 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Fantazia play a breathtakingly rootsy blend of Gnawa, Chaabi and Dance which draws on the vibrant rhythms and rich musical tradition of North Africa. Built around the original compositions of Algerian oud player Yazid, Fantazia’s irresistible grooves create a sizzling party atmosphere that soon has any audience on its feet and dancing.
|
| |
| Latest News |
14.09.07
The new Dj ClicK double CD, Dj ClicK Flavour, containing his remix of Fantazia's Khira,from Mul Sheshe, will be released in France next Monday, 17.09.07, on his No Fridge label, specialized, as he says, in world and jazz music crossover with electro inflexions. Release in the UK and Benelux will follow soon. Here is their description of the album . . .
2007 issues Dj ClicK Flavour, a spicy double CD compilation perfumed with travels and feelings from abroad, a Balkan & Orient music crossover with electro inflexion. 28 tracks, most of them unreleased, with Gypsies playing Drum n Bass and Dub, the folk dances discovering the stroboscopes and the sub basses, the Gnawa swapping their guembri with keyboards . . . A patchwork of blended and forerunners talents : Leontina Vaduva, Mitsoura, Burhan Ocal, Project Zlust, Trans Global Underground, Rachid Taha, Fantazia, Laxula, Recycler, Stefano Miele, Tziganiada, N.o.h.a. . . .
No Fridge |
16.8.07
Following a very busy summer, with the band playing festivals in many parts of the UK and making their debut outside the UK at Amsterdam Roots Festival Roots Open Air, there are still two summertime opportunities to catch Fantazia live in the London area, and they're both free! This Sunday, they will be at the On The Edge Festival by the riverside in the middle of Richmond, at 5 pm, and on Bank Holiday Monday August 26, at 1 pm, they will be playing outside the National Theatre, in a performance that will feature the amazing dancer Najma. For more details, see Gigs on this site or our MySpace page. |
1.11.06
Many thanks from Fantazia to all the great people we met at WOMEX 2006, the world music expo. As usual, completely good vibes were the order of the day, and the WOMEX team did a great job in organising their biggest yet, with over 2500 delegates. It was very good to meet Dj ClicK face to face at last, and to catch his DJ showcase set (including his remix of Khira). Also to meet once more our labelmates on World Village El Tanbura, from Port Said, Egypt, who played a hugely enjoyable gig. We hope Tony Blair gets a chance sometime to enjoy their song commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Suez disaster of 1956! Their CD Between The Desert And The Sea, World Village WV 450002 comes highly recommended! El Tanbura |
1.10.06
Fantazia will be represented at WOMEX 2006, in Sevilla, October 25-29, by Karim Dellali and Duncan Noble, looking for performance opportunities for the band in the UK, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere during 2007. Fantazia are keen to play gigs and festivals internationally, and wish to form working relationships with agents worldwide, to this end. WOMEX |
1.8.06
We are very happy to report that Paris-based Dj ClicK has contacted Fantazia through MySpace, and that he will be doing a remix of Khira, from Mul Sheshe, for inclusion in both his new CD and his DJ showcase set at this year's WOMEX, in Sevilla in October. Dj ClicK, A&R, musician, producer on his label No Fridge, is one of Frances most adventurous DJs. After setting up the band UHT in 2000, experimenting with new styles in electronic music, he met the Moroccan Gnawa Njoum from Essaouira, then explored Eastern Europe borders with Rona Hartner (Gadjo Dilo) and issued two albums from the Boum Ba Clash collection. He then produced, selected, mixed, and realised the culture crossing Labesse, meaning, ’youre alright?’, building a new bridge between electronic and oriental music. Labesse is dedicated to the dignity of women, to outline a message of hope for peace in the Middle East, to end the fanaticisms, and to bring people of different origins and cultures together through music. Just finished is the second UHT album Ghost Forest, to be followed soon by a collaboration with Leontina Vaduva, the French soprano of Romanian origin, and a gypsy string group. DjClicK/No Fridge |
11.7.06
Fantazia's page on MySpace.com goes online today. Feel free to check it out. If you're on MySpace, please add us to your friends!
www.myspace.com/fantaziahackney |
1.6.06
Following the success of the Mul Sheshe UK tour, Fantazia are looking forward to two important festival appearances in early July - Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, on Sunday 2.7.06 (family day at the Palm House in Sefton Park), and Cultural Cooperation's Salaam Music Village 2006, where they will be appearing on Sunday 9/7/06 in Regent's Park, London.
