Gotan Project is based in Paris and consists of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff and Christoph H. Müller. They met in the late 1990’s through a mutual passion for the combination of sound with image, electronic and acoustic music.

Gotan Project on amazon.com

Gotan Project on amazon.co.uk

In 2001 Gotan Project broke new ground in tango and electronica with their debut album ‘La Revancha Del Tango’ (which has sold in excess of a million copies worldwide), and have played shows everywhere from Tel Aviv to Tokyo and in between. For their second studio album ‘Lunático’, they really wanted to explore both tango and folkloric music from Argentina a lot further than they had before.

Their music has been featured in American television shows such as Nip/Tuck, Sex and the City and Chuck and their song “Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre)” from the ‘La Revancha del Tango’ album appeared in the 2004 movie Shall We Dance? with Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere as well as in the tango sequence of Take the Lead in 2006.

Watch Shall We Dance? movie clip:

From a recent interview with Gotan Project, Philippe answers some questions about the group and the Gotan Object box set:

What is the “Gotan Object” all about?

As it says on the box, it is the world of Gotan Project in a box, so what is the world of Gotan Project? It’s about music, visuals of course, and because we are in a moment where the music is changing, not the music, but the medium is changing. We lost the vinyl, we are losing the cd and now it’s about mp3 and everything like that. We wanted to bring back, in a way, to the roots of the last century. That’s why we have some traditional mediums, like a book, a very old medium but we have also 7 inch vinyl, where you can listen to the 50s version of Gotan Project, also an exclusive poster, like a kind of puzzle, a funny poster, and a DVD, of course, a dvd that Prisca created. It’s the DVD of some tracks that you can see on stage, on stage you have visuals on screen and it is extremly artsy and creative. I’m sure the fans will be very, very happy to have it at home, because it’s a dvd you can even use if you have a party with friends, you can have it on the screen, it can be really nice, even if you play another music, of course you can play it with our music but it can be like, sort of a moving painting. So, yeah, it’s about that, music and visuals, and it’s exactly the world of Gotan Project.

What are Gotan Project’s further plans? Will there be a new album?

Our plans for now is to go on tour, this exclusive tour. We play a few capitals only, not more then 15 shows. We play in Berlin, in Amsterdam, also Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, some other cities, so it’s gonna be fun. We’re going to present the new kind of show where we are mixing the two, a revend el tango and lunatico cinematography and tracks. So it’s going to be a two hour show with some surprises, it’s going be very interesting, I think, for the people who know Gotan Project on stage but also interesting for the people who never saw Gotan Project. After, we are going to take some holidays, then we’re going to start in January to record the new album, mostly to compose and produce, and we have a lot of work to do but we are very excited to do that. It’s been now a long time since we came back in the studio to create an album. Last time, was a funny experience, we did it between Paris and Buenes Aires. This time it’s going to be in Paris and maybe Buenes Aires or maybe somewhere else, I don’t know. We talk a lot about that, we are really bringing ideas together and its exactly how we always work. It’s kind of a special chemistry between the three people and after, all the musicians involved in that, this is the plan.

About The world of Gotan Project in a box

Handle with care – Gotan Object contains some psychotropic substances, the box set knows nothing of moderation. Beneath the tar-stained casing lies a double live CD of both the “La Revancha del Tango” and “Lunático” tours, 152 pages of photography, “Carnet de viajes”, accompanied by the DVD ‘Visiones’ – image-maker Prisca Lobjoy’s live visuals which where projected during the concerts and the photos that she gathered throughout the tour, plus an exclusive poster. And lest we forget, there’s the 7″ vinyl EP that resulted from Gotan Project’s return to their roots : their two greatest successes, “Santa María (del Buen Ayre)” and “Diferente”, done like they did it in the golden age; both tracks have been recreated entirely acoustically and in keeping with the original, traditional tango of 1950s Argentina. Coming full circle, the pioneers of electro-tango are aspiring to leave their imprint on the future of Argentinian music, and they know just what they owe to the history which precedes them.

Watch Gotan Object promo video:

Gotan Project exclusive tour

For a decade now Gotan Project has been leading the field in electronic tango music. Their gigs have never been ‘just’ gigs and their forthcoming tour is going to be exceptional.

The “Exclusive Tour” will be happening only once! If you are not there you will miss it – they will play in the major cities of Europe, each time choosing the most prestigious venues rather than the biggest.

