Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 100

Contemporary Art: Come Up To My Room 2016 #CUTMR2016 January 21 to 24 at the Gladstone Hotel Toronto

Contemporary Art:
Come Up To My Room 2016 #CUTMR2016
January 21 to 24, 2016
at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

• Check the link for Exhibition hours, parties & other events and tickets

You don't really need an excuse to visit the hip grandeur that is the Gladstone Hotel or any of its fine drinking and dining establishments but you might want to make a special point of visiting Parkdale's grande old dame this weekend for Come Up To My Room, an immersive art and design experience.

Come Up To My Room takes over parts of four floors of the hotel, featuring the work of both emerging and established artists, designers and collectives for a show that is fun and interactive.

Ambient by Mario SabljakSome of the highlights:

Virginiga Melnyk's fabulous tetrahedral sculptures in some of the open spaces of the hotel. They use reflective fabrics and nest along the ceilings.

Philaphobia, where you can explore nooks and crannies and you are invited to add to a modular sculpture.

The bright, beautiful reimagined objects of Carl&Rose, the brainchild of Suzanne Carlsen and Noah Rosen, award-winning artists who add texture, colour and fun to fans, vases, lamps and other household objects.

Equivalents, a lovely mixed media installation by Susan Dobson that immerses you in the slow movement of the clouds and sky.

Shelter Bay, a collection of stylish pendant lights by Rob Southcott and Sarah Cooper.

Style & Profile by Chinedu UkabamStyle & Profile, artist Chinedu Ukabam's takeover of the bathroom. Inspired by his Nigerian roots, he highlights the crucial role of the African barber in shaping identity with playful touches like glasses that let you see "correctly" and looping African movies.

The Save Ferris Room - a loving recreation of Ferris Bueller's bedroom.

CUTMR 2016 Featured Artists
Bruno Billio, Carl&Rose Chiho Tokita; Chinedu Ukabam; F_RMlab; Galerie Youn; Iaboni Priftaj Design Associates; ialc; Interactive Arts; Invention Squad; Jessica Bromley Bartram; Lamers Bramm Design / LBD; Mario Sabljak; Matt MacDonald; Michael Neville; Nicole Beno; Plus Farm Collective; [R]ed[U]x Lab; Shelter Bay; Ryerson Artspace presents Archestra; Sara Nickelson & Studio WOOLF; Susan Dobson & Simone Ferkul; TAXA WORK; KLAUS presents Tom Dixon; The Racket Club; University of Waterloo School of Architecture / Prof. Elizabeth English and 3rd-year Architecture Students; Uufie; and Virginia Melnyk.

Exhibition Admission:
$10 | General admission (per day)
$25 | School groups book tours with lukus@gladstonehotel.com.
$5 | Student day on Jan 22  (with student id)

Paper City by IALC
The Save Ferris Room
Dodecahedrons by Christine Kim

New Opera: TAPESTRY OPERA presents SONGBOOK VI February 5 & 6 2016 in Toronto

From a media release:

TAPESTRY OPERA presents
SONGBOOK VI
Featuring Wallis Giunta and Jordan de Souza
February 5 & 6, 2016 in Toronto

• Buy Tickets

TORONTO - Tapestry Opera presents SONGBOOK VI, a vocal recital featuring the best of the company’s 36-year collection of absurd, tragic, and beautiful Canadian opera. Featuring star mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta and Tapestry Opera’s Conductor-in-Residence Jordan de Souza on piano, SONGBOOK VI is a limited engagement, with only two performances on Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6, 2016 at the Ernest Balmer Studio in the Distillery Historic District.

The repertoire showcases highlights from celebrated and award-winning past works including: Nigredo Hotel (1992) composed by Nic Gotham with libretto by Anne-Marie MacDonald; Rosa (2004), composed by James Rolfe with a libretto by Camyar Chai; Sanctuary Song (2008) composed by Abigail Richardson with libretto by Marjorie Chan; and The Laurels (2007) composed by Jeffrey Ryan with libretto by Michael Lewis MacLennan.

Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta, last seen in the COC’s Cosi fan tutte and the Metropolitan Opera’s The Merry Widow; and pianist Jordan de Souza, last seen in Tapestry’s Metallurgy and also conducting the Canadian Opera Company’s The Marriage of Figaro this February, will headline a concert including emerging singers and pianists from Tapestry Opera’s New Opera 101 program.

Tapestry Opera continues to drive the evolution of opera with an innovative 36th season which includes two world premieres: THE DEVIL INSIDE, March 10-13, 2016 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre and ROCKING HORSE WINNER, May 27 – June 4, 2016 at the Berkeley Street Theatre.

TAPESTRY OPERA presents
SONGBOOK VI
Limited Run! 2 Performances only February 5 & 6, 2016 @ 8pm
Ernest Balmer Studio, 9 Trinity Street, Studio 315 Distillery Historic District, Toronto
Performers: Wallis Giunta, Jordan de Souza and 15 of Canada’s brightest emerging artists
Tickets: $25, available online at https://tapestryopera.com/ or by calling 416.537.6066 X243
Season Subscriptions are available and can be purchased online at
www.tapestryopera.com/subscriptions or by calling 416.537.6066 X243

For more information:
www.tapestryopera.com • @TapestryOpera • #SONGBOOKVI • facebook.com/TapestryOpera

from Tapestry Opera's 'The Blind Woman'

From Nacional Records: El Guincho New Album "Hiperasia" First Single "Comix (w/ Mala Rodriguez)"

From a media release:

From Nacional Records:
El Guincho New Album "Hiperasia"
First Single "Comix (w/ Mala Rodriguez)" Debuts via Pitchfork

• Buy the single

Barcelona based production wizard El Guincho announces the release of his new album "Hiperasia" featuring the single "Comix (w/ Mala Rodriguez)". His highly anticipated third album, "Hiperasia" is due out February 12 via Nacional Records. The single is available now via iTunes.

El Guincho - HiperasiaA visit to a chain of Chinese bazaars in Madrid called Hiperasia inspired Pablo Diaz-Reixa, who performs under the moniker El Guincho. He explains, "Hiperasia is Madrid in macro. It means me adapting to a new and exotic way of life. Experiencing more the city, spending more time in its streets, its an experience much less private than Barcelona."

Born Pablo Díaz-Reixa in the Canary Islands, the Spanish-owned archipelago off the coast of Northwestern Africa, El Guincho found indie blog fame in early 2008, shortly after the release of his album Alegranza (which came out in December of the previous year), which coincided nicely with his North American debut performance in Austin, TX, at the SXSW festival. At age 14, Díaz-Reixa left his home for Continental Europe to focus on a career in sports, but when that didn't work out, he moved to Barcelona, where he played drums in various bands, including Coconut with his guitar-playing cousin.



El Guincho aka Pablo Díaz-ReixaIt was while touring with Coconut in 2006 that the idea for El Guincho — blending samples of his favorite tropicalia and calypso along with percussion and his own vocals — came about. Alegranza was almost instantly compared to Panda Bear's Person Pitch and won El Guincho prized spots at both SXSW and the Pitchfork Music Festival, along with many favorable reviews. His second album, Pop Negro, recorded in Berlin’s Planet Roc studio and various locations around Spain, was released in September of 2010.

"Hiperasia" is best described as a sonically animated adventure with an abrupt, almost violent, enhanced, futuristic sound. Lead single "Comix" featuring vocals from Mala Rodriguez is a perfect example of this.

Hiperasia Collection:
To coincide with the album's release, El Guincho and creative duo Wellness have collaborated to create the Hiperasia Collection, an initial launch of wristbands and sweatshirts that connects its users to a secret universe with exclusive content hosted especially for fans.

