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NOTES FROM BARCELONA Oct 30, 2011 Hello Everyone, Best, HELLO FROM UKRAINE! Oct 08, 2011 Greetings form the 19th floor! I'm sitting in an all white, brand new luxury club where we'll be playing tonight. It's in stark contrast to the coal mining city where it's located. The food is amazing and most importantly, we'll be here for 2 nights so we'll get a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep. The last several days have been non stop promo (TV, radio and print interviews in Kiev) and 2 shows with night trains right after the shows ended. So the band is really tired and looking forward to some rest. Sep 29, 2011 I never thought I would do it, but I set up a Brazzaville Twitter account. If anyone would like to follow it it's http://twitter.com/#!/Brazzaville1 or just @Brazzaville1 We're in Moscow to play a private show tonight at Hotel Ukraine s well as a house concert on Saturday at Asya's house. If anyone's interested in attending that you can write to Asya at asyass@gmail.com After Moscow we're off to Ukraine for shows in Kiev, Zaparozhie and Lugansk and then on to Sochi, Krasnodar and Rostov. For more details you can look at the tour page on this site. I'm really excited to see how the videos for Anabel2 and Rather Stay Home turned out. I just spent a week in Istanbul filming those with Levent Sevi and his crew. Best, David BRAZZAVILLE NEWS Sep 23, 2011 Hello Everyone, I'm writing this from the top floor room at the Hotel Devman in Istanbul. It's a very cheap little hotel but there's something I love about it. I even wrote a song about it! Best, David LA! SF! AND BEYOND Jul 31, 2011 Hello Everyone! LOS ANGELES- SAN FRANCISCO Kenny and I will be playing a house concert in San Francisco on August 20th. Space is limited so be sure to book your tickets in advance by visiting http://www.kincy.com/Brazzaville/concert.html SANTA BARBARA Kenny and I might be playing a show in Santa Barbara sometime around the 24th-26th. If it gets confirmed, I'll post the details on the site. TURKEY I'll be filming a video for Anabel2 in Istanbul in Sept. Then I'll be back with the full band to play a big show at Otto Santral on Dec 9th. If there are any promoters interested in doing some shows in other parts of Turkey during that period, you can write to us at tronaville@yahoo.com RUSSIA AND UKRAINE We'll be playing a big show at Crystal Hall in Kiev at the end of Sept. and will be playing several shows in other Urkainian and Russian cities after that. I'll post all dates on the Tour page as soon as they are confirmed.
BRAZZA NEWS Jun 29, 2011 Hello Everyone, There are many things happening in the world of Brazzaville right now. -I'll be giving a lecture at RMA in Moscow on July 4th. -I'll be playing a couple of kvartirniki in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg in July. Look for details on the tour page. -I'll be playing a solo tour of Ukraine and Moldova. Cities will include: -The band will be playing at the Seasons Festival in Moscow on July 16th. -I'll be playing my very first shows in Mexico on July 27th, 28th and 29th! Details will soon be on the tour page of the site. -Ther will be 2 house concerts in San Francisco on August 20th and 21st. Space is very limited so get you tickets soon. Details on how to do that will be posted on the tour page very soon. -There are Russian, Ukrainian and possibly Central Asian tours on the horizon for the fall. -We might come to Istanbul for a big show in November or December. If it works out, I'll post the date and club on the tour page. -We're considering a proper release of Jetlag Poetry in the USA. That's it for now. More news soon! Best, David CHINA! Jun 07, 2011 I'm in my room in a hotel in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon in Hong Kong. The China tour is over and I'm heading back to Barcelona tomorrow. It was an unforgettable experience. I've been keeping notes and plan to post journal entries