A Pair of Brown Eyes
Cat Power – Video by Jim Jarmusch
A singer-composer, actress and occasional model from the Southern United States, Cat Power has been playing in various bands since 1990. Charlyn Marie Marshall was born 1972 in Georgia, her father, Charlie Marshall was a well-known blues pianist. Avant-garde director Jim Jarmusch has directed the music video for Cat Power’s interpretation of The Pogues’ ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ from her recently released album Covers. “The dreamy visual was filmed at New York City’s Blonde Studios, with Jarmusch’s camera capturing Cat Power as she performs the song alone on a Mellotron in a cloud-like setting. The video marks the first collaboration between Marshall and the Down by Law director. ‘As someone who deeply loves Cat Power’s music, getting to collaborate with Chan on this video was like a dream come true,’ Jarmusch said in a statement. ‘She’s so inspiring to me, of course as an artist, but she’s also just such an extraordinary person.’” (Rolling Stone)
Domino Records | April 22
Lightning I, II, from the album WE (to be released on 6 May 22)
Arcade Fire
The Canadian Indie rock band Arcade Fire has released five studio albums, three extended plays and twenty-four singles. Present members of the band include Win (Edwin Farnham Butler, 1980), singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, his wife Régine (Alexandra) Chassagne, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist, and a founding member of the band. Other core members are Frank Reed Parry (multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer), Tim Kingsbury (bass) and Jeremy Gara (drums). A first album, Funeral, was a direct result of the personal losses they had endured in their families, most notably the passing of Win Butler’s grandfather, the composer-arranger Alvino Rey. This led to a somewhat somber sound. It catapulted the band to immediate success. A flurry of prizes later, and Arcade Fire is somewhat more settled. The band likes to give back and are big donors when it comes to Haiti, where Régine Chassagne hails from.
Columbia Records | April 22
Sira from the new album Timbuktu
Oumou Sangaré
In 2017, the album Mogoya signalled the long-awaited return of Oumou Sangare after eight long years during which the Malian singer devoted herself to managing her numerous businesses. With that album, recorded in Stockholm and Paris, the woman who once sold water on the streets of Bamako and has since become a global star, treading a fine line between her attachment to the traditional music of Wassoulou, the region of Mali which she hails from, and technological dislocation, gracing her fans with songs whose vital force was still intact and laying bare a heart that has remained as ardent as ever. In return, Oumou suddenly found herself propelled into a new dimension, that of pop culture: Painted by the Congolese artist JP Mika for the front cover, remixed by Sampha, St Germain, Malik Djoudi and others for the follow-up Mogoya Remixed, and even sampled by Beyoncé. Putting her generosity, her formidable energy and her notoriety at the service of the most disadvantaged, the Malian star Oumou Sangaré defends the values of Africa.
World Circuit | April 22
Arbenz X Postma / Jerjen / Barradas
Shooting the Breeze
«Swiss drummer and bandleader Florian Arbenz is in the middle of a mission to release twelve albums with twelve radically different line ups from his studio in Basel. Conversation #5 is out this month featuring renowned Dutch saxophonist Tineke Postma, accordionist João Barradas and Australian bassist Rafael Jerjen.» (Jazzfuel) From his custom-built Hammerstudio in Basel, he brings together both musicians he’s known for years and those that he’s only admired from afar. Florian Arbenz, who comes from a family of musicians, has been playing jazz together with his twin brother, pianist Michael Arbenz, since their teenage years. In the field of classical music, he has performed as a percussionist at numerous concerts and festivals (such as the Basel Music Forum, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and the Lucerne Festival) with Heinz Holliger, Kent Nagano, and Paul Sacher, among others. In addition, he has given solo concerts in Europe and South America.
Hammer Recordings | April 22
Danses de Claude Debussy
Nicolas Tulliez, solo harpist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France
«Born and raised in Paris, Nicolas Tulliez holds a Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School, an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, and a Master of Music from Yale University. His teachers include Pierre Jamet, Nancy Allen and Judy Loman. Winner of many competitions and scholarships, he has performed as a soloist all over Europe, USA, Canada and Asia. Chosen by Myung Whun Chung as first harp solo of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France since 2005, after being appointed at the same position at the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, then at the Sinfonieorchester Basel, he also plays regularly with other formations such as the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmonie, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Abbado, Haitink).” (https://nicolastulliez.com/)