25 May Barcelona sala Barts http://www.barts.cat/es/e-94/TOTO-LA-MOMPOSINA
28 May Rabat-Marruecos Festival Mawazine http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/fr/artistes-2013/toto-la-momposina.html
1 June Cologne Festival Summerstage http://www.summerstage.de/
2 June Amsterdam NSJclub http://www.northseajazzclub.com/event/toto-la-momposina/
5 June Bern Mühle Hunziken http://www.muehlehunziken.ch/programm/programmdetail/eventid/258/?no_cache=1#.UYkZp7X8HoY
8 June Goteborg Festival Clandestino http://clandestinofestival.org/2013/en/toto-la-momposina-2/
14 June Milan Festival Latinoamericando http://www.latinoamericando.it/
16 June Toulouse Festival Rio Loco http://www.rio-loco.org/dimanche_16_juin_musique.html
We are proud to announce the release of two new live performance videos from Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita:
This is something special!
Seckou and Catrin on stage in Wales recently in a week of pre-production for their first album.
Touring follows in the autumn.
An Astar Artes-Theatr Mwldan Co-production with support from Arts Council Wales.
Looking forward!
Photo by Josh Pulman
Astar are very proud to congratulate Seckou Keita on being nominated in the World Traditional Song Category for "Hino" in The 12th Annual Independent Music Awards..
The Judge-determined IMA Winners will be announced in May.
In addition to industry-determined Winners, fans from around the world have until Friday, July 19, 2013 to cast their votes at The IMA Vox Pop Jukebox to determine the fan-selected IMA Winners. So please visit http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/12th/Song/World-Traditional and register your vote!
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita are preparing an album and performing two shows this week in Wales at The Royal Welsh College on Weds 20th and Theatre Mwldan, Cardigan, on Thurs 21st.
Cimarron embark on a US tour in March.
14 March 2013 LATINO ARTS AUDITORIUM MILWAUKEE, WI http://www.latinoartsinc.org
16 March 2013 KAUFMAN AUDITORIUM MARQUETTE, MI http://kaufmanauditorium.org
17 March 2013 MILLIKEN AUDITORIUM TRAVERSE CITY, MI http://www.dennosmuseum.org
22 March 2013 PERFORMING ARTS CENTER OMAK, WA http://omakpac.org
23 March 2013 METHOW ARTS TWISP, WA http://www.methowvalleyarts.org
27 March 2013 JOURNAL THEATRE ALBUQUERQUE, NM http://www.nationalhispaniccenter.org
30 March 2013 MUSIC CENTER LOS ANGELES, CA http://www.musiccenter.org
02 April 2013 EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC ROCHESTER, NY http://www.rochester.edu
04 April 2013 GORELL RECITAL HALL INDIANA, PA http://www.iup.edu
05 April 2013 ARTISHPHERE ARLINGTON, VA http://artisphere.com/
06 April 2013 JOHNNY D'S SOMERVILLE, MA http://www.johnnyds.com
We are very pleased and proud to announce that Seckou's album Miro has gone straight to No1 in the world music charts. For more information go to http://www.wmce.de/index.html
Seckou's track Hino will be appearing on the latest Jazz FM limited edition compilation available from Jan. The CD entitled "A world of Discovery" will also be carried on all BA planes in flight entertainment systems,on both short and long haul.
This album, which is the third in the series, consists of a unique selection of largely undiscovered tracks from many of the less known corners of the musical globe
Have a listen as you fly...
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