"Hiperasia" Tracklisting:
01. Rotu Seco; 02. Cómix feat. Mala Rodríguez; 03. Pizza; 04. Sega; 05. De Bugas; 06. Parte Virtual; 07. Stena Drillmax; 08. Abdi; 09. Muchos Boys; 10. Hiperasia; 11. Pelo Rapado; 12. Mis Hits; 13. Zona Wi-Fi

New Opera: The Astronaut’s Tale Presented by Encompass New Opera Theatre at BAM (Brooklyn) Jan 28—Jan 31 2016

From a release:

The Astronaut’s Tale
Presented by Encompass New Opera Theatre
at BAM (Brooklyn)
Jan 28—Jan 31, 2016

“…The Astronaut’s Tale should remind people both of the majesty of space exploration and the amazing story of how our universe was born.” —Matthew Roberts, string theorist at NYU

• Buy Tickets


BROOKLYN, NYC - Breathtaking images of the galaxies and outer space ignite this modern tale of a young man who dreams of space travel and flying to Mars. Guided by a mysterious stranger who challenges his views on creation and fuels his desire to become an astronaut, the young man discovers romance and a drive to succeed, which catapults his blast off into space, transforming his life.

With stunning projections, an exciting percussive score for chamber orchestra, and gorgeous vocal music, The Astronaut's Tale is a luminous glimpse at a multidimensional universe and the majesty of outer space.

Music by Charles Fussell / Libretto by Jack Larson / Directed by Nancy Rhodes / Conducted by Nicholas DeMaison
Sets by Stephen H. Carmody / Projections by Lianne Arnold / Costumes by Angela Huff / Lighting by Sarah Johnston

Post-show Talk with Performers and Astronomers from Columbia University
With Eapen Leubner, Lianne Gennaco, Frank Basile, and Christopher Vettel and guest astronomers
Fri, Jan 29 at 9:15pm
Sat, Jan 30 at 4:15 & 9:15pm
Sun, Jan 31 at 4:15pm

Performances: LOCATION: BAM FisherRUN TIME: 75minFULL PRICE TICKETS START AT  $20*

Royal Winnipeg Ballet National Tour of Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation Hits Toronto February 5 & 6 2016

From a media release:

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Embarks on National Tour with Critically Acclaimed
GOING HOME STAR
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Choreography by Mark Gooden • Story by Joseph Boyden
February 5 & 6, 2016 • Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, Toronto

• Get tickets

Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation, cited as quite possibly “the most important work produced by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in its 75-year history” (Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press), embarks on a national tour with performances across the country (January – April) including a stop in Toronto for two performances on February 5 and 6, 2016.

Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation, produced with the support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), is a choreographic representation of the many stories, both told and still unraveling, by Indian Residential School Survivors and their families. The creative team that brought this story to life includes renowned choreographer Mark Godden, Canadian novelist and TRC Honourary Witness Joseph Boyden, Cree actor, former Member of Parliament, and TRC Honourary Witness Tina Keeper, Juno Award-winning composer Christos Hatzis, and Polaris Prize-winning Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq.

Boyden, who was recently appointed to the prestigious Order of Canada, understands the power of the arts as a healing tool. "Art is the way to allow Canadians to begin to understand something of such huge pain. I think stories, I think novels, I think film, I think dance, I think painting, all of this allows Canadians to absorb not just the pain and the anger but the beauty as well."



Annie is a young, urban First Nations woman adrift in a contemporary life of youthful excess. She feels strangely disconnected. Gordon is a homeless First Nations man who escaped the Residential School system.  He possesses the magic and power of the trickster.  Gordon becomes Annie’s guide and begins to show her his devastating story of the Residential Schools. Propelled into the past, Annie realizes she shares Gordon’s burden, and those of her people, and prepares for her new destiny as healer. Gordon feels deeply the damage that has been done and the anger he carries inside.  But the “going home star” is clear in the sky and Annie and Gordon both learn that without truth, even the most hateful truth, there is no reconciliation.

Commissioned by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) and Artistic Director André Lewis, Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation triumphantly opened RWB’s 75th season in October 2014. “Creating this ballet transformed the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as an organization,” shares Lewis. “Our experience went beyond the creation of a new ballet. It ultimately became our artistic expression of reconciliation which we would like to be able to share with everyone.” Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation is presented in memory of the late Elder Mary Richard (Ah Kha Ko cheesh) who inspired the RWB.

