Fight Choreographers ‘Rompiendo las Reglas’! AbrpmThu, 17 Apr 2008 16:57:12 +0000c04 28, 2008

Con motivo del preestreno de Rompiendo las reglas (Orig. Never back down), el grupo de especialistas de cine FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHERS GROUP ha realizado una exhibición de artes marciales en los cines Kinépolis de Madrid ante un público entregado que rompió en aplausos tras el espectáculo.

Los hermanos gemelos Dasz se ganaron al público gracias a sus precisas y espectaculares coreografías ambientadas en las Artes Marciales Mixtas, eje central de la película, realizado por Jeff Wadlow que se estrena este viernes, 18 de Abril en España.

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHERS GROUP nace con la intención de difundir el arte de las coreografías escénicas en España. Los expertos en artes marciales Andrew y Steven Dasz encabezan este grupo en constante crecimiento y están decididos a mostrar el mundo de las coreografías de acción. Por eso han creado la web de Kung Fu Grupo, un portal dedicado a las Artes Marciales Escénicas en el que se pueden consultar sus vídeos y actuaciones.

Redactado por Fernando García (Way to Blue Spain)

Interview with Yungchen Lhamo, Tibetan Goddess of Melodies! AbrpmMon, 14 Apr 2008 14:12:34 +0000c02 28, 2008

World Music Central recently interviewed Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo about her new recording and her music.

Your name has a special meaning. Could you tell us more?
My name means Goddess of Song or Melodies, I don’t think of myself as a goddess, but I know I was born to sing, so like that I think it is a good name for me. It was given to me by a holy person in Tibet.

How difficult was it to learn Tibetan songs in occupied Tibet?
I didn’t try to become a singer in Tibet, so I wasn’t trying to be a singer however my grandmother taught me many songs and like that I learned devotional songs.

What kind of songs did your mother teach you?
Well as I said it was my grandmother and she taught me devotional songs. The songs are prayers, Buddhist prayers as well as folk songs from her native region of Tibet.

How old were you when you left Tibet?
Twenty nine

What were the reasons for leaving Tibet?
I wanted to find freedom.

Is your music exclusively spiritual or do you also perform Tibetan folk songs?
Before, I always sang traditional songs , but now I write my own contemporary songs. So now I travel around and some songs are spiritual, some songs are about Tibet, some are traditional folk songs and some songs are about the world.

What is your preferred type of venue for your live performances?
Theatres and Churches

Is there a special reason why your hair is so long?
American shampoo is cheap !..No, I like having long hair and it suits me.

What attracted you to New York?
New York is has such great opportunities for everybody. I like being here because there are so many cultures and freedom here. Everyone who comes here want to do something with their lives.

What’s the concept behind Ama?
Ama means mother and I dedicate this CD for my mother.

How did you meet the producer Jamshied Sharifi?
He asked me to sing on his CD, and that’s how we met, and then I found working with him that he was very talented and creative producer.

What did Jamshied contribute to your recording?
Jamshied understands what I want to express with my songs, and he is very good at finding the right sounds to bring my ideas across.

Can you talk a little about the meaning of the songs on your CD?

Ranzen means freedom. Tibetans have a history, but still our country is occupied. Fathers lost their lives, and single mothers were left with babies on their laps to raise in an occupied land. It is sad. They came and took our country. But that is not the end of the story. Life is changeable, and positive things will come if we work hard. To the Tibetans, I wish to say, rather than focus on the sad state of things, hurry up and study hard so you will have something to offer the world. If you want freedom, go and get it. Wherever you are now, your life is here. There will be a day when we get our country back. For this you should be cheerful, hang prayer flags, dance and make offerings.
Gebu Shere - This is a song for a lover who is missing. If you have real love, then there is respect. A lot of Tibetans are separated from their true loves and families and can not be together. This song describes this point of view: “Falling in love with you, now I miss you, and everywhere I see your face. Should I be happy about this love or sad? My love, you are behind a mountain now, and I don’t have the choice of taking you with me. But that doesn’t mean I do not think about you. Go out into the world now. I will keep this love in my heart as a precious thing and will never forget about you.”