about it in the coming weeks. Kenny and I met lots of wonderful people and became quite attached to our guides, Zoo and Noodles. Buenas Noches, David CHINA! May 15, 2011 Hello Everyone, 20th May (Fri)20:30 The One Club Beijing NO.5(The White Building),718 Art&Culture Zone(Opposite to Xinglongjiayuan west gate, Near 718 bus Station),No.19,Ganluyuan,Chaoyang District 21st May (Sat)19:30 JZ Club Hangzhou No.6 Liuying Road,Shangcheng District 22nd May (Sun)20:30 Kento’s Club Shanghai 3rd Floor No.20 Building in the New factories,No.18, Yuyao Road,Jing’an Dstrict 24th May (Tue)20:30 Castle Bar Nanjing 1st Floor, No.237, Zhongshan East Road,Baixia District 25th May (Wed)20:00 Vox Live House Wuhan No.118,Lumo Road,Hongshan District 27th May (Fri)20:00 Aperture Club Xi’an Horsepond,Chrysanthemum Garden,East Street, Beilin District 28th May (Sat)20:00 Little Bar Chengdu No.5 in No.47, Yongfeng Road,Wuhou District 29th May (Sun)20:00 Nuts Club Chongqing 1st Floor, Technology Park ,Shazhong Road,Shapingba District 31st May (Tue)20:00 King of Live Nanning Underground Parking Lot of Minghu Mansion, No.171 Mingxiu East Road,Xitangxiang District 1st Jun (Wed)20:00 191 Space Guangzhou No.191, Guangzhou Avenue Middle Road,Yuexiu District 3rd Jun (Fri)20:30 Sugar Jar Coffee Shenzhen G6,Huangguan Park, Tairan 9th Road,Futian District 4th Jun (Sat)20:30 Hidden Agenda Live House Hongkong 6th Floor, Ko Leung Industrial Building, No.25, Tai Yip Street Kwun Tong Kowloon
ISTANBUL HOUSE CONCERT? Apr 16, 2011 Hello Everyone, Best, David BRAZZA NEWS MARCH/APRIL, 2011 Mar 21, 2011 The first day of Spring has arrived! The sun is shining here in Barcelona and the birds have begun to sing. That's it for now. All the best, David MOSCOW HOUSE CONCERT AND CHINA TOUR! Feb 23, 2011 Hello Everyone, Hope to see you there. We'll have copies of the brand new CD, Jetlag Poetry. Also, we are very close to confirming our very first tour of China! It will be 11 cities on the mainland plus a show in Hong Kong.
BRAZZA NEWS FEB. 2011 Feb 08, 2011 Hello Everyone! Hasta pronto! David MOSCOW OUT, PITER IN Feb 02, 2011 Hello Everyone, Best, David CHA CHA CHA CHA CHANGES! Jan 20, 2011 Hello Everyone, Kind regards, David HOME SWEET HOME Dec 03, 2010 Hello Everyone, I've been home a few days and it's been heavenly. I love to travel but I've taken so many planes, trains and buses in the past year that I'm very happy to have a few months of rest. All the best, David WINSTON FREEDOM MUSIC FESTIVAL Nov 23, 2010 Hi Everyone, Best, David KIEV SHOW CANCELED, KVARTIRNIK ADDED Nov 13, 2010 Hello Everyone, The tour has been so much fun thus far. I'm really looking forward to taking the night train to Odessa tonight. I've heard such amazing things about that city but this will be my first visit. All the best, David EXTRA MOSCOW KVARTIRNIK JUST ADDED Nov 01, 2010 Hello Everyone, Because there were too many people wanting to go to the house concert on Nov. 1st, we've added another one on Nov. 2nd. Both tonight's concert and tomorrow's will begin at 8 pm and will be in the same place. Meet in metro station Belyaevo at 7pm. For more information and to reserve a place contact Ann at anytachka007@mail.ru MORE SHOWS! Oct 25, 2010 Hello Everyone! Best, David
BRAZZAVILLE IN ISTANBUL!!!! Sep 29, 2010 Hello Everyone, Best, David CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS Sep 17, 2010 It's 8:15 AM and I'm sitting in my kitchen in Barcelona listening to the sound of thunder in the distance. Yesterday I returned from the most exhausting but also the most incredible tour of my life. My trip began on August 14th in Moscow. Peat bog fires sending aweful smoke over the city. From there it was on to Ulan Ude next to the great Lake Baikal in Siberia. Then it was off to Turkmenistan, where we were told that we were the first foreign "rock band" to play there since the Soviet times. Then we spent a heavenly week in Baku, relaxing and recovering in the Landmark hotel. Then it was Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and finally Armenia. It will take me weeks to process all of the amazing experiences we had, but I will do my best to write about them and even include photos and some video. All the best, David HELLO FROM THE OPEN ROAD Jun 08, 2010 Hello Everyone, David BRAZZA NEWS APRIL, 2010 Apr 05, 2010 Hello Everyone, BRAZZAVILLE NEWS FEB. 2010 Feb 22, 2010 Hello Everyone, Here are a few highlights of what is going on these days: -Brazzaville In Istanbul has entered the European World Music Chart at number 18! You can see more information about the chart at -The very first Micro-concert was held in our Barcelona studio on Feb. 13 and was a lot if fun. It's so cozy to play a "tiny" concert. We will be having our second one this Saturday the 27th. In March there will be Micro-concerts featuring the VO quartet, a Barcelona based all female string quartet and hopefully and Guillermo Matorell a young avant garde composer, also based here in Barcelona. -The response to the House Concert Tour of the US has been fantastic! Thus far, it seems that we will be playing shows in LA, the SF Bay area, Portland, Vancouver, Milwaukee (and probably Madison, Chicago,Minneapolis as well), Cincinnati, Lincoln, Providence, New York City, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Columbia SC and Charleston. I am really looking forward to this tour. There are few things that I love more than taking a road trip in the USA! -It seems that we will be playing some shows in Amsterdam and possibly other parts of Holland in May. -We are waiting for news about a possible tour in Kazakhstan and maybe Uzbekistan as well! -We will be playing some shows in Russia in March, including a big show on Woman's Day in Vladivostok, where I am sure that i will have the opportunity to sing Girl from Vladivostok.
BRAZZA NEWS JAN/FEB 2010 Jan 27, 2010 Hello Everyone, - I have become involved with a project here in barcelona called Vital Musicians. It is the brain child of Justin Donlon from Gracia Arts Project. We plan to have 12 performances in my studio which will be recorded, videotaped and posted on the web. Each show will be followed a week or so later by a live gig in a venue in Barcelona. We will be featuring interesting Barcelona musicians, singer-songwriters etc. -I plan to play a series of "micro-concerts" in the studio as well. The audience size will be a maximum of 20 people. Ticket price will include Vichy Cataln and snacks. -I should be playing some shows in the Russian Far East at the beginning of March. The tour will include Sakhalin Island which is supposed to have great Korean food, Khabarovsk which has the best wild salmon I have ever tasted, and Vladivostok, my favorite city in Russia. The plan is to play a big show in Vladivostok on International Woman's Day (March 8th). It makes perfect sense since I have a new song called Girl From Vladivostok. -There will be other cities that we will play on that tour, including Nizhniy Novgorod, Volgograd, Minsk and possibly several others. The schedule is still being worked out. -I sent a package of CDs off to Poland. There is a person there named Alicja who is going to try to get us booked in a Festival there this summer. It would be my first ever trip to the country where my grandmother and grandfather came from. -We are working on doing a REALLY big show in Istanbul as well as trying to get to Izmir and some of the other cities in Turkey. the CD, Brazzaville In Istanbul has been doing really well there so we are very excited about playing there again. -Brazzaville In Istanbul is scheduled to be released in Russia in February. We will be playing some big shows in Moscow, St. Petersburg and maybe Ekaternburg with some of the Turkish musicians who played on the album. -I am considering booking a US Tour for the summer. It would definitely include NY, Chicago, Milwaukee and Los Angeles. If there are any folks out there with some other good US ideas, please let us know.
