Joe Jackson, a big name on the new wave scene along with the likes of Elvis Costelo and David Byrne, brings his versatility to Barcelona’s BARTS stage to celebrate his four-decades-long career in which he’s released some 20 albums spanning genres such as reggae, jump blues, salsa, R&B and contemporary sounds.
El quartet Manel presenten per fi com a únics protagonistes de la festa el seu últim disc, ‘Jo competeixo’ (2016), avui a Barcelona, per tancar el Grec 2016. Un quart àlbum que ha tornat a rebre elogis per part de crítica i que ha tornat a ser número 1 a les llistes de vendes. Després de tres discos publicats, ‘Els millors professors europeus’ (2008), ‘10.000 milles per veure una bona armadura’ (2011) i ‘Atletes, baixin de l’escenari’ (2013) la banda ha comptat, per primera vegada, amb l’ajuda d’un productor nord-americà, Jake Aron, que se’ls va endur a Dreamland, el seu estudi, instal·lat en una antiga església prop de Woodstock, als Estats Units. L’experiència ha servit per redefinir el so d’una banda que, en aquest disc, incorpora apunts d’electrònica i assenyala clarament cap als vessants més contemporanis del pop. Avui al Teatre Grec.
You may already be familiar with the work of these musicians from Tucson, Arizona, but if not, know that this is a band whose longest-serving member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. Others who have emerged from the ranks include Joey Burns and John Convertino, the two musicians who, in the ’90s, started the legendary indie folk group Calexico. An incubator for fine artists and an outstanding representative of the sound that has become known as Americana, the band are still in good shape, after 30 years of line-up changes featuring some of the biggest names in music. However, they now say they have said and sung everything that they had to say and sing. At least, that’s the reason Gelb gave when he announced the break-up of Giant Sand earlier this year. In 2015 they released ‘Heartbreak Pass’, yet another example of Gelb’s prolific talent for writing alt-country songs, and in this year they plan to launch an anthology (‘The Sun Set’) that includes everything the band have recorded since the very beginning. This box set will be released to coincide with the farewell tour that brings them to Europe this summer. A last hurrah from the kings of American indie folk. Festival Grec presents them tonight at sala Apolo.
This American singer-songwriter is known throughout the world thanks to the fact that his songs ‘Passion Play’ and ‘Please Don’t Go’ were included on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ soundtrack, but his musical talent is by no means restricted to the small screen. It’s no surprise that his work is compared to such icons as Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens and Elliott Smith, because William Fitzsimmons is a walking masterclass in the finest indie folk being produced in the USA today. His first albums, ‘Until When We Are Ghosts’ (2005) and ‘Goodnight’ (2006), were self-produced efforts, and Fitzsimmons didn’t go into a studio as such until he was ready to make ‘The Sparrow and the Crow’ in 2008. This year, the prolific artist with the gentle voice and melancholy yet uplifting songs released ‘Charleroi’. Festival Grec presents him tonight at sala Barts.
With his deep voice and stripped-down, introspective sound, Nathaniel Rateliff has become one of the most interesting and admired figures on the US folk scene, sharing the bill with the likes of Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Bon Iver and Wilco. On his latest album, released in 2015, he takes a surprising foray into soul territory, coming up with a collection of unusual, intense songs. Has our man joined the recent neo soul movement? Not exactly – Rateliff takes things a step further and reworks the genre, giving it a fresh, original touch. Don’t miss this chance to hear the latest sounds from one of the leading figures on the American indie music scene. Today at sala Barts.
Lucy Rose, former backing vocalist with the UK band Bombay Bicycle Club, started out recording her solo material at home. The music videos she then posted on YouTube were an immediate success, introducing the world to a fine voice and lyrics full of sincere emotion. Rose’s debut album, ‘Like I Used To’, made her more widely known as one of the leading artists on the British indie folk scene. She is now busy touring her latest LP, ‘Work It Out’ (2015), which has garnered even more fame for this young artist. Her influences include such singer-songwriters as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, she opened for Elton John in 2013, and now she can fill venues all over Europe on her own merits. Opening the show is another young singer-songwriter,
Lucía Scansetti. The artist from Madrid presents her own new album, ‘Dimensions of Dialogue’. Today at sala Barts.
Tot i que els seus treballs per a films com ‘Amélie’ (2001) o ‘Goodbye Lenin!’ (2003) l’hagin donat a conéixer entre el gran públic, Yann Tiersen no es considera un creador de bandes sonores. Ell és un músic eclèctic amb influències que van de la música de carrer als sons d’avantguarda i del minimalisme al rock, els vals o la chanson francesa. En el seu nou treball, el vuitè d’estudi, tria una grafia que pot ser alhora el número 8 o el símbol de l’infinit com a títol. I l’omple dels paisatges deshabitats i la naturalesa mineral de la seva Bretanya natal, però també d’Islàndia i de les illes Fèroe. Amb temes en islandès, bretó i feroès, el disc té molt a veure amb els paisatges d’una cultura celta que Tiersen defensa fins al punt de somniar una Bretanya independent de França però integrada en una Europa federal. Qui encara recordi les seves primeres obres amb instruments de joguina veurà com l’artista recupera aquí aquells sons, tot i que els manipuli electrònicament i els barregi amb sons acústics en un viatge apassionant d’anada i tornada entre el món digital i l’analògic. Avui al Teatre Grec.
Ville à Dômat 