Om Mani Padme Hung - The central mantra of Tibetan Buddhism, literally meaning “jewel in the heart of the lotus.” It invokes the compassion of Chenrezig. I have sung a version of this prayer on every album I have recorded. On this record, I try to connect the sounds of the mantra to the sounds of the festival and every day life. If you like it, please don’t make it fashionable. Many of us are so busy it seems there is not enough time to pray, but it remains essential to keep our spiritual practice part of our daily lives. While a full translation would take days, to put it simply, each syllable is a prayer. This is the heart of the Buddha.

Tara (with Joy Askew) - This song is tonally inspired by the old Indian songs I heard years ago that I would like to sing but can’t. Thematically, it is about Tara, the female Tibetan deity exemplifying feminine dignity, unselfishness, strength and compassion. When I was very young, I thought I wanted to be a man so that I could help more people. But my grandmother and my mother said you don’t have to be a man to help people. They used to say, “You pray to Tara.” Now I understand what they meant by that.

9/11 - We all were living in a dream. Often, we do that. Nobody thought something like this would happen to New York City. That day, no matter how powerful you were, the sight of people falling from those buildings made everyone go numb. I remember that feeling of helplessness. I think we all felt that. Then, of course, we all cried, no matter what country you were from. I moved to New York City with my son at the end of 2000, and America seemed like a monument or a flag to look up at. Now I travel the world, and when I see a city that looks like New York, it reminds me of that day. This song begins and ends with chants reminiscent of a puja for the people who died, with prayers to ease their passage to another world…In order for this tragedy not to happen again, what are we prepared to do? We can only hope the experience has made all of us more human.

Namka Lhama Siktam (Look Down on Us) - We don’t acknowledge the beauty of what is right in front of us. We always say, “I will finish this. I will do something.” We Tibetans often say, “Free Tibet.” Many die waiting. Often we forget that people who do good things for others are bigger than the sky. This song is addressed to the highest spiritual beings. So now I am this age. I have only skin and bone. Please come down and help us so that we can see more clearly. Humans are powerful, more so than machines, but we don’t realize this. Come down and help us. Now is the time to come down.

Nyebe Nilam (Eyelash Girl) - In Tibet, if you want to court someone you write a letter or sing a song. This song describes that shy time when a man tries to communicate his feelings to a young woman without seeming strange. In the song, a man sings to a woman, “Hey, beautiful eyelash girl, please look this way and say hello, as I am too shy to speak to you.” My sister Tenzin has very beautiful eyes. This song reminds me about her life before she left Tibet.

Someday - This song is for the Dalai Lama, and all of the lamas and people who left Tibet already many years ago. Losho means ‘come home.’ Please come back to your homeland. Take refuge in the triple gem—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—faithfully pray and make offerings. If we are strong and faithful enough in what we believe, it will come true.

Fade Away (with Annie Lennox) - Arriving in New York was an overwhelming experience for me. Everyone has an idea to go somewhere or do something. And it can be difficult when you don’t know the language or culture. During this time, there were many people who helped me and my family. And these people who sent their kind hearts, I will never forget their kindness. So I will offer with my voice a song to say thank you. This is also meant for a new country that has welcomed me, where people from all over the world make a home.

Lhasa - I wrote this song with my father. Like a prayer wheel perched atop a mountain, the Potala in Lhasa is a monument to world peace. The Tibetan people are a lucky people and this is Chenrezig’s palace. I feel blessed that I was born in Lhasa, a jewel in the heart of Tibet, and this has shaped who I am.

Are you in touch with other Tibetan performers who are living abroad?

Yes, I try to stay in contact with all the performers. It’s hard when you are touring all the time to stay in contact, but I do my best.

Can you talk a little about the The Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Foundation? What is its mission and how can people help?

The Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Foundation is a 501c3 Nonprofit which I have set up to help young Tibetans in need. I have been so fortunate in my life, but as a refugee I am very aware of the problems so many young refugees from Tibet face, and the foundation is meant to help.

And now tell us about yourself. Where were you born?

In Lhasa, Tibet

What is your favorite meal?

Tsampa, the national food of Tibet

What music are you listening to lately?
I listen to a little bit of everything, music from all over the world.

What is your favorite movie?

I don’t watch very many movies, unless they are documentaries. Recently I saw a powerful documentary about 9/11 called “American Zeitgeist” which I liked very much.

What do you like to do during your free time?

I like to do prayers, and especially these days we need prayers for the world.

What country would you like to visit?
Tibet, but I can’t. I will when it is free.

What is your favorite city?

New York

What was your best moment?

My best moment is the moment I wake up. First I am alive, and this means it is a precious opportunity for me to be of benefit. So I think each moment is the best.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
I’ve had quite a few !! One time I was on stage and ready to perform. Well there were quite a few curtains before the edge of the stage. They announced my name, and I kept going through the curtains but could not find the stage.

What was the first big lesson you learned about the music industry?
The first big experience I had was in 1995, when I first signed with Peter Gabriel. This opened my eyes to the nature of the music industry.

Michel Gondry graba cintas VHS con Mos Def y Jack Black! AbrpmMon, 07 Apr 2008 23:22:49 +0000c11 28, 2008

La película Rebobine, por favor (Orig. Be kind, rewind) ha nacido de la desbordante imaginación del oscarizado guionista y director Michel Gondry. Los amigos de la infancia, Jerry (Jack Black) y Mike (Mos Def), no tienen más remedio que reescribir la historia del cine si quieren salvar a su querido videoclub de una muerte segura.

Mientras Jerry intenta sabotear la planta eléctrica que, según él, le derrite el cerebro, acaba magnetizado y sin querer consigue borrar todas las cintas del anticuado videoclub donde trabaja Mike su mejor amigo. Para mantener a la escasa clientela, Jerry y Mike deciden realizar un remake de una de las películas en la chatarrería de Jerry. Se quedan asombrados al descubrir que su versión de la película es un auténtico éxito. No tardan en recuperar casí 200 cintas suecadas. Mike, Jerry y unos cuantos amigos del vecindario empiezan a dedicarse a la producción de remakes, desde Los cazafantasmas, Robocop, Paseando a Miss Daisy, El rey león a King Kong. No sólo consiguen dar un nuevo impulso al videoclub, sino a toda la comunidad. Sus “películas” se convirten en auténticos bombazos. La voz se corre por el barrio y los clientes aparecen en el videoclub, pidiéndoles que hagan un remake de su película favorita. ¡Incluso se desplazan desde Manhattan para alquilar una de sus cintas! Un verdaderamente homenaje al VHS!

La película se estrena ahora en cines en España.

Como se ve en está comedia, Michel Gondry ha entendido el concepto de demanda oferta y sorprende a todos, incluso a sí mismo, con sus extraordinarias ideas. Sabe solucionar los problemas con esfuerzo mínimo. En 2005 fue premiado con un Oscar al Mejor Guión Original por ¡Olvídate de mí!.
Su proyecto más reciente es Tokyo, un tríptico acerca de la emblemática capital japonesa, que codirige con el realizador francés Leos Carax y con el director surcoreano Bong Joon-ho.
En 2006, su película La ciencia del sueño, con Gael García Bernal y Charlotte Gainsbourg, se estrenó en el Festival de Sundance y fue muy aclamada por la crítica. La película Block Party, que desarrolló y produjo con Dave Chappelle, se estrenó en 2005. La película se rodó en 2004 en las calles de Nueva York con actuaciones de Dave Chappelle, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, The Roots, Common, Dead Prez y Fugees.
En 2004 estrenó ¡Olvídate de mí!, con Jim Carrey y Kate Winslet, en la que colaboraba por segunda vez con Charlie Kaufman.
En 2003 se lanzó con éxito “The Work of Director Michel Gondry”, una caja con una colección de sus obras, un libro con dibujos, fotografías y entrevistas realizadas por él, y el documental “I’ve Been 12 Forever”, con entrevistas a Björk, Daft Punk, Beck y Dave Grohl.
Su primera película, Human Nature, con Patricia Arquette y Tim Robbins, se estrenó en 2001 en el Festival de Cannes.