Going Home Star - Truth and Reconciliation, the full length production, will embark on a cross-Canada tour in with stops in Ottawa (January 28-30), Kingston (Feb 2), London (Feb 3), Burlington (Feb 4), Toronto (Feb 5-6), Brandon (March 21), Regina (March 22), Saskatoon (March 23), Banff (March 26), Kelowna (March 29-30), Victoria (April 1-2), Nanaimo (April 4-5) and Vancouver (April 7-9). For tour and ticket information, please visit rwb.org

About the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 to tell Canadians about the history of Indian Residential Schools and the impacts it has had on Aboriginal children who were sent to the school by the Canadian government and to guide a process of reconciliation between and within Aboriginal families, communities, churches, governments and Canadians. The TRC has a five-year mandate under the direction of the Chair, The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair and Commissioners Chief Wilton Littlechild and Dr Marie Wilson.

About Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Founded in 1939, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet holds the double distinction of being Canada’s premiere ballet company and one of the oldest ballet companies in North America. Versatility, technical excellence and a captivating style are the trademarks of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, qualities that have garnered both critical and audience acclaim. RWB’s superlative standards keep the Company in demand around the globe as it presents more than 150 performances every season across Canada and in the United States, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Japan, Asia and Mexico. Under the artistic direction of André Lewis for 18 years, the Company is said to have never looked more resplendent, more assured, and more ravishing.

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents
GOING HOME STAR
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Choreography by Mark Godden • Based on a story by Joseph Boyden
Music Composed by Christos Hatzis. Performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and featuring the music of Tanya Tagaq and Steve Wood and the Northern Cree Singers
Costume Design by Paul Daigle • Set Design by KC Adams
Lighting Design by Pierre Lavoie • Projection Design by Sean Nieuwenhuis

Sony Centre For the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East
Friday, February 5, 2016 @ 7:30pm and Saturday, February 6, 2016 @ 8pm
Ticket prices range from $54.24-$115.26 (plus service fees) and can be purchased at ticketmaster.ca, by calling 1.855.872.SONY (7669) or in person at the theatre box office

For more information www.rwb.org@RWBallet #RWBallet •  FB/RWBallet

Dannis Winston Helps Kick Off Sunday Brunch Series at The Cecil Harlem Sunday January 17 2016

From a media release:

Dannis Winston Helps Kick Off
Sunday Brunch Series at The Cecil Harlem
Sunday, January 17, 2016 | 12:00 - 3:00pm

• Make a reservation

HARLEM, NEW YORK CITY - Alexander Smalls and The Cecil Harlem present Dannis Winston. Mr. Winston was hand-selected by Mr. Smalls and his Harlem Jazz Enterprises team to perform at his award-winning restaurant The Cecil Harlem for their Sunday Brunch Series co-created by award-winning chef JJ Johnson. The performance on MLK weekend will be in celebration of the release of Winston's debut single "Let Me Go" which drops on iTunes and all major digital platforms on January 15, 2016.

Performances at the Cecil Harlem's Sunday Brunch Series are curated by Grammy Award winning jazz drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. who currently serves as the artistic curator for The Cecil/ Minton's.

• The Cecil Harlem's prix-fixe brunch includes one snack, one brunch entree and one brunch cocktail for $32, per person. No cover charge for performance. Reservations are highly recommended.

Dannis Winston is an international bandleader, musician and founder of one of New York Magazine’s Top 100 Wedding Bands - Winston’s Crew Collective.  Mr. Winston has received press coverage for his entrepreneurship, music prowess and philanthropy from Black Enterprise, Brides.com, DNAInfo.com, PopSugar and other media outlets.

The Cecil Harlem was created by New York businessman Richard Parsons and noted restaurateur Alexander Smalls. The restaurant sits on the former site of legendary Minton's Playhouse, where Thelonius Monk invented bebop back in the 1940's. Today, The Cecil is a one-of-a-kind dining experience. Bringing together global flavors through an African lens, Chef Joseph "JJ" Johnson's cuisine is part of Harlem's exciting new food scene, making The Cecil a hidden gem in New York City.

WHERE?
The Cecil Harlem
210 W. 118th Street (at St. Nicholas Avenue)
New York, NY 10026
212.866.1262
www.thececilharlem.com

WHEN?
Sunday, January 17, 2016 | 12:00 - 3:00pm

A taste of Mr. Winston live...

