Angélique Kidjo...

Angélique and Tony

Angélique Kidjo is a human box of explosives, but that only describes her energy. She is so in tune with the creation of music she appears to be an incarnation of music itself. Her effect on her audience is immediate and it is the same in the studio – she can barely contain herself. I have had some of my most rewarding times working with her on her new album for Razor & Tie records. This album is both a tribute to Mother Africa and the way Angélique sees how all humans have a common experience of “siblinghood”. To augment this concept she has assembled a band of musicians from Africa, Brazil and the USA. The language in the studio has been a polyglot of Fon, Yoruba, French, English and Portuguese, with a smattering of Senegalese and Mali thrown in. My high school French came in very handy, as everyone in the band used French as a lingua franca. Fortunately everyone could speak “Music” very well.

Angélique is from Benin, West Africa. I have learned that Benin has the most diverse rhythms and percussion instruments in all of Africa. Her percussionists, Crespin Kpitiki and Benoit Avihoue could only bring a small arsenal of their native instruments with them, but that filled several flight cases. Habib Faye, the bassist/multi-instrumentalist from Senegal was the focus person in the rhythm section playing parts that were like mini-concerti (not yer average stompin’ bass lines). Habib’s fingers flew over the fretboard in flights of fancy, like a flute part played four octaves lower. Holding it all rock steady was Poogie Bell from Ohio on drums. Guitarists Dominic Kanza (Democratic Republic of Congo), Joao Mota (Guinea Bissau), Lionel Loueke (Benin), Romero Lubambo (Brazil), Larry Campbell (New York) and a surprise guest appearance from Keziah Jones (Nigeria) all brought their national flavors to the soundscape. Amp Fiddler of Detroit played keyboards masterfully. Mamadou Diabate (Mali) played Kora and Famaro Diabate (no relation) (Guinea) played balanfon. Tsholofetso Mokubung, Thandi Bhengu and Nompumelelo Skakane (South Africa) sang backing vocals.

Keziah and Angélique Rockin' Out
(quicktime format)

Angélique sang live with the band. She warned me beforehand to get a great sound on her voice because her live singing was usually the take that would be used. She was so right! I shall never forget how Angélique and the band would break out into a spontaneous celebration dance after we knew we had just recorded a great take.

Benin Body Music by Crespin
(quicktime format)

Most of the album was recorded at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios after a week of rehearsal at Gibson Guitar’s studios in Manhattan.

Rehearsal at Gibson Studios
(quicktime format)

Mario McNulty and I shared the engineering duties and Mario kept the Pro Tools insanity stable. Angélique and her husband, Jean Hebrail, wrote most of the songs. Jean (Paris, France) was also the music director. He is an expert on African music and often acted as an interpreter when my French failed me.

Rehearsal at Gibson Studios
(quicktime format)

Several talented stars have come forward to sing duets on this album. All I can confirm at this time are Alicia Keys and Josh Groban. It was like having the best seat in the house watching Angélique singing live duets with both artists. I will post more news about guests artists later.

Angélique and Jean


Angélique and Keziah

Amp, Angélique and Benoit

Amp

Amp and Angélique

Benoit and Angélique

Benoit (playing cowbell)

Benoit, TV and Crespin

Crespin, Angélique, Benoit and Lionel

Crespin

Great take celebration #1

Great take celebration #2

Great take celebration #3

Great take celebration #4

Dominic

Habib

Jean

Keziah

Larry

Lionel, Romero, Joao, Tony, Habib

Mamadou

Mario, Poogie, Tony

Poogie

Tsholo, Thandi and Mpume

Tony and Crespin

Kristeen Young On Tour With Morrissey...

It has been an exciting time since the last news report. Morrissey’s Ringleader of The Tormenters (ROTT, as it is affectionately called) charted very well across Europe, #1 in many places. I spent additional production hours on six new songs recorded for B-sides. “Ganglord” and “If You Don’t Like Me” could have been A-sides, both powerful and catchy as acknowledged by Moz’s live audiences all over Europe. “Sweetie Pie” has turned into a macabre dreamscape. It started as a lush ballad back in Rome and has evolved into something quite different. Kristeen Young’s voice made it into the final mix, I’m proud to say.

