ARIA AWARD WINNING BAND TO PLAY NEW MUSIC FOR BRISBANE

Judith Wright Centre, BEMAC and Kultour present
ZULYA AND THE CHILDREN OF THE UNDERGROUND

“..she is one of the most important contributors to the overall pattern of a contemporary Australian music in
this society.” Felix Hayman, ABC Classic FM

ARIA Award winning band Zulya and the Children of the Underground, who are embarking on a national tour to launch their new album, Tales of Subliming, will perform at the Judith Wright Centre on Sunday 11 April 2010.
Zulya and the Children of the Underground won an ARIA Award for Best World Music Album for their last recording,3 Nights, which also spent four months in the Top 10 of the European world music charts.
Well-known in Brisbane for her guest performances with Doch Gypsy Orchestra, Women in Voice and her last soldout concert at Judith Wright Centre in 2007, Zulya says her new music was inspired by the fairytales of her childhood.

“Tales of Subliming is a collection of vignettes based on fairytales; each song brings to life the journey of a female character including Gerda from Snow Queen, the Snow Maiden and Baba Yaga (the Russian witch),” Zulya said.

“It was exciting to explore these characters through song as there is a lot more going on in fairytales than we can see at first glance; fairytales are about our journeys to achieve individuality in a symbolic form,” she said.

“Some say each of us identifies with our own fairy story or with a character from one. Because of this I am confident that the audience will find the music evocative, fascinating, thought-provoking and uplifting,” she said.

Zulya and the Children of the Underground combines the melancholy, beauty and drama of Zulya’s song writing and the extraordinary musicianship of her collaborators.
Described by critics as a blend of Russian and Tatar ethnic music and contemporary European jazz, Zulya’s songwriting traverses country, cumbia, klezmer, jazz, classical, Russian folk, Mexican and circus music styles.
For Tales of Subliming the distinctive trumpet of new band member Eamon McNelis (Flap!, Vada) assumes the role of primary solo instrument, shifting the emphasis away from the mostly Russian sound of the band’s two earlier releases.
Contrary to Zulya’s previous albums, which have been primarily written in Russian, Tales of Subliming features seven songs written in English.
Growing up in Tatarstan, Russia, in a musical family, Zulya was immersed in a culture of family gatherings with lots of song around the table and started performing at age nine.

Since moving to Australia in 1991, Zulya has performed at festivals and venues across the country including Sydney Opera House, WOMADELAIDE and Woodford Folk Festival, among others.Zulya was awarded Female Artist of the Year by the 2001 Australian World Music Awards and won Best Live World
Music Artist by the 2002 Australian Live Music Awards.
Embarking on a national tour to launch their new album, Tales of Subliming, Zulya and the Children of the Underground will perform for one-night-only at the Judith Wright Centre on Sunday 11 April 2010.

Wan Solwora pre-show cooking demonstration/performance

I GIR

COOKING DEMONSTRATION / PERFORMANCE

TOURED AND PRESENTED BY KULTOUR

Lisa Hilli and her mother Cathy Hilli guide and demonstrate a celebratory feast melding Australian and Papua New Guinean cultures, where members of the public participate in the preparation, cooking and eating of I Gir, a traditional vegetable and chicken dish cooked in banana leaves with hot river stones and served with rice. Literally meaning 'to steam with hot stones' I Gir is a traditional Tolais dish from Papua New Guinea . While much of the time consuming food preparation will be done in advance of the demonstration participants are encouraged to try scraping coconuts, softening banana leaves and assisting Cathy in other aspects of the process. Then participants sit down and share I Gir with Lisa and Cathy.

“As a critical focal point of this project, I feel it is important to maintain my cultural inheritances and continue to practice them even if they are not truly in the traditional sense. By applying these cultural histories and traditions through a contemporary context, I believe my ideas and knowledge of my New Guinean culture are being delivered in a way that appeals to an audience within popular culture yet fulfils my needs to maintain my specific New Guinean / Australian individuality”.

Lisa Hilli, Artist: Make sure you don’t miss out on seeing Lisa’s exhibition, Just Like Home, in The Well, Brisbane Powerhouse from Wednesday 31 March – Sunday 11 April. Just Like Home is an exhibition, a meal, a film and a biography, which explores artist Lisa’s Hilli’s New Guinean and Australian heritage.

Wan Solwora featuring George Telek, David Bridie and Band and the Narasirato Pan Pipers from the Solomon Islands will commence at 7.30pm in the Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse.

Planet is the Brisbane Powerhouse dedicated world music and dance program. This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. This is a Kultour presentation developed in partnership with Multicultural Arts Victoria and BEMAC with the assistance of the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

DATE Wednesday 31 March 2010 TIME 6pm – 7.15pm

VENUE Plaza (outside the main building near the entrance), Brisbane Powerhouse

CAPACITY Maximum 25 participants – however people are free to watch and learn!