Off Broadway: Culture Project, Robert Dragotta, and Rosie O'Donnell present MOTHERSTRUCK! Now thru January 29 2016

From a release:

Culture Project, Robert Dragotta, and Rosie O'Donnell present
MOTHERSTRUCK!
Written and Performed by STACEYANN CHIN
Directed by CYNTHIA NIXON
Now thru January 29, 2016

Lynn Redgrave Theater
45 Bleecker Street @ Lafayette Street
F, B, D subway trains to Broadway-Lafayette
6 subway train to Bleecker Street

Save 20% off regular ticket prices with code MSMP20! 
(Regular ticket prices $22.50-$82.50; Restrictions apply)

There are two easy ways to purchase tickets:
• Visit www.cultureproject.org and enter code MSMP20.
• Call Ovation Tix at 866.811.4111 and mention code MSMP20.

“Ms. Chin has such a magnetic presence… that you might almost believe that she was unspooling her story for you alone.” – Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

Directed by Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) and produced by Rosie O'Donnell, Robert Dragotta and Culture Project, MotherStruck! sets forth Staceyann Chin’s (Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway) personal journey to motherhood as a single woman, lesbian and activist who does not have health insurance or a “serious, stable financial set up,” but wants to have a child. Told through Chin’s uniquely personal and poetic lens, this solo show explores how the process changed her life and how she makes peace with what she learns from this profound experience. Ultimately, MotherStruck! is about family -- who is family and what makes a family. That being said, you will not want to miss this critically-acclaimed performance.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!Instagram and Twitter @Motherstruck#IAmMotherStruck

Desert Alchemy: XIXA’s Psychedelic Rock & Cumbia Feedback Loop on Debut EP, Shift and Shadow - New York City Live Dates - January 16 & 17 2016

From a media release:

Desert Alchemy: XIXA’s Psychedelic Rock & Cumbia Feedback Loop on Debut EP, Shift and Shadow
New York City Live Dates - January 16 & 17 2016

• Buy Shift and Shadow
• See them at the Secret Planet Showcase at DROM on January 16
• See them at Union Hall, Brooklyn on January 17

“Every time we’d play a chicha song, it would steal the show,” exclaims Gabriel Sullivan of Tucson’s XIXA. He and fellow XIXA member Brian Lopez were touring Europe with Giant Sand, Howe Gelb’s pioneering Americana group. On the road, they started experimenting with chicha, the guitar driven, psychedelic cumbias born in the Peruvian Amazon, after obsessing over cult compilation The Roots of Chicha, released by Barbès  Records ten years ago.

“People would mob us after the show, wanting to know the name of that one song. It was always the chicha cover,” “Cariñito,” an emblematic chicha song that Gelb ended up recording for one of his albums. They took the hint and started their own chicha cover band, pounding hours-long sets. Before they knew it, they were writing originals in the same vein, finding where north and south, rock and Afro-Latin rhythms ran together.

Shift and Shadow, the band’s debut EP (Barbès Records; release: November 13, 2015) shows this easy alchemy, blurring rock, punk, synth-pop, Afro-Latin rhythms, and Amazonian riffs in a north-south feedback loop. “It’s weird. It’s effortless,” states Brian. “I don’t know if it’s our backgrounds, with just enough Latin, just enough rock. Alchemy makes it meld. We never sat down in a room and said, ‘We need to sound like this.’ It’s not contrived. When we started playing chicha covers, we learned songs inside and out, and at some point that filters into your original music.”

Brian was in spitting distance of indie stardom with his band Mostly Bears. Gabriel hit the road with metal and punk bands in his mid-teens, but over the years he found himself fascinated with everything from Howling Wolf and Townes Van Zandt—“They made the most punk music imaginable”—to Prado Perez Perez Prado and Balkan brass music(Gabriel founded his own Balkanesque band, Taraf de Tucson). They both worked with Giant Sand and Calexico, when not pursuing their own solo songwriting. And they both moonlighted with Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta, falling hard for cumbia and mambo. Then they discovered chicha, and when they saw how fans clicked with the covers, they decided to launch a band that did nothing but.



