Today, 31st August 2010 Real World Records announce the release of the Portico Quartet's critically acclaimed sophomore LP 'Isla,' in the US. Produced by the John Leckie (Radiohead, Stone Roses, Spiritualized) and recorded in the legendary Studio Two at Abbey Road.

"THERE ISN'T ANOTHER BAND THAT SOUNDS REMOTELY LIKE THEM" - THE OBSERVER

Portico Quartet is Jack Wyllie (saxophones, electronics), Duncan Bellamy (drums), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass), and is often distinguished by Nick Mulvey's performance on the Hang, a distinctive percussion instrument that sounds not unlike a gamelan or Tibetan prayer bells. Working with Leckie, Portico Quartet recorded 'Isla' almost entirely live and enhanced their sound with loops, real-time electronics and overdubs. It's an album that reveals fresh nuances with every listen.

Portico Quartet first got their start busking to crowds in London's South Bank and broke through with their debut 'Knee Deep In The North Sea' - an album nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize for Best U.K. or Irish album - originally out on Vortex, soon to be re-released on Real World Records. Since then, the group signed with Real World Records to release 'Isla' in the UK. It earned them wide critical acclaim, leading to their biggest shows to date - including the Barbican in London.

More tour dates and information to be release soon!

• Confirmed tour dates...

21 Minutes in - Galatian Bridge at Dawn Live at Womad followed by interview with Nick & Bernard.

31 Minutes in - The Templehof File Live at Womad.

51 Minutes in - Greek Live at Womad followed by interview with Nick & Bernard.

59 Minutes in - Tal el Al Live at Womad.

Available until 4th September.

• BBC Radio 3

This five piece live band, complemented by projections put together by Italian-born filmmaker Niccolo Piazza and backing tracks featuring the Pan Arab Strings of Damascus, will launching the new album 'The Road To Damascus' with an exclusive London show at Islington Assembly Hall, Upper St, N1 2UD. Doors 7:30pm, tickets are £15, and are available.

To whet your appetite we have a new track for you to hear from the forthcoming new album. 'Gharibb' or 'Stranger' is a dreamy Fairuz-style musing on alienation and longing sung by the great Syrian soprano, Lubana Al Quntar. The gorgeous melancholy of the song is reflected in the atmospheric and meditative video filmed by Niccolo Piazza in Damascus.

Syriana - Gharibb (Stranger) by RealWorldRecords

• buy tickets here
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Follow the link below to enter the contest

• Jambase

excerpt: "Considering their implementation of unconventional instruments like the hang (a slightly more temperate-sounding steel pan) and consistent but subtle electronic inducements, the four piece's genre-bending appeal is certainly warranted." Jennifer Ross

The critically acclaimed UK group Portico Quartet has confirmed its first ever U.S. shows supporting 'Isla'.

Realeased in the US on 31st August 2010.

The band are touring throughout Europe all summer and will make their U.S. debut with dates in Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia in September 2010.

• Portico Quartet tour dates...

• Justin & Juldeh tour dates...

• More on Syriana

Prepare to be blown away: hear the passionate melodies, wild harmonies and richly textured arrangements of these inspiring vocalists and you will know this is something new from Cuba, the most original vocal sound to come out of of the country in a long while.

Their mesmerising sound, jubilant dancing and deep spirit first made them a big hit in this country at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival. It was there that the producer of BBC 2's 'Later … with Jools Holland' saw the vibrant ten-piece choir and was so impressed he asked them to appear on the show. This finally happened in May 2010 when they performed the uplifting and emotional 'Chen Nan Ren', a freedom song denouncing neo-colonialism and colonialism while conveying the celebratory and glorious feeling of resistance which harks back to the freedom songs of the 1960s circa Martin Luther King and the struggle for racial equality in the USA.

"The sweet harmonic sounds and melodies from the Creole Choir of Cuba brought audience members to their feet with tears of joy ... Spiritually uplifting ... A must see for the whole family!" The Voice

"A mesmerising experience ... astonishing stuff... I'm lost for words .....absolutely extraordinary." Mark Lamarr, BBC Radio 2

The Creole Choir Of Cuba's new album 'Tande-la' is due for release on the 4th October 2010

Loads more Tour dates to be announced soon! Watch this space!

• All Creole Choir Tour Dates

Songlines were approached by CNN for non Anglo-Saxon recommendations in order to create a truly global list of music icons.

CNN had the final say in the shortlist of 20 but we're delighted to announce that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is one of them.

The results from the poll will be announced on CNN's new arts programme 'icon' on August 25.

• Vote for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Read Sue Steward's review of this weekend's WOMAD Festival, where she picks out the fantastic peformances by Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali and The Afro Celt Sound System.

• Read the full review from The Arts Desk

The critically acclaimed UK group Portico Quartet has confirmed its first ever U.S. shows supporting 'Isla', realeased in the US on 31st August 2010.

The band are touring throughout Europe all summer and will make their U.S. debut with dates in Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia in September 2010.