The tour was conceived as a special one off show rather than a series of recitals, this tour will be a way to pay tribute to the end of an era and will showcase Gotan Projects visuals and music from the two previous tours: La Revancha del Tango and Lunático tours, and there will also be some surprises to delight their audiences.

Gotan Project exclusive 2008 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

27th November – Bucharest / Palace Hall
2nd December – Rome / Teatro Tendrastrisce
3rd december – Milan / Alcatraz
5th December – Lausanne / Les Docks
8th December – Zagreb / Tvornika kultur
9th December – Berlin / Tempodrom
11th December – London / Roundhouse
13th December – Brussels / Les Halles de de Schaerbeek
14th December – Amsterdam / Melweg Max
15th December – Paris / Olympia
16th December – Barcelona / Palau de la Musica Catalana
18th December – Warsaw / Congress hall
20th December – Lisbon / Campo pequeno
22nd December – Athens / Athens Arena-Pantheon

Gotan Project Official Website
Gotan Project MySpace

There is one classic saying that perfectly describes Naturally 7; Never judge a book by its cover. This is the one case where what you see, just isn’t what you get.

Naturally 7 are seven guys from New York City (although two members Roger and Warren Thomas were born in Manchester, England) whose image brings to mind heavy hip-hop beats more akin to a dollar than 50 Cent and yet here they are on tour for the second time as special guests to Michael Buble.

They have become an international phenomenon, wowing, to standing ovations each night, audiences that range from 30 something professionals to a generation for whom Snoop Dogg would have no meaning. So what is it that makes Naturally 7 transcend all barriers?

Despite a repertoire that ranges from their own self-penned, composed and arranged tracks full of Jazz-tinged, gospel, hip-hop, funk and pop to complete surprises like the Phil Collins’ classic “Feel It (In the Air Tonight)”, a Simon & Garfunkel medley and Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings”, what is truly stunning about Naturally 7 is that they do what they do with absolutely no instruments.

If seeing is believing, then join the more than 5 Million people that have watched Naturally 7’s impromptu performance on the Paris subway on Youtube:

Watch Naturally 7 perform “Feel It (In the Air Tonight)” on a Paris Subway (video)!

Dubbed VocalPlay by Naturally 7 themselves, they have created a precise art form of using their vocals as instruments. Their entire sound; the rhythms & beats, the bass, the keyboard and up-beat soul vocals are all produced by nothing more than their very versatile voices. Their only problem is complaints to turn the stereo down when they have impromptu rehearsals in hotels.

Naturally 7 are:

Roger – 1st Baritone / Rap
Warren – Percussion / 3rd Tenor
Dwight – 2nd Baritone
Armand – Bass
Rod – 1st Tenor / Scratching
Jamal – 4th Tenor
Garfield – 2nd Tenor

Album – ‘Ready II Fly’ – Released July 21st, 2008
Single – “Feel It (In The Air Tonight)” – Released July 21st 2008

Having just appeared on the Ellen Show in America and Sunrise in Australia, Naturally 7 continue to take the world by storm and return to the UK with Michael Buble for the following dates:

Naturally 7 July 2008 UK tour dates:

Friday 18 July Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Saturday 19 July Glasgow SECC
Sunday 20 July Liverpool Echo Arena
Tuesday 22 July Cardiff International Arena
Wednesday 23 July London O2 Arena
Thursday 24 July London O2 Arena

Watch “Feel It (In The Air Tonight)” video

Myspace
Naturally 7 Official Website

Wednesday night (July 2, 2008), La Cigale in Paris hosted the third global Smirnoff Experience event, showcasing a dream collaboration between Mark Ronson and Duran Duran, continuing the tradition of unique original performances.

The event unveiled live performances of Mark Ronson’s reworkings of his favourite Duran Duran classics along with songs from their new album. Highlights included View to A Kill, Rio, Red Carpet Massacre, Planet Earth and Girls on Film, performed by the band together with Ronson. Earlier in the evening, Simon Le Bon provided guest vocals with Daniel Merriweather on Stop Me during Mark Ronson and the Version Players’ set.

Watch video – interviews, highlights from the event:

The 1200-capacity invitation-only event attracted a star-studded crowd including, Eva Mendes, Philippe Starck, John Galliano, Ellen Von Unwerth, Santogold, Kenna, Tim Burgess, Yasmin Le Bon and Daisy Lowe.