It felt like a peculiar homecoming. Both Gabriel and Brian, like many young artists in Tucson, are second- or third-generation Latino. Though they never went in search of this identity, it found them in chicha. They felt how that music, those rhythms had always been there.

“All these beats and rhythms are in your brain your whole life, so they make a lot of sense when you start playing them,” reflects Brian. “Latin music is part of Tucson’s sonic landscape.” Only forty miles from the border, the city’s laidback vibe and Mexican communities nurture everything from strong singer-songwriter and hardcore scenes to great cumbia bands playing at out-of-the-way Mexican steak houses on the south side of town. Latin music is everywhere.

“Until you dive into Latin music, you don’t know if you have a strong sensibility for it,” Brian continues. “I grew up speaking English, but went to bilingual dances, was part of a folkloric group, your typical second or third-generation Latino family. My grandparents didn’t want my parents to speak Spanish, or to be Latino. Now, for our generation, it’s almost imperative to speak Spanish, even if you have to go to Barcelona or elsewhere to really learn it.”

They learned to speak chicha fluently, gathering musicians from the Tucson scene to form Chicha Dust, eventually growing to a sextet. “Winston played for Alice Cooper in the 90s. Efren ONLY knows Latin music, and didn’t know Led Zeppelin,” notes Brian. “You put them together,” that core combination of hard rock drums and Efren’s timbales, “and it’s XIXA.”

Without trying too hard, they began to write originals, somehow getting six players on the same creative page with remarkably little stress. “We’ve never had moments when we weren’t sure what to do with our sound,” Gabriel explains.

The effort comes in the studio, a recording space the band members built themselves. They will play with a track until it sounds right. “We come from that indie rock DIY mentality. You sleep in your van. You steal food from big box stores because you’re broke. You scrape together the money to record in a couple of hours,” says Brian. “We’ve come so far, and we realized we could build a studio, record our own songs, and not be satisfied with just anything. We could rearrange our songs until it’s right.”

The cumbia beat sneaks in everywhere, even covers like The Meat Puppets’ “Plateau.” “I was listening to Nirvana’s Unplugged set, and that song came on,” Brian remembers. “The song was perfect for us. The Meat Puppets are from Phoenix, very Southwestern, with that desert mystic feel. I kept hearing this classic cumbia beat behind it, and I suggested we record it and see what happened. The band thought I was crazy, but we just did it.”

“It’s so natural; it’s very strange to me that we haven’t been doing this longer,” muses Brian. “We don’t have to try to make something more rock or to incorporate cumbia into it. It’s just I think what each person brings to the table comes out in this blend of rock, cumbia, chicha. There’s no effort involved.”

The band, local favorites, will be playing New York in January 2016 and at SXSW in March 2016, following the release of their first full-length album as XIXA.

ジェイポップ / J-POP - New Single from Sekai No Owari - Mr. Heartache

From a media release:

ジェイポップ / J-POP:
VISIONARY CONCEPTUALISTS & MULTI - INSTRUMENTALISTS SEKAI NO OWARI
RELEASE NEW TRACK & VIDEO AS PART OF INSTAGRAM'S GLOBAL MUSIC CAMPAIGN IN CELEBRATION OF THE NEW YEAR
"MR. HEARTACHE" - FROM THE FORTHCOMING GLOBALLY RELEASED ALBUM

A country much celebrated for its innovation, Japan has frequently been at the forefront of modern entertainment, a humming cultural hotbed where art and technology seem to collide in truly compelling ways.  And, in this regard, the members of SEKAI NO OWARI might just be Japan’s finest representatives.

As one of the hottest and most inventive musical acts in Japan, SEKAI NO OWARI is poised for worldwide superstardom, as they prepare to bring their imaginative live shows to music fans across the globe. SEKAI NO OWARI’s latest album, is currently in production and set for global release in 2016. The band has shared four infectious electro pop rock concoctions to date. The latest "Mr. Heartache," was released on New Years Day as part of Instagram's Global Music Campaign. After a few short days, the video surpassed well over 295,000 views. The track and video for "Mr. Heartache" is a pop-filled and over-the-top cinematic and musical expression of modern day romance.