Portico Quartet shared a stage with Dirty Projectors and Avi Buffalo at the Glastonbury Festival where they impressed Jamie Cullum so much he invited them to perform on his BBC 2 program.

The group also played to a packed crowd at the Barbican Center in London, where The Times reported, "the applause was close to thunderous." Recent Mercury Prize nominees Foals were in the audience and later name-checked Portico Quartet as an influence in an interview with BBC radio.

• Tour Dates - More dates soon to be announced

The presentation will take place at 7pm after their performance on the Siam tent on Saturday, July 24. Voted by Songlines readers and the general public, Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara have won the Cross-Cultural Collaboration category for their 2009 album release 'Tell No Lies' on Real World Records. The Songlines Music Awards were launched in 2008 to recognise outstanding talent in world music.

• WOMAD Festival

Syriana, then, is more than just a band. It's a concept. An attitude. A perspective. A place where themes of tolerance, liberty and hope come wrapped in Arabic rhythms and played through a Western filter. Where free musical interaction is a given - despite the ironies bestowed by political reality. It's a project without a single dominant instrument. In Syriana the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.

To celebrate getting back together there is a new album 'Capture', due for release on the 6th September. This double CD compendium highlights just how visionary Afro Celt Sound System were, and just how vital they are.

"The time feels right," says Iarla O'Lionaird. "Our message is more relevant than ever. Our chemistry and camaraderie is the strongest it's ever been. And there's a desire to make music." He flashes a grin. "Which," he adds, "is the most important thing."

The Afro Celt Sound System will be performing at WOMAD Charlton Park on the Siam Stage, Sunday at 8.30pm.

• Womad Festival

...you can almost conjure up a spy in a white linen suit, strolling through a souk, oblivious to the skulking assassins.

• Full article...

Growing from a meeting in London of Nick "Dubulah" Page and Syrian Qanun player, Abdullah Chhadeh, along with Irish double bass player, composer and MD Bernard O`Neill, Syriana is concept - a growing and evolving collaboration of musicians, a place where themes of tolerance, liberty and hope come wrapped in Arabic rhythms and played through a Western filter. The aim of Syriana is to find a space where ancient civilisations and Eastern aspirations vie and blend with Cold War iconography and Western stereotypes. Where boundaries are dismantled. From London to Berlin, Istanbbul to Damascus.

Syriana launch their vision at WOMAD Charlton Park on Friday night 23 July. On stage will be core members Bernard O'Neill and Nick Page,along side Palestinian/Jordanian frontman Nizar Alissa; Algerian violinist and mandol (Berber mandolin) player Mounir ' Moon' Baziz; Palestinian percussionist and rapper Iba Abu Khalaf. Here, behind the band, are film projections by Italian-born filmmaker Nico Piazza.

And launched at WOMAD will be their first EP - the 4 track Al Bidayeh / The Beginning (RWEP15). For lucky WOMAD Festival-goers you can buy this CD during the weekend from the Festival shop, in advance of general release.

The new album The Road To Damascus will follow in September.

• Pre Order Al Bidayeh on the Womadshop.com

On July 14 the focus shifts to country music, with performances by Yonder Mountain String Band, Ralph Stanley, Sara Watkins, and Alison Moorer plus Ray Benson and Jason Roberts of Asleep at the Wheel.

The final evening, The Blind Boys' Family Revival will feature songs from all of the group's Grammy Award-winning Real World albums and includes collaborations with Aaron Neville, Joan Osborne, Hot 8 Brass Band, Dan Zanes, John Hammond, and Charlie Musselwhite.

The New York Times has recommended these shows as one of the "Pop Critics' Choices for Summer Concerts"

"My music is defined by own life experiences, praise for Angolan identity, and a call for universal brotherhood. I have matured. Everything I have absorbed from other cultures, and various musical styles, - I have traveled quite a bit - which has inspired beauty in me, is a part of what I'm doing now. So, it is gratifying for me to hear or read what critics say, as it recently happened in the USA, that my music is universal. That it is not a regional music, but instead for people everywhere. This is my main and most sincere goal, my contribution for harmony among people! For me such is the first and ultimate function of Art".

• B&W Society of Sound link

James McNally decribes his feelings for the band "The Afro Celts have gone beyond a place in Ireland, or a place in Africa, to me, what the music means now is almost like a walk on any part of the world, and feeling as if i belong, it almost feels like im outside the cosmos looking back down on it."

• More on Afro Celt Sound System
• More from Echoes...

After a 5 year break and host of individual projects. they are back as a united band. Kicking off at Hop Farm on July 2 and taking a headling slot at WOMAD Charlton Park on July 25 the original line-up has reformed. September will see the release of 'Capture' a double CD of songs and instrumentals - an entire decade's worth of music beautifully re-mastered in ways that form a cohesive journey, lend the sound a new warmth and allow the dynamics to emerge as originally intended.

• More on Capture...