Over the two weeks of the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, highlights include the Liverpool premiere of the first Yemeni feature film, A New Day in Old Sana’a, Texterminators, a performance play by Mai Ghoussoub fresh from a showcase in Beirut, Palestinian hip hop dancers The Sport and Show Arts Academy and Algerian music exponents Cheb Nacim and, of course, Fantazia. Also new this year is an Arabic dinner and dance night in Heswall Hall in Wirral.
Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival
’Salaam’ means ’peace’ in Arabic and peace is at the very core of Islamic belief. The Salaam Music Village is a call to peace that responds to a surge of negativity towards Muslim populations worldwide since 2001. Muslim and non-Muslim extremists have both in their ways fuelled the distorted notion of Islam as a rigid and intolerant religion, one that is locked in the past and incompatible with other faiths. Yet the living reality is of a moderate, progressive and welcoming worldwide community of Muslim peoples, one that has existed and evolved in relative harmony with non-Muslims throughout history. The festival illuminates examples of peaceful co-existence and critical engagement between Muslims and non-Muslims across the world. It celebrates some of the breathtaking diversity of artistic forms generated by Muslim communities as an expression of their faith. And it unveils for Muslims and non-Muslims alike the immense and enduring contribution of Islam to the world’s cultural heritage over the centuries.
Salaam Music Village 2006 |
15.4.06
An excerpt from Mul Sheshe is included on the new Global Rhythm April Podcast. For those in other parts of the world, who may not yet know about it, Global Rhythm is a leading world music magazine in the USA. The podcast, compiled and presented by Robert Kaye, includes an interview with Taj Mahal, sharing his memories of the late great Malian artist Ali Farka Toure, plus lots of great music from various parts of the world.
www.globalrhythm.net/podcast |
1.2.06
’Seen Enough’, from Mul Sheshe, will appear on Oriental Garden Vol. 4, a 39-track two-CD compilation released this month by German label Lola's World, also including tracks from Fairuz, Khaled, Rachid Taha, Souad Massi, Rabih Abou-Khalil and many others. Lola's World Clubstar |
22.1.06
The Mul Sheshe UK tour began two days ago with a great gig at Manor Ballroom Ipswich, presented by Peppery Productions, followed on Saturday by another at Norwich Arts Centre (supported by the Big Sky choir). The hard work and regular performances of the past few months are paying off, and Fantazia are hitting new musical peaks. Peppery told us after the Ipswich gig, ’It was a great night for us - right up there with the best we've had. Well played everyone!’, and since 2000 they've presented Los De Abajo twice, Misty in Roots, Oysterband and many others . . . www.peppery.co.uk |
20.1.06
Mul Sheshe will be released in France next month by Harmonia Mundi, on 23.2.06. www.worldvillagemusic.com |
1.12.05
Mul Sheshe has entered the World Music Charts Europe Top 20 at 17, up from 31 last month.
www.wmce.de |
24.11.05
Fantazia performed last night at World Music Directions 3, at The Junction, Cambridge next Wednesday November 23 (Box Office 01223 511511 and online booking available: see Gigs) www.junction.co.uk. It was a great evening, and it was very nice to share the bill with:
Rita Ray, DJ & host, BBC World Music Awards, Big Chill, The Shrine, BBC Africa Network, BBC Four Africa Lives on the BBC. www.theshrine.uk.com
Daphna Sadeh and The Voyagers Israeli bassist Daphna's band playing a selection of original and vibrant dance music and Middle Eastern jazz. www.daphnasadeh.com
Rio Platenses Connected by the basin of the Rio De La Plata, this band features Brazilians, Uruguayans and Argentinians in an original fusion of South American music, delivered with passion: Argentinian Guillermo Rozenthuler on guitar and lead vocals, Don Montefiore of Manteca on bass and backing vocals and Andre El Chino Ticino from Uruguay on percussion.