“We’ve spent quite a long time ‘raising’ our English songs,” says Fukase (lead vocal, group conceptualist). “I think it’s about time they leave their parents.”

"MR. HEARTACHE" FOLLOWS "SOS," "DRAGON NIGHT" AND BUZZ SINGLE "ANTI-HERO"



Comprised of four impeccably skilled childhood friends, Nakajin (leader of the group, lead guitar, sound production); Fukase (lead vocal, group conceptualist), Saori (stage production, piano), and the masked clown DJ LOVE (sonic palette, comedic stage banter), SEKAI NO OWARI, which translates to “End of the World,” is far more than a group of musicians. They’re visionaries and conceptualists, who have managed to seamlessly meld music and art, and transcend the barriers of a typical live show.

SEKAI NO OWARI’s original creation, known as “Tokyo Fantasy,” incorporates a massive stage setup, with a high-concept, mind-bending magic tree house – a testament to the band’s unparalleled fearlessness in creative design and entertainment. Giving fans a live experience nothing short of sublime, SEKAI NO OWARI has performed all across Japan, selling out concerts at a variety of venues, including the legendary Budokan. Their much-lauded show, “Twilight City,” featured Austin Mahone as a supporting guest and filled Japan’s largest venue, Nissan Stadium.  The band’s music has been featured in numerous commercials, television shows and movies, proving their remarkable ability to reach a vast array of listeners. Watch the official video for ANTI-HERO, (produced by Dan The Automater).

In 2013, SEKAI NO OWARI worked with Dutch DJ/Producer, Nicky Romero, on their single, “Dragon Night,” and released “RPG,” which currently has more than 87 million views on YouTube.  Check it out here.   In 2014, the creative group hosted a major live music event, which featured OWL CITY as a special guest.  OWL CITY featured SEKAI NO OWARI on their massive hit song, “Tokyo.” Check out the official visualizer for “Tokyo” here.

In 2015, SEKAI NO OWARI released their second studio album, Tree, which debuted at #1 on Japan’s music charts.  Now, after years of preparation, the band is ready to take their originality to music fans all around the world.

Jazz singer-songwriter Ori Dagan New single and video - "Clap on the 2 and the 4" (January 5, 2016)

From a media release:

Jazz singer-songwriter Ori Dagan
New single and video - "Clap on the 2 and the 4"
January 5, 2016

• Available on iTunes

TORONTO – TUESDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 2016 – Award-winning, jazz singer-songwriter Ori Dagan announces the release of his original song "Clap on the 2 and the 4" on iTunes today, with an accompanying music video on YouTube. The single, already sitting at #2 on the iTunes jazz chart in Canada, precludes Dagan’s forthcoming and third album (a Tribute to the music of Nat King Cole), which is due to be released in the fall this year.

Written by Ori Dagan, the catchy, rhythmic tune "Clap on the 2 and the 4" is about finding one’s rhythm and it was inspired by the artist’s greatest inspiration in jazz, Ella Fitzgerald. Dagan comments, "She had a magical way of bringing joy to listeners, and her incomparable sense of swing was infectious in the best sense of the word. At one point when I was writing the tune, I could hear her singing it in my head, so I dedicate it to her for endless inspiration."

"Clap on the 2 and the 4" features a blazing saxophone solo from rising star Alison Young, backed by a rhythm section of Scott Metcalfe on piano, Jordan O’Connor on bass and Lowell Whitty on drums. The single was produced by Eric St-Laurent and recorded at Euphonic Sound in Toronto.

The music video for "Clap on the 2 and the 4" was directed by award-winning filmmaker Leonardo Dell’Anno, and includes listeners of all ages, as well as two cats, two birds, two dogs and a horse. There are also cameo appearances by Jeanne Beker, the multi-media fashion entrepreneur and host of Fashion Television for 27 years, as well as stellar jazz vocalist Alex Pangman, known affectionately as "Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing."

www.oridagan.comwww.instagram.com/oridaganjazzwww.facebook.com/likeoridaganwww.twitter.com/oridaganjazz