BRAZZA NEWS NOV/DEC 2009 Nov 27, 2009 Hello Everyone, All the best, David LA MEETS BARCELONA BRAZZAVILLE SHOWS! MOSCOW AND PITER Oct 14, 2009 For the first time ever, members of the original L.A. version of Brazzaville (David Ralicke, Mike Bolger and Kenny Lyon) will be teaming up with members of the Barcelona group (Brady Lynch, Ramon Aragall and Maria Pi Sunyer de Gispert) for two BIG shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It will be a 7 piece band featuring a horn section and a female singer. The shows will be at the legendary Moscow venue DK Gorbunova and St. Petersburg's greatest live music venue, Glavclub. BRAZZAVILLE IN ISTANBUL (ALBUM AND CONCERTS) Oct 14, 2009 Brazzaville In Istanbul is all finished! It will be coming out in Turkey as well as Europe and possibly even the US and Canada thanks to Doublemoon records who are releasing it. It will also be available in Russia and CIS countries before Christmas. TEENAGE SUMMER DAYS CDS AND NEW T-SHIRTS ON SALE NOW! Oct 14, 2009 We have a limited number of copies of the latest CD, Teenage Summer Days on sale in our online store. We also have some BLOG!!!! Oct 14, 2009 I have been inspired by my friend Ruslan in Vladivostok. He is a famous blogger on Livejournal and I have decided to try to have my own blog so that I can more easily post thoughts, photos etc especially when I am on the road. If any of you would like to check it out, the address is http://brazza1.livejournal.com/
TEENAGE SUMMER DAYS Jul 15, 2009 The brand new David Arthur Brown record is due out soon. There are 11 brand new songs as well as a cover of Moonage Daydream. There are tours being planned for Russia, Turkey, China and the USA. You can listen to some of the new tracks at www.myspace.com/davidarthurbrown All the best, David BRAZZAVILLE REBORN! Jun 23, 2009 I had no idea that so many people would be upset by the “Goodbye from Brazzaville” letter I sent out a while back. So I would like to revisit the subject for a moment. I’ve always been a bit melodramatic and I think I was being hasty when I sent out my letter about the end of Brazzaville. All I really wanted to say was that I would be releasing my next album under the name David Arthur Brown. Brazzaville doesn’t have to die in order for that to happen. So, I take it back. Both Brazzaville and David Arthur Brown will be peacefully co-existing. The name of the David Arthur Brown album is Teenage Summer Days and it will be coming out first in Russia in July/August of this year. It features 11 new tracks plus a couple of bonus tracks. It even has a song that I wrote in Catalan called Barcelona. I will be looking for a good label to release this album in the US and Europe as well. On the Brazzaville side of things, the record that I recorded in Turkey with Deniz Cuylan from Portecho has been picked up by DoubleMoon, a Turkish label with world-wide reach. It was voted one of the 10 best labels in Europe last year. Somehow it makes sense that Brazzaville’s first real global release will be through a Turkish label! This album features classic Brazzaville songs played by Turkish musicians. I think it’s going to be a very interesting project. Also, there is a Brazzaville DVD that will be released in Russia in 2009. It features live footage, TV shows, music videos, rehearsal footage and some photomontages set to music. Also on the Brazzaville front, there is a Chinese company that will be releasing 21st Century Girl as well as a “China Only” compilation CD of classic Brazzaville tracks. They are planning on bringing us over there for a 7 city tour in the fall which will be filmed and turned into a DVD as well. So, I’ll leave it there for now. Brazzaville is not dead. And I don’t think it ever will be as long as there are people in the world who want it to exist. Yours faithfully, David Arthur Brown GOODBYE FROM BRAZZAVILLE May 07, 2009 Hello Brazzaville Fans, This is just a little note to let you know what’s going on in the world of Brazzaville at the moment. I guess the most important thing is that Brazzaville won’t really exist anymore. Over the last 10 years, I have recorded 6 full-length studio albums and released 1 greatest hits CD as Brazzaville and it seems like a good time for a change. From now on, I will be writing, recording and performing music as a singer/songwriter named David Arthur Brown (which is my given name). I am getting close to being finished with my first album under that name. It will be released later this year and will feature many of the wonderful musicians who have contributed to Brazzaville records as well as some new faces. Also, the record I was recording when I was last in Turkey will be released later this year on the great Istanbul based label, Doublemoon. It will feature many classic Brazzaville songs recorded with some of Turkey’s finest musicians. The album is being produced by Deniz Cuy lan of the Turkish band Portecho. I have had a wonderful time playing Brazzaville shows around the world. I would like to thank all of our fans for your kindness and