BOOKING tanyahirokom@brisbanepowerhouse.org

Wan Solwora MUSIC

Brisbane Powerhouse Presents Planet:
Wan Solwora MUSIC

Featuring George Telek And The Narasirato Pan Pipers, Directed By David Bridie. Wan Solwora translates as One Ocean, One People and is an unforgettable celebration of the sound, the music and the spirit of the Melanesian islands of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. With a captivating blend of bamboo pipes, bush bass, the polyrhythmic pulse of the ukulele and soaring traditional voices, ARIA Award winning George Telek and his band are joined by the Narasirato Pan Pipers and special guest Jeremy Jongsma in this energetic and joyous concert. Telek is a band, a man and, in some parts of the world, a legend. He has been at the forefront of the Papua New Guinea music scene for more than twenty years. Surrounded by virgin rainforest and idyllic lagoons, the Narasirato Pan Pipers live at the end of a mangrove forest in the Solomon Islands. Their swooping vocals, wooden drums, conch shells and dance create an uplifting and unique performance, praised by audiences for its pure energy. Together they create the magical energy, beauty and sound of the islands right here in Brisbane.
Wed 31 Mar 7.30pm
$32 (f) $28 (c) $26 (groups 10+)
Powerhouse Theatre
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org





Saturday Sessions
Brisbane Powerhouse and Bemac Present
Planet MUSIC

Do you have a taste for the exotic but can’t afford a world trip? That’s ok. We’re bringing the world to you. From Latin to Reggae, Indian to African, Planet, on the first Saturday of every month will transport your musical senses literally to another world. With each session you might find Brazilian rhythms crossing paths with Eastern delights or cool island drums coming face to face with the heat of Salsa. World music and world class acts. With a true globe-trotting experience like this, you won’t need a holiday.
Saturday 3 Apr, 5pm
FREE
Turbine Platform
For more information go to www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

Harvest Festival with our friends at Northey Street

In 2010 Harvest will occur in March for the first time, coinciding with the Autumn Equinox. The Harvest program will reflect the earthy undercurrent of the Autumn season celebrating the culture, food, and art of First Nations communities and Brisbane's broader multicultural communities. Harvest will feature sustainability and organic farming workshops, Bollywood and hiphop dance workshops, an exciting kids program and much more. Harvest will feature diverse acts such as Maharani, Spacifix, Tautoko, and many more.

Brisbane's Melting Pot

A WORLD OF FREE MUSIC




There’s a world of music bubbling away in Brisbane’s diverse communities. This melting pot of multi-culturalism will be celebrated during the monthly series of free entertainment and activities to be held at QPAC’s Cascade Court and Melbourne Street Green.

Traversing the globe from Asia to Europe, Africa and the Americas, Brisbane’s Melting pot will feature an array of ethnic delicacies from local communities including traditional fare, arts and craft, new world music and dance.

Gather your family and friends and join the global citizens of Brisbane’s new world city as we celebrate diversity, community and culture through the universal languages of food and music.

Where Cascade Court and Melbourne Street Green, QPAC
When 11.30am to 5pm

Immerse yourself in the sounds and aromas of mystical Asia with rhythmic Bhangara, bamboo flutes, exotic strings, driving percussion and the phenomenon of contemporary Bollywood.
Saturday 13+Sunday 14 February
Saturday 13+Sunday 14 March

Folkloric traditions, classical compositions and contemporary pop music come together to mark the European influence on a western culture steeped in delicious diversity.
Saturday 10+Sunday 11 April
Saturday 8+Sunday 9 May

Return to the roots of all music with an exciting world of song and dance beating a trail from tribal Africa to the idyllic rhythms of the South Pacific.
Saturday 5+Sunday 6 June
Saturday 10 + Sunday 11 July

Traverse the globe footloose and carefree with a gypsy gathering drawing from the Mediterranean, the Baltics, the Middle East and Central Asia to create an energetic celebration of a colourful life of travels.
Saturday 7 + Sunday 8 August
Saturday 18+ Sunday 19 September

Party with the sounds of the streets as we shake up the music that has inspired revolutions, celebrated freedom and opened our hearts and minds to the ryhthms of carnivale.
Saturday 16+Sunday 17 October
Saturday 13 + Sunday 14 November



Presented by QPAC with the support of BEMAC

VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ

Big Planet

Tue 19 - Wed 20 Jan 2010



This January sees the first time visit to Australian shores for African guitarist/singer/songwriter, Vieux Farka Touré who is set to perform an intimate show at Brisbane Powerhouse.

Mixing reggae, funk and R&B, Vieux Farka Touré breaks new ground as one of the first world music artists to embrace the sounds of rock. The son of African music legend, the late Ali Farka Touré, he draws on West African Malian traditions, and incorporates his father’s signature desert style blues to create his own unique style and sound.

Please note BEMAC's operating hours for 2010 will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am - 4pm. BEMAC reopens for business on Tuesday 19th January.