The Dub Pistols 4th album, Rum & Coke, continues their journey, this time using grooves more as vehicles for a songwriting frenzy which has resulted in their most assured, mature and, yep, commercial album yet. With a startling array of guests, including cool ruler Gregory Isaacs, Beats International’s Lindy Layton, acid house pioneer Justin Robertson and Ashley Slater of Freak Power they’ve refined the multi-hued excursions of previous album Speakers And Tweeters and emerged as a cutting-edge modern pop group without losing the danger, humour and mania.

Renowned trombonist Ashley Slater, of Freak Power fame alongside Norman Cook, sings on the album’s opening track and first single ‘Back To Daylight’, a richly-melodic summer strut riding a smile-inducing bassline. He also lends his tones to the album’s most adventurous track, ’Song For The Summer’, a smokey ballad which closes the album as a necessary calm after the various storms and skank attacks which have gone before. Maybe an even bigger shock is veteran acid house DJ-producer Justin Robertson unleashing a sturdy singing voice on the buoyant 80s-recalling pop of ‘Keep The Fire Burning’. “Justin was a real cool guy to work with,” says Barry. “The boy can sing! He’s also done a remix of the first single from the album which is just fucking mindblowing: a full on in-your-face club anthem. He’s really easy to work with: good songwriter, good voice with that New Order Manchester feel to it.”

Lindy Layton, another former Cook cohort hitting number one in 1990 with Beats International’s ‘Dub Be Good To Me’, makes a surprise return on a sublime reggae-bedrocked romp through Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King’s heavenly disco-boogie classic ‘I’m In Love’, which will fulfil a sure-fire destiny as the album’s second single. Few bands can raise a roof or ignite a festival crowd with more rabble-rousing aplomb than this crew. Barry, who still DJs relentless with the Dub Pistols Soundsystem, predicts that the Specials shows will be, “some of the best nights of my life”. They then go on tour before facing a hectic string of festival dates, including Glastonbury, Bestival, Glade, Beautiful Day, Rock Ness and Bloom.

Source: MySpace

Incredible, imaginative, entertaining, talented, they play unexpected cover versions of the entire spectrum of modern music.

They perform live, full of energy and humor - live performances that are virtually unforgettable!

General ConZou, Al the X-King, Cosmic Communist and Mosch Holiday are the BURGER PROJECT!

They stir up musical memories of a generation in an unbridled rate, covering diamonds - from swing to punk and from disco to country: Clash, Alice Cooper, Queen, Ramones, Thin Lizzy, Godfathers, White Stripes, Prince, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, Sonics, Undertones, Tsitsanis and so on... With the “general”, jazz contrabassist Conzou disguised (sometimes) as an Easter lamb, Al the X - King as a guitarist and basic performer who, as the vein in his neck swells, sings better and better “fake” notes, the also «crazy» performer Cosmic Communist as a keyboardist moving with ease from hammond to the Near East and the happy “rock” of simplicity, Μosch Holiday as a drummer, the result is definitely unexpectable.

Source: www.theburgerproject.gr

The group ‘Hainides’ were originally introduced as a trio in 1990 giving their first live performance in the canteen of the University of Crete on the island of Crete, Greece.

Rapidly growing to seven members they released four albums and performed concerts all over Greece, with great success, up until 1997 when the group temporarily dissolved. One year later in 1998 ‘Hainides’ was reformed by two of the original members, Dimitris Apostolakis and Dimitris Zaharioudakis. Joined by the new members Maria Koti, Alexis Nonis, Periklis Tsoukalas and Antonis Skamnakis. The band was formed into its present line up. ‘Hainides’ have collaborated both in the studio and on stage with a plethora of well known and respected musicians and singers. Throughout the years they have performed all over Greece and also abroad including concerts in Luxembourg, Cyprus and America. They have recorded seven studio albums. In their live performances ‘Hainides’ include in the programme not only their own original compositions and songs but also new arrangements of themes and songs from various other traditions such as Turkey, Afghanistan and Bulgaria.

Source: MySpace

Traditional sounds and oriental rhythms meet the harmony and western electricity.

Mediterranean and Balcan songs, greek sounds, sounds of the world with blues and jazz colours. Original instrumental compositions and songs with a strong dance element of jocularity and subversion.

Mare Yiem are:

• Angeliki Toumbanaki: vocals
• Aliki Markantonatou: piano, accordion, vocals
• Dimitris Chiotis: oud, cretan lyra, vocals
• Dimitris Psichas: electric bass
• Panagiotis Mathikolonis: electric and acoustic guitar
• Giannis Efstathopoulos: percussion

Transglobal Underground (sometimes written as Trans-Global Underground or simply as TGU) is a London-based music collective who specialise in a fusion of western, oriental and African music styles (sometimes labelled as "world fusion" or "ethno-techno"). Their first four albums featured Natacha Atlas as lead singer and their single "Temple Head" was used in a Coca-Cola advertising campaign for the 1996 Olympic Games. In 2008 they won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music after the release of their seventh official album, Moonshout. Their next release has been announced as a side project entitled 'A Gathering of Strangers' to be released under the name U.N.I.T.E.

Source: Wikipedia

ancient greek roots vs urban electronica

PALYRRIA was created in Athens, Greece in 1996 as a dance project. At 1999 the band turned into its own musical direction.

They call it World-Electro and indeed this music is neither electronic nor “ethnic”. It’s a mixture of western electronica and traditional music from around the Mediterranean.

PALYRRIA uses Aeolian scales, pentatonic music, instruments that come out of the depths of history, alongside pumping bass lines, techno grooves, vocoders, clicks and cuts, creating music that is both ancient and futuristic at the same time.

They prefer to think of electronics as a way of modernizing the old sounds rather than a means to an end.

PALYRRIA are constantly on the road and consider live performance as the most vital function of the band.

Their CD releases so far are a clear demonstration of how the band is progressing.

1st - “Zero Gravity” was recorded live in 1999 released in 2001 and is filled with warm unprocessed music, with an emphasis on traditional instruments that captures the magic of live performing.

2nd - “Palyrria” released in 2004 and reached No8, in World Music Charts Europe (October ‘04) and No20, for the year 2004 Top-100, of the Radio Producers Chart in Europe (www.wmce.de)

The 3rd record of PALYRRIA, called "Methexy", was released in 2006 and it's their most mature to date. Cretan music, rhythms from the regions of Thrace and Pontos in the Black Sea, ancient Greek lyrics, Minor Asia tunes, Indian wind instruments, is only some of the musical treats that "Methexy" has to offer.

Source: www.palyrria.com