The event was produced by the Cambridge Community 209 Radio shows
Beatnik beatnik.209radio.co.uk and
Club Global clubglobal.209radio.co.uk.
It was also very nice to sit down with Algerian baklava and mint tea among beautiful North African decoration in the cafe, courtesy of Al Casbah and Bedouin. |
17.11.05
Tonight, on HMS President on the Thames at Blackfriars, Fantazia were presented with the inaugural CEN Magazine Award for music. CEN Creative Enterprise Network Magazine is the ’Creative Monthly for East London’. Awards were also awarded for Film, Fashion, Design & Innovation, Visual Art and Theatre. The event was attended by over 700 people involved in the creative industries - the vast majority based in East London. As CEN describe it, "Sur Taal provided an energetic start to the evening’s entertainment followed by Kat Francois’s unmissable slam poetry performance. A profusion of colour, fabric and East End glamour was provided by the fashion show presented by Mirrorstudios. Then came Fantazia’s electric performance that had us jostling for space on the dance floor. The film program included gems such as What Barry Says from award winner Simon Robson, Joshua Neale’s Flowers and Coins, Leigh Hodgkinson’s Stalk and Lucy Baldwin’s What Estate Are you From?" CEN Awards
CEN Awards Photo Gallery with onstage shots of Fantazia's set
|
1.10.05
Fantazia will be strongly represented at WOMEX 2005, to be held at The Sage Gateshead, UK, October 26-30. They will be based at stand G11, along with the Bollywood Brass Band, Flook and ZubopGambia, and will also be working closely with their colleagues at Harmonia Mundi UK.
|
24.9.05
Richard Bignell, co-producer of Mul Sheshe (and, going way back, some of Fantazia's earliest demos) has opened his own recording studio area 18. With a 180 sqft wood live room and separate, sound insulated control room, it is the ideal venue for band or individual recording projects. The studio is situated in West London, close to the A40 and Central and Bakerloo Line tube stations. Parking is no problem. Full details at http://www.area18.net/. This will be good! Richard engineered on Jamiroquai's current album Dynamite, and, since graduating with distinction from the Alchemea School of Audio Engineering and Production in 1996 Richard has worked in various capacities with a wide range of bands and artists, including Milk Plus, Mighty Truth, Mica Paris, Shara Nelson, Travis, Talvin Singh, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Marc Almond, Nick Heyward, Pillbox, Death in Vegas, Sugarfree, Errol Brown, Sheila Ferguson, D-Influence, Simple Minds, Ben Onono, The Cornerstones, Tatjana, Addis Black Widow, Steve Winwood, Ramshackle, Freewheelin' Franklin, Roachford, Will Topley, Grey Cloud Zombie, Sam Obernik, Shelly Poole, Lottie, Lazy Curtis, Steve Hillage, Amar, Nitin Sawney, State of Bengal, Boo Radleys, Delakota, Billie Ray Martin, DJ Rap, Lamb, Satoshi Tomeii, Mel C, Culture Club, Man with No Name and Amanda Ghost.
|
23.9.05
As the October 3 release date of Mul Sheshe approaches, the CD has been reviewed in fRoots www.frootsmag.com (fRoots 268, October 2005) : "Fuelled by a base of Maghrebi musical traditions - and with multicultural guest performers aplenty - the classy jazzy brass of Rachel Bartlett on saxes and Bellowhead’s Andy Mellon on trumpet give the album a funky party spirit, but without compromising on the rai, cha’abi, Berber and Gnawa roots and rhythms of dazzlingly skilful oud player Yazid Fentazi’s compositions and the cracking percussion of Karim Dellali." For the full review, by Yvonne Mitton, please see Reviews.