During the 90-minute performance the crowd enjoyed specially created versions of classic Duran Duran tracks. The collaboration came about when Smirnoff invited Ronson to bring his unique perspective to the Duran Duran catalogue, forming the centrepiece of this latest Smirnoff Experience event.

Mark Ronson shared of his experience in working with Duran Duran: “This has to be one of the highlights in LIFE for me.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon said: “There’s not that many people on Planet Earth (!) right now who’ve got what it takes to work with Duran Duran both musically and visually. In fact, when I look at it like that, Mark Ronson may be the only man alive who is. And, being very big fans of his, we couldn’t be more thrilled”.

Duran Duran bassist, John Taylor, commented: “Mark is one of the most exciting talents in music today. He’s a super-nice guy too, which makes it even better. He had a lot of crazy ideas which all seemed to work out. So many, in fact, that what was supposed to be a thirty-minute set turned out to be an hour and a half! And it’s great to have his big band wrap themselves around us too, horns, strings and percussion. It was really magical!”

The night opened with the Smirnoff Experience resident DJ Tom Middleton celebrating the 20th anniversary of Acid House music with a unique collaboration. Classically trained pianist Maxence Cyrin from Paris, joined him to create a collection of dance classics performed on a grand piano.

After the live music, the crowd were treated to an original and underground set from Busy P aka Pedro Winter, owner and founder of uber-cool Parisian electronic label Ed Banger Records. Busy P played a DJ set that premiered his Smirnoff Experience rework of Duran Duran’s hit The Reflex, before Middleton came back to close the event in his own unique party style.

A series of original Smirnoff cocktails were created specially for the event, including a choice of four martinis, two of which were strawberry basil and melon and mint. The invited guests were offered a special sampler on entering the venue. Bottled water was given out throughout the evening, as well as a plentiful supply of canapes.

Smirnoff Experience is a global experiential marketing program, celebrating the brand’s rich heritage and originality. The program features original collaborations fused with unique and interactive entertainment – all showcased in four of the cities most relevant to the history of the brand: Moscow, Shanghai, Paris and New York City.

Smirnoff

Mark Ronson

Duran Duran

IDTGV, a part of the SNCF which runs France’s high-speed TGV trains, has selected Haitian-American singer-songwriter Karlex to perform it’s first musical tour. The seven day tour will bring Karlex’s Afro-Groove music on the Paris-Perpignan TGV train line, where he will perform tracks from his new album “Ghetto Fabulous” at the respective stations as well as at the “Bar iDZinc” in the lounge car during the voyage.

The concert is part of IDTGV’s strategy to create a ‘new’ travel experience, including on-board entertainment. As part of the tour, Karlex will be featured on the iDTGV.com website, on over 80,000 specially printed ticket holders as well as on posters throughout the trains. The IDTGV tour follows a five-day tour in the Netherlands, where the album was recently released, and performance at La Foire de Paris / Festival Tropiques en Fetes in Paris on April 29.

Karlex soulfully fuses the vibes of his native island with funky guitar sounds and heavy bass, in a unique blend called Afro Groove. “Ghetto Fabulous” has been making waves in France since its release in September 2006. The album was selected by “Arte TV” as an October Event and by “Radio Africa No 1″ as Album Of The Week leading up to the release. Karlex was invited to perform on his song “I’ve Got News For You…” France 2’s ‘Live Acoustic’, while also being chosen by Acoustic Fuel as a ‘Daily ReFill – In Celebration of Black History Month.’
Karlex on Myspace

Karlex is a member of the MusicDish Network, a complete artist development program, leveraging brand development, saturated and relationship marketing, digital distribution and industry outreach to support emerging artists’ and bands’ careers.
http://www.musicdish.net/karlex/

KARLEX IDTGV HIGH-SPEED TRAIN TOUR:

April 30, 2007 – 11:30 AM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

April 30, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 1, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 1, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

May 2, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 2, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

May 3, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 3, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

May 4, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 4, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

May 5, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 5, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan

May 6, 2007 – 5:40 PM
TGV Perpignan/ Montpellier/ Paris

May 6, 2007 – 11:30 PM
TGV Paris/ Montpellier/ Perignan