This blog

This blog was intended to be incorporated in a new Web site for a new music label company in Paris. This all ended when my collaborator, Gerald Dierick, beat me. He works for L'eclaireur Music of the boutiques L'eclaireur and was supposedly working on the "Docks en Seine" project for the company. I was left with a swollen foot and bruises on my body that lasted over a week. He denied this fact and turned the whole story against me, making me look like the aggressor instead. He is a former guitarist, musician under the name of Gadje and his proper name. His Web site is: http://www.myspace.com/lidvinus63
He now works at the Cite de la mode et du design, also called Docks en Seine. It is a scandal that a man who beats women can sill still have a proper position.

Concert: Joyzza

Joyzza, a young and hip French singer will be performing at the "Set de la Butte" tonight at 8 p.m. in Paris. Her music is a mix of jazz, hip-hop and soul put together. Some of her songs can be heard on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/joyzza

Exhibition: Mark Rothko

Over 100 works by Russian-born American painter Mark Rothko are on display at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hypo Cultural Foundation in Munich, Germany. The exhibition's focus is to provide visitors with a survey of his career from early figurative works to his more typical abstract expressionist works. The "Retrospective" show continues until April 27th.

http://www.hypo-kunsthalle.de/newweb/einformationen.html

Concert: Twice

Margot Poirier and Andreas Eriksen of "Twice" will be performing in Bourges, France April 17th at 3 p.m. The hip and trendy combo are quite a show on stage, both give off a funky and young energy that will leave you addicted. For more information about the group, contact L'eclaireur Music at music@leclaireur.com. To get a sample of their music, check them out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/poptwice

Festival: Björk, Battles, Booka Shade and more...

The Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire, England will host the annual "Wild in the Country" festival July 5th. The famed location has been the ground for concerts of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Oasis and Ella Fitzgerald. Known for their cuttting-edge music, this year's festival will be host by Björk. This is the occasion to discover newer bands such as New Yorker Battles and British group Foals.

http://www.renaissance.com/

Exhibition: Hans Arp and Fritz Winter

The exhibition, "Dialogue Without Encounter," is about the artistic dialogue between Hans Arp and Fritz Winter in the 1930s. 60 works are displayed in the show, some are collages and reliefs by Arp and some are "bio-morph" works (organic shapes, natural materials such as sand and fabrics) that Winter created from the dada influence of Arp. The show is on until May 12th at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany.

http://www.focus.de/kultur/kunst/hans-arp-und-fritz-winter_did_18385.html

Opera: David Lynch's "Lost Highway"

David Lynch's psychological thriller, "Lost Highway," is adapted into an opera at the Young Vic Theatre in London. The new adaptation is written by Olga Neuwirth and directed by Diane Paulus. The story is about a troubled jazz musician named Fred Madison who is in search of an identity, orientation and desire. The opera will be showing from April 4th to 11th.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/03/25/btlost125.xml

Dance: Into the Hoods

"Into the Hoods" is a hip-hop dance piece Director Kate Prince describes as un "urban fairytale." The dancers are from the street dance company called ZooNation founded by Prince herself. The dance is based on Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods," about two young truants who get lost on a London housing estate and become intertwined with numerous hip-hopish fairy-tale characters. The characters ranged from a downtrodden girl named DJ Spinderella, blond-haired Rap-on-Zel with her controlling father and Lil Red, who wears a scarlet hoodie when she goes to visit her grandma. The cast dance their roles to soul, pop and hip-hop music by groups such as Run DMC, Gorillaz and Chaka Khan. The dance is showing at the Novello Theatre in London until May 10th.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/03/22/btbreak122.xml

In the news

The city of Reykjavík in Iceland will hold their third annual Rite of Spring music festival from May 17th to 19th. Folk, jazz and world music are the main focus of the event. Legendary singer Bob Dylan is said to be one of the artists who will perform along with Brazilian jazz musician Sérgio Mendes. Mendes has become a success in South America and the U.S., releasing 38 albums since the beginning of his career. Composer and guitarist Goran Bregovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the biggest acts last year at the annual festival.

http://www.riteofspring.is/page.asp?pageID=117

Exhibition: "Merce My Way"