|
5.9.05
This week Fantazia will be recording a live session for Andy Kershaw, to be broadcast on Sunday, September 18 (BBC Radio 3, 22:15 - 00:00). We've had further airplay of Mul Sheshe on BBC Radio London, from Charlie Gillett www.charliegillett.com/ and Gerry Lyseight.
|
15.8.05
Mul Sheshe will be released on the World Village label on October 3. The first review has appeared in the September/October issue of Songlines www.songlines.co.uk, who awarded a four star rating: "Mul Sheshe is full of strong, colourful tunes and powerful arrangements in which the raw, traditional sound of Algeria meets the modern West, as in the drum’n’bass-driven ’Khira’. Standout tracks include ’Zmane’, with its typical chaabi melody from the Algiers casbah and its urgent and impassioned vocal break, and also ’Seen Enough’, which reflects upon life with disappointment but stoicism. This is Fantazia with a strong voice and a new direction." For the full review, by Tatiana Rucinska, please see Reviews.
|
17.5.05
Fantazia are delighted to announce that they have signed with Harmonia Mundi UK for the UK/Eire release of the new CD Mul Sheshe on the World Village label later this year. The band will be touring in the UK in November. There’s already a buzz about Mul Sheshe: Andy Kershaw has played two tracks ('Moussa' and Khira') on his BBC Radio 3 show and included the CD in his 'presenter chart' in July's fRoots www.frootsmag.com. Outside the UK, there has been airplay in Germany on Colin Bass’s Sabah Am Sonntag on Radio Multikulti RBB/WDR Berlin www.multikulti.de, and in France as part of a Beur FM programme back in February, based around a live interview with Yazid www.beurfm.net.
|
1.4.05
Individual tracks from Fantazia's first CD The Lost Place are now available for legal download from www.calabashmusic.com. This is the leading world music download site in the USA, and they operate a Fair Trade policy ensuring that artists receive an equitable share of the 99c per track they charge for each download. This policy has secured the participation of many major artists. Check it out! Calabash are partnered with, among others, Afropop Worldwide and Global Rhythm Magazine.
|
2.3.05
Congratulations to Bellowhead (fronted by John Spiers and Jon Boden and including Fantazia trumpet man Andy Mellon), on winning the 2005 Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Live Act. Bellowhead's percussionist Pete Flood also co-leads The Very Tiny Little Kids with Fantazia's bassist Gideon Juckes, and Gideon will be joining the ranks, on tuba, at some Bellowhead gigs this summer. Later this month, Gideon will be touring, again on tuba, with the Eliza Carthy Band. More information about Bellowhead at www.bellowhead.co.uk, Eliza Carthy at www.watersoncarthy.com and the Radio 2 Folk Awards at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music |
1.3.05
Fantazia's new CD Mul Sheshe is complete and ready for release. We're itching to get it out as soon as we possibly can, and urgent negotiations are underway to bring this about. In the meantime, please check out our mp3 preview of the title track, available on the releases page of this site. The first album 'The Lost Place' is available online at www.amazon.co.uk or direct from the band at their contact address.
|
25.10.04
Fantazia performed yesterday at Whitby Musicport Festival, North Yorkshire, played very well, enjoyed the gig enormously and made lots of new friends. They were also very happy to arrive in Whitby on Saturday evening in time to catch some of DuOud's set and, later, a wonderful performance by Mory Kante's acoustic band. Others performing at this year's festival included UK Chinese Ensemble, Demon Barber Roadshow, Bob Brozman, Chumbawumba, Mabulu, Robert Maseko, The Peatbog Faeries, Martin Simpson, Banco De Gaia, Baka Beyond, Altan and many others. A great festival! If you've never been to Whitby before, do yourself a favour next year, and go! It's an historic, beautiful and fascinating place, catering for various tastes with wide availability of excellent fish, excellent beer and, during Musicport Festival and at intervals throughout the year, excellent music. More information about the festival at www.musicport.fsnet.co.uk |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