Es un conocido director de publicidad y de videoclips. Uno de sus primeros anuncios, el famoso “Drugstore”, de Levi’s (1994), fue galardonado con el León de Oro en Cannes y aparece en el libro Guinness como el anuncio más premiado de la historia.

Otros famosos anuncios suyos son “Sirenas”, de Levi’s, por el que ganó la medalla de plata en los Premios Clio y la medalla de bronce en Cannes, y “Smarienburg”, de Smirnoff (1997), que se llevó la medalla de oro en Cannes y en los Premios Clio. Más recientemente ha rodado “Bounce”, de Diet Coke, con Adrian Brody; “Bellybuttons”, de Levi’s, y la lírica campaña “That’s Holiday”, de Gap.

Estudió Artes Gráficas en Francia. Empezó a dirigir vídeos musicales para el grupo Oui Oui, donde tocaba la batería.

El videoclip gustó a otras bandas y no tardó en obtener fama internacional. En 1993 conoció a la cantante Björk, con la que inició su relación profesional más larga y de más éxito. El primer vídeo que rodaron, “Human Behavior”, ganó casi todos los premios musicales existentes.

Dirigió otros cinco clips para la cantante, además de trabajar con artistas como The White Stripes, The Rolling Stones, Beck, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Cibo Matto, Kylie Minogue, The Willowz, The Polyphonic Spree, Steriogram y Gary Jules. Dirigió un cuarto videoclip para The White Stripes, “The Denial Twist”; otro para Kanye West, “Hard ‘Em Say”, rodado íntegramente en la tienda Macy’s de Nueva York para su difusión en la Navidad de 2005, así como “Cell Phone’s Dead”, de Beck, ganador del Premio MVPA 2007 al Mejor Vídeo Alternativo.

Buch: Reinhard Kleist - Cash. I see a darkness AbrpmThu, 03 Apr 2008 21:11:58 +0000c09 28, 2008

In einem klassischen Schwarz-Weiss Comic Design schildert Reinhard Kleist in Cash. I see a darkness die bewegte Lebensgeschichte der Legende Johnny Cash: von seinen frühen Sessions mit Elvis über das Konzert in Falsom Prison, das Cash Ende der 60er Jahre zur berühmtesten Stimme Amerikas macht, bis hin zu seinem spektakulären Comeback an der Seite des Produzenten Rick Rubin. Die Biographie dieser so komplexen Persönlichkeit liest sich geradezu filmisch dank der sehr gefühlvollen detaillierten Zeichnungen. Die Welt beschrieb das Buch treffenderweise als “Anrührend wie ein Gospelsong, hart wie Rockabilly und romantisch wie eine Liebesbalade.“

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In the black-and-white comic Cash. I see a darkness, Reinhard Kleist describes the very touching life of the legend Johnny Cash: from the early Elvis sessions to the concert in Falsom Prison, which in the late 60s made Cash to one of the most recognizing voices of America; and to his spectacular comeback together with his producer Rick Rubin. Thanks to the amazingly detailed graphic artwork, the biography of Cash´s very complex personality can be almost read like a film. The German newspaper Die Welt put it into the right words: “Touching like a Gospel song, hard like Rockabilly and romantic like a love ballad.”

Ang Lee habla de Deseo, Peligro (Lust, Caution) AbrpmTue, 01 Apr 2008 22:16:30 +0000c10 28, 2008

Entrevista con Ang Lee en Madrid el 12 de diciembre 2007 realizado por Maike Bosselmann (Way to Blue España)

Interview with Ang Lee in Madrid Dec 12, 2007 (V.O.subt.) by Maike Bosselmann (Way to Blue Spain)