Powers beyond my control and expectation have put Kristeen Young on stage opening for Moz since April. This was no arm-twister (Moz has an untwistable arm), Ms. Young got there on her own artistic merits. As I write she and drummer Baby Jeff White are about to embark on the next leg of the ROTT tour taking them to Mexico, Chicago, Greece, Luxembourg, Germany and the United Kingdom. Her single, “London Cry” is out in December on Sanctuary Records.

Tony Visconti, The Autobiography...

As threatened, I’ve finally finished my book. I was never sure I wanted to do this but I’ve been encouraged by friends and complete strangers over the years to put my anecdotes into a book. Writing short essays for my website has been a trial run for the book. It gave me some insight as to how hard it would be to organize the thoughts and memories of a lifetime and, really, I should have given up. It was a Herculean task. Twice before I started to write the book, once in the 80s and once in the 90s. What finally pushed me over the edge was a formal invitation from Monica Chakraverty of Harper Collins. I had been working on an album with Hugh Cornwell and he had been finishing a book for Monica. He mentioned to her he’d been working with me. But even the invitation was not enough to tackle the task on my own. Writing takes time (not to mention talent, and mine is questionable). I asked my dear friend Richard Havers to help me and although he was reluctant to take this on when I suggested it several years ago, the time was now right to collaborate.

The bulk of the writing was mine but Richard had previously written three books with Bill Wyman and a separate biography on Frank Sinatra and had become an expert at keeping the timeline honest as an incredible researcher. Richard and I had many conversations over the years about pop music (his record collection is fifteen times larger than mine) and he grew up with much of my production work as the soundtrack to his life. We started with Richard editing my trial chapters then we tried recording our conversations when I stayed at his Scottish home near Edinburgh. But soon after we had to really start pounding the keyboard and flying chapters and revisions hundreds of times through e-mails. We spent many face-to-face clarification sessions with video conferencing via Apple’s iSight program. When the final draft needed to be solidified I spent several months writing for an average of four hours a day (thank the lord I studied touch typing in high school) and we just about made the deadline. I have never experienced carpal tunnel syndrome, but I have felt the beginning of it in my wrists. What hurt more was the pain in my fingertips. All I can say is hooray for the Alexander Technique!

The book is about lil’ ole me. I don’t think fans of artists I’ve worked with will be disappointed, but I must make it clear that it is not a book about Bowie, Bolan or anyone else in particular. I was asked to enlarge about my early life in Brooklyn, which seems quite ordinary to me, but I realized that Brooklyn/Manhattan upbringing (and probably Bronx, Queens and Staten Island too) can appear quite exotic to some – the stuff films are made of. I’ve already told some stories related to the artists I’ve worked in interviews for magazines and other books, on radio and television and, of course, on this site. But I never told them in such detail before and there are many more stories I’ve never told publicly. I’ve sifted through thousands of my photographs and have come up with many never seen before in public. They will also be in the book. There is more to say but I will wait until its closer to its release in February 2007.

In addition to writing the book I’ve been writing songs. Has this been therapeutic? Yes. Will I release them? Probably not.

Semi-Precious Weapons...

Justin of Semi-Precious Weapons

My dear old friend B.P. Fallon (former T. Rex PR person and now NYC DJ) told me about this neo-Glam group based in Williamsburg. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. Semi-Precious Weapons are just incredible.

Front: TV, back l to r Justin Tranter, Dan Crean,
SPW manager BP Fallon, Cole Whittle and Chest Rockwell

The songs are powerful, glamorous and, frankly, dirty. Justin is – wait for it – beautiful! I’ve been in the studio recording very hot demos with them. B.P. is shopping the band to major labels. It won’t be long before you feel they belong in your iPod.

Chen Taiji News...

My Taiji teacher, Master Ren Guang-Yi, has made his first DVD instruction video. Lou Reed, one of Master Ren’s long-term students, has written music for the video and is also the narrator. I am proud to say that I had a small part in the making of it. He is demonstrating the long form of Lao Jia Yi Lu and the Straight Sword form. The video was excellently filmed by YMAA Publication Center and can be ordered directly from their website www.ymaa.com.

TV, Dan Richmond, Mark McCauley, Stephan Berwick, Grand Master Chen Xiao Wang, Jon Miller, Master Ren Guang-Yi, Martin von Haselberg and Scott Richmond.

Master Ren’s teacher Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang celebrated his 60th birthday in New York last month at a party given by Mark McCauley another student of Master Ren. Lou would’ve been there but he was performing in Los Angeles on that day.