SMS Online - The Rainforest World Music Festival 2003

Calling themselves “the flying beavers”, these 6 dynamic (and very good looking!) young men from Quebec have an invigorating sound, strong voices, deadly musicianship and amazing stage presence.

Over the last 9 years, they have brought their traditional instruments and contemporary mix of sounds all over the world and are one of the most up-coming and promising groups in the Canadian scene.

They were the winners of the Marcel-Ducharme Prize for Best New Group in traditional music in 1999-2000 and were nominated for a Juno Award in 2001 for Best Roots & Traditional Album.

Audiences all over are on their feet, singing and dancing wherever they perform.

Their music is a crossover between traditional Quebecois and world music – traditional French folk songs spiced with exotic influences and exciting rhythms. You can also hear strong Celtic strains from Ireland and Scotland.

Their shows explode with their contagious energy and enthusiasm. Very often they have been likened to as being the younger sibling of La Bottine Souriante, another fellow Quebec band, minus the brass section.

Leader Nicholas Froment plays guitar and mandolin as well as providing the vocals for many of the songs.

Mathieu Lacas is the violinist and has been playing since he was 5 years old.

On electric bass, bass, piano and accordion is Rejean Brunet. Martin Mailhot and Frederic Bourgeois play the diatonic accordion as well as the Irish drum, commonly known as the bodhran, harmonica and snare drum.

Singer and arranger Sebastien Parent plays practically any instrument but concentrates on the guitar and banjo.

Look out also for the foot percussion which usually drive audiences wild – it’s straight out from Irish foot dancing. Check the schedules and listings for the afternoon workshops when they are published – there might even be a slot for a foot dance lesson for all those Riverdance fans out there.

This is a must if you like dance and foot stomping music. Tipped to be a party time last act at the festival, La Volee d’Castors promises to be a blast.

BULGARIAN QUARTET AT THE FESTIVAL

From Eastern Europe comes the VALERI DIMCHEV QUARTET from Bulgaria with traditional singing accompanied by folk instruments.

The strongest elements in their music is the characteristic sounds of the tamboura and the tarambouka mixed with the incredible female voice of the beautiful Desislava Dimcheva.
Her voice is so striking that it will stop you in your tracks. Voices like hers are much sought after and she used to sing with the Philip Koutev State Choir.

Valeri Dimchev, leader of the group, has been blending the Bulgarian folk tradition with improvisation and fret-blazing virtuosity for more than a decade.

The other 2 musicians are Aleksandar Popov playing svirka, tarambuka and clarinet; and Dragomir Dimov on percussion.

The tamboura is a long necked instrument with four double strings played with a plectrum while the tarambouka is a small Oriental drum.

A svirka is a kind of short flute which is a typical instrument of the Bulgarian shepherd in the past. VALERI DIMCHEV QUARTET’s music is deceptively complex and remarkably powerful. The interlocking rhythms they produce speak volumes on their own so it matters not one joy that their songs are all in native Bulgarian.

In Sofia, there are many schools that teach and maintain these disciplines that date back thousands of years. Valeri Dimchev himself is a teacher who is dedicated to passing along this knowledge to the younger generations.

CUBAN BEAT AT THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL WITH THE HABANA SON CLUB

One of the most popular bands brought in this year is the HABANA SON CLUB from Cuba.

HABANA SON CLUB plays the traditional style of Cuban roots music with rythms like Son, Cha Cha, Chá, Guaracha, Boleroi, Rumba, Danson and Salsa.

"SON" is the root of Cuban contemporary music and dance. Once it was used as a generic term for the dance music that came from Cuba in the Twenties. African and Spanish traditions were melted into what Nicolas Guillén, the famouse Cuban poet, called "our soul". Son integrates music, lyrics and dance, over which the Cubans define their identity. Today´s Latin music, like the allover popular Salsa, derives from Son, the very Cuban soul.

The band plays Cuban songs on acoustic instruments. Their programme contains all kinds of traditional Cuban music and rhythms.

In 1996 the band got together in Havana. All of the 6 members have finished their studies at Havana´s University for Music and two of them learnt with Ruben Gonzalez, band member of the famous Buena Vista Social Club.

Think lusty voices of 6 men combined with the seductive latin American rhythms and you will have the HABANA SON CLUB.

They are masters of the soneo – the difficult art every good singer of Afro-Cuban-Latin dance music must have, which includes a sense of rhythm, a gift for improvisation, a perfect pitch and individual style so as to lead and interact with choruses and instruments.

There is almost no doubt that this band will have everyone at the festival up on their feet and dancing. Listen out for timba rhythms, which are today’s Cuban salsa, a modern fusion of son and rumba with funk, soul, rap, pop.

So make a date with the musicians of the HABANA SON CLUB at the Cultural Village. Not only will they be performing on Mainstage on one of the evenings, they will also be taking part in the workshops that are spread out over the 3 afternoons.

CHIPOLATAS TO FEATURE AT THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL THIS YEAR

A quirky group called the CHIPOLATAS from England are going to bring their own brand of street entertainment, music and clowning antics. They are known world-wide as an adrenaline-infused band, having performed in 27 countries across 5 continents.

Their routines are an overload of vibrant colourful music and comedy. This dynamic trio comprising of Tristan Glover, Samuel Thomas and Gareth king are renowned for their energy, vivacity, passion and wit!

Sam started his career at the age of 9 with the Fabulous Salami Brothers and soon established himself as a sausage in his own right. He has trained extensively in circus skills, theatrical design and performance techniques and is both a professional teacher and performer.

Jasper started with solo shows before teaming up with Sam. Tristan has been playing live music since he was 12 and is a talented “squeezebox” player as he handles the accordion in the CHIPOLATAS’s acts.

Children will be encouraged to go to their workshops – it will be a blast of clowning, juggling, acrobatics as well a good dose of English traditional songs and stories. Not quite what you would expect at a world music festival but it will pep up the already electrical buzz that’s always present at this long awaited annual festival.

The 3 guys of CHIPOLATAS are expected to come up with fast and furious routines that have earned them rave reviews. They bring with them the magic of fun. They are rowdy, exuberant and totally mad.

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