UK music magazine Uncut weighs on this year's best albums. Like Rough Trade, they give Josh T Pearson serious placement. They put Tinariwen, who appeared on The Colbert Report last night (!) with Tunde and Kyp from TV on the Radio, at #18. Check out their whole list and video from Colbert, below...

Continue reading "Uncut's Top 50 Albums of 2011, video of Tinariwen & Kyp & Tunde on the Colbert Report"

by Andrew Frisicano

Tinariwen @ (Le) Poisson Rouge in April (more by Tim Griffin)

Malian band Tinariwen recently won the 2009 Uncut Music Award for best album (given by Uncut Mag) for their record Imidiwan:Companions. The 11 member jury, which included Billy Bragg and Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, voted the album the "most inspiring and rewarding" of the past 12 months over the seven other entries including Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projectors. For a better idea of the sizable competition, the shortlist of nominees is below.

Tinariwen, who made a good impression at Coachella and played NYC's LPR both in April, will be coming to North American this February. The trip includes a pair of NYC shows: they return to Highline Ballroom on February 18th and then play a rare Brooklyn show (their first?) at The Bell House on February 19th. Ticket info TBA.

Also coming to the Highline in 2010 will be Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore for a show on Saturday, April 17th, as part of the World Music Institute Presents: Songs of Mali series. Tickets are on sale. World Music Institute will also bring Nigarian juju legend King Sunny Ade to the Highline Ballroom on April 9th. Tickets are on sale.

For Rokia, the Highline show is somewhat of a makeup show after her Summer 2009 tour was cancelled.

On Friday, March 26th another Music of Mali show will happen with Bassekou Kouyate (who play the ngoni, a West African lute) at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. That'll be the New York debut of his band and Mali's "first ngoni quartet," Ngoni ba. Tickets are on sale now.

Videos of all four with the Uncut shortlist and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Tinariwen win an award, announce tour dates ++ upcoming King Sunny Ade, Rokia Traore & Bassekou Kouyate shows too"

DOWNLOAD: Uncut - Hideaway (MP3)

Patrick Krief is in the Dears, and has an awesome song where he sings with Land of Talk's Elizabeth Powell streaming on his MySpace, and this very week he's in NYC doing his solo thing along with fellow Canadians Uncut (as seen on Pitchfork). Last night they played Mercury Lounge, and next:

Patrick Krief & Uncut - 2007 Tour Dates
Jul 18 - Maxwell's Hoboken, New Jersey
Jul 19 - Club Midway New York, New York
Jul 20 - Union Hall Brooklyn, New York
Jul 21 - Soundfix Brooklyn, New York

Too bad Lizzie is not still in town. More dates below....

Continue reading "Patrick Krief (Dears) & Uncut - 2007 Tour Dates"