support. I hope that you all will enjoy my new record and look forward to playing shows in your towns soon. All the best, David Arthur Brown Barcelona, May 7th, 2009 EL PAIS ARTICLE Mar 17, 2009 Brazzaville, encuentros a las sombras de la Alhambra El líder de la banda actúa en Granada, Cordoba y Utrera ALFONSO CARDENAL - Granada - 21/02/2009 Granada es una ciudad mágica que alumbra leyendas e historias increíbles que se narran a la sombra de la Alhambra. Esta es una historia de casualidades, amistad y kilómetros que unen a un genial músico de Los Ángeles, un joven pianista de Utrera y al dueño de una surrealista tienda de discos que es bar y sitio de tapeo. El genio es David Brown, ex saxofonista de Beck que tuvo una premonición la primera vez que pisó Barcelona que le llevó a cambiar de vida años después. Brown es el líder de Brazzaville, la mejor banda por descubrir de España, que arrasa en Ankara, Moscú o San Petersburgo. A sus cuarenta y dos años Brown luce un tímido bigote cano, viste elegante y tiene el pose involuntario de estrella de la música, tiene duende. Descubrió el Madrid de los ochenta tocando en estaciones de metro como Alonso Martínez, Plaza de España o la Chueca pre urbanita, pero ahora ejerce de padre feliz y marido enamorado en el Ensamble barcelonés. El otro personaje de esta historia es Nano, un joven de Utrera que estudió la carrera en Granada y que hace unos meses escribió al Myspace de Brazzaville presentándose y pidiendo un disco que no encontraba en la tiendas. Brown le canceló la venta y le ofreció un trueque, "tu música por la mía". Siguieron la conversaciones hasta que Nano ofreció a Brown un fin de semana de actuaciones conjuntas en Granada, Córdoba y Utrera. David le escribió una nota con un listado de canciones para que Nano las fuese aprendiendo y llegó el día. El jueves se conocieron a la sombra de la Alhambra y por la noche actuaban en el Loop Bar. Vinilos a la venta, buenas tapas con las cañas, copas baratas y un concierto inolvidable. En el público chicas norteamericanas, bastante Erasmus y un aire especial al ritmo de las canciones de 21st Century Girl como Clouds in Camarillo o joyas como Jesse James, 17 oForeign Disaster Days y Super Gizi temas de uno de sus primeros trabajos titulado Somnambulista, un disco grabado íntegramente en California. Mucho talento y clase, tablas. David después de cinco años en España habla un castellano correcto, aunque reconoce la difícil misión de entender a su nuevo amigo andaluz. Sus canciones son composiciones sonoras, expresivas e imaginativas que se han curtido en experiencias como la de salir de gira andaluza con un fan, con piano y guitarra, en acústico, en contraste con el sonido contundente de banda de Brazzaville, porque la vida está para vivir nuevas experiencias. RESET MAGAZINE INTERVIEW (ISTANBUL) Mar 17, 2009 1- You come here quite often... We appreciate that... What appeals you most in Istanbul? How is it going over there for you? What is the importance of Istanbul for you? Are you content with the audience? -I love Istanbul. It’s one of my 3 favorite cities in the world. The audience is amazing. I wasn’t so happy with our last show in Ghetto. The promoter sold far more tickets than he should have. It was too crowded. He also asked me to play 2 sets. I agreed before I realized that it was too crowded for people to move around during the break. Then he wouldn’t let me play an encore because there were too many people in the doorway leading to the stage. So people thought that I somehow refused to play an encore. That’s crazy, as I usually play as much as the crowd wants. At our last show in Moscow I played 3 encores! I love wandering around Istanbul and discovering little shops and cafes. I really like hearing the call to prayer as well. I know that the locals barely even notice it anymore but to a foreigner it sounds haunting and mysterious. It’s a reminder of the absolute reality that lies just behind the everyday one that we experience. 2- The Brazzaville story began in L.A and then it continues in Barcelona... How did the things change both in your life and music? I feel at home in Barcelona in a way that I never did in L.A. I will always love Los Angeles. It is where I grew up and it formed me as a person and as a songwriter. But I always felt a mild sense of dread when I lived there. I’m not sure why. In Barcelona, I feel that I am living in a cozy , littl;e corner of the universe. 