Celebrated Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov is taking his creativity into a whole new realm, that of photography. Baryshnikov is giving an exhibition, "Merce My Way," at the 401 Projects gallery in New York City. Baryshnikov joined the Kirov Ballet when he was 18 and later the New York City Ballet. He became the artistic director of the American Ballet Theater and dancer and director of the The White Oak Dance Project later in his career. Baryshnikov won several awards for his achievement throughout his life. His subject is fellow dancer Merce Cunningham and the focus of his photography is dance movements, shot in abstract angles. The exhibition is shown until May 4th.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/arts/dance/23maca.html?ref=arts

http://www.401projects.com/index.php?mode=gallery§ion_id=171

Exhibition: Edo Japan

Fans of Japanese traditional paintings should not miss the exhibition, "Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860," at the Asia Society in New York. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Edo- today known as Tokyo- was a booming city with wealthy samurai and merchants. Ukiyo-e, paintings and woodcuts that depicted ukiyo, the "floating world" of leisure and luxury, were springing up at the time. 148 works which included images of courtesans, portraits of actors and celebrated beauties, landscapes, illustrated books of poetry by Hokusai, Hiroshige, Okumura Masanobu, Hishikawa Moronobu and others can be seen for the pure pleasure of the eyes. The show continues until May 4th.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/14/arts/edo.php

Theatre: "Cette nuit" or "This night"

"Cette nuit," an adaptation by Maria Zachenska of Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Possessed" is playing at the Théâtre L’Etoile du Nord in Paris until April 5th. Zachenska stays true to the original story, but adds to it a new geography and new axes of revolts. Living in exile, the Russian characters are in search of their roots and bearings, ready for anything that will give meaning to their cause.

http://www.webthea.com/actualites/?Cette-Nuit-de-Maria-Zachenska-d,1439

New release and concert: The teenagers

The pop punk trio from Paris are still making their rounds from Europe to the U.S. The group came out with their new album titled "Reality Check" on March 18th with Beggars XI Recording. Tonight, you can spot them at La Maroquinerie at 8 p.m. in Paris. They will also hold concerts at Bush Hall on April 7th in London and the Music Hall of Williamburg on May 3rd and the Bowery Ballroom on May 5th in New York City. http://www.myspace.com/theteenagers

Exhibition: Hans Josephsohn

German-born Hans Josephsohn's sculptures will be shown at the Hauser and Wirth Gallery in London from May 28 to July 26. Josepsohn lives and works in Zurich and devotes his entire work to the human form, carving his figures out of plaster and casting them in bronze. The pieces which will be displayed are dated from the 1950s to the present day.

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=23597&int_modo=1

New release: Madonna

Madonna will give Vodafone customers a treat by releasing seven songs from her new album "Hard Candy." A different song can be downloaded each day starting the 21st of April until the official release date on April 28th with Warner Music. Madonna, 49, was recently inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel along with John Mellencamp, Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen and the British rock group Dave Clark Five.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/03/18/bcnmadon118.xml

In the news

Ola Brunkert, the drummer for the Swedish group Abba died on March 17th from an accidental fall through a glass door at his home on the Spanish island of Majorca. Brunkert, 62, was a jazz and blues drummer who played with Slim's Blues Gang, Science Poption and Opus III before joining the iconic Swedish group in the mid-1970s. The group Abba hit the charts with songs such as "Dancing Queen," "Take A Chance On Me" and "Money, Money, Money."

Theatre: "The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other"

"The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other" is showing at the National Theatre's Lyttelton stage in London until April 12th. The play, written by Austrian novelist and playwright Peter Handke and directed by James Macdonald, offers audience an avant-garde drama without words-yet with 27 actors and 450 characters- in the duration of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Although the play has mixed reviews, Handke is considered a great experimental figure of European theatre.

http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/features/4232.html

Exhibition: Antony Gormley

The exhibition, "Firmament," showcasing 32 life-size iron figures of a naked body by the distinguished British artist Antony Gormley is showing at the White Cube Mason’s Yard. The show is on until April 12th in London.

http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/ag/gfg/

New sound: Bat for Lashes

English-Pakistani Natasha Khan is the singer behind "Bat for Lashes." Khan spent her youth traveling around the world because her father belongs to the prominent squash-playing Khan family. She studied music and visual arts at Brighton University in England. Khan's sexy and angelic voice reinforces the mix of multiple instruments she uses in her music. Her last album titled "Fur and Gold" came out autumn 2006 on Echo. She is currently working on her new album. Check her out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/batforlashes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jul/20/folk.pop

Furniture designed by architects

Architects are designing more furnitures these days. Among the architects who are dabbling with furnitures are Mies van der Rohe, Amanda Levete, Greg Lynn, Zaha Hadid and Alvar Aalto. They are just a few who are making creative, aesthetically desirable luxe pieces that will tempt your decorative envies. In addition, architect Amanda Levete's four new designs are showing in an exhibition called "Around the Corner" at 2-3 Duke Street in London until March 26th.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/29/style/DESIGN03.php?page=2