3- The manifesto on your official site says that the band is dedicated to the idea that the world is a beautiful place filled with wonder. You seem like that you are all living in a heaven island and every single thing in your lives is pretty fine. And we feel coconuts, ocean, baby-blue clouds and pancakes in your songs... On the other hand, in the world, bad things happen every day... Sometimes, life is stressful... How do you keep goodness, awareness and purity in your inner worlds? Except of making music, what do you do to keep the harmony? My life has difficulties and stress just like anybody else’s life. But I find that much of the pain that we feel in our lives comes from what perspective we view them from. On any given day, I can feel like the lickiest guy in the world or the world’s biggest loser. My life will be much the same on both days, the only difference is my perspective. When I am grateful for all of the wonderful things in my life, I am happy. When I focus on those things that i don’t have, that I feel I deserve, I am unhappy. The truth is, I am very lucky. I come from a crazy background. There is lots of insanity and alcoholism in my family, and I have a wonderful life today, a blessed life. I get to make people feel happy for a living. I have people who love me and whom I love in return. I live in a period in history where it is quite easy to feed my family and I don’t have to worry about the police breaking down my door and dragging me away in the middle of the night. I am physically healthy and of sound mind. There are thousands of other things I could list. Too many to mention. But on some days, all I can see is that I want something that I haven’t got. Or that I am afraid that I will lose something that I have. These are not real situations. They are the mental problems that we create for ourselves. They are usually in the past or the future, neither of which is real. Usually , when I come back to the present moment, everything is fine. 4- You, all from different countries... And it is not hard to feel this geographic influence and the fountainhead of creativity in your music. Where else do you get your influences? What bands have influenced you? Musically, I have had many influences. Jorge Ben, Bob Marley, The Clash, David Bowie, Prince, The Isley Brothers, X, The Jam, The Specials,...too many to mention really. As far as lyrics go, my grandmother was a poet and had a huge influence on me. We used to sit around and read Frederico Garcia Lorca, ee cummings and Dylan Thomas together. We would stay up into the wee hours of the morning until she would say, “David, tell me to go to bed.” She had a wonderful way with verse. She could remember a song or a poem after hearing it just once. She was the one who intruduced me to Leonard Cohen’s music and she was a fan of Tom Waits! I tend to write songs about characters. Many of them are based on people I see who’s stories I then imagine. Like if I see a woman who looks like she was a beaty queen 10 years earlier, I try to imagine what that would feel like and then i write a song about what her life might be like. Also, I have written many songs about my mother. She had a lot of mental problems and died when I was 11. Also, I have written songs about friends who have died, about my wife, about my son, about people who are unhappy and want to escape to an idyllic, cozy corner of the world somewhere, about growing older and the fact that we will all die one day, about the univrerse and the true reality which I think exists beyond that of dualities that perceive in this world. 5- What was your favourite memory whilst making records or during the tours? There are too many to mention. One that comes to mind was during the Vladivostok fim festival. I went on a boat ride that the festival provided. There were only 5 other people and we were on a very large boat. The captain took us to a bay next to Russian Island, a former military base that has never been developed. I swam to shore with a Russian film director named Leonid Rybakov. It was September and the water was warm. As we approached the shore, we saw that the rocks under the water were competely covered with sea urchins and starfish. I had never seen so much life in one place. It looked like a pre-historic situation. He and I dove down and came up with starfish in our hands. We were floating on our backs, splshing around and laughin in the light of the nearest star. 6- Which city do you feel most creative in? There really is no particular place. Just wherever I have my guitar and a quiet place to play it. 7- David, we know that you lived in L.A. and then moved to Barcelona. How is local musicbiz in Barcelona? What are the differences when we compare Europe to US? I really don’t know much about the music biz anywhere. Brazzaville has never really fit into any musical movement very well. We’ve always been a bit outside of things. So I really couldn’t say. 8- I know that you don't like MTV. And all mainstream acts, I guess... Today we use the term " to consume music" rather than " to listen to music" because of the accessibility and communication...What do you think immediate future of the musicbiz? Well, I think that it’s kind of cool that things have turned out the way they have. For example, our music has never been released in Turkey on any label. We tried but none of them wanted us. In spite of that, many Turks listen to our music through the internet and we have a nice fanbase there. That never would have been possible 10 years ago. I guess the downside to the whole mp3 revolution is that, music has been devalued a bit. It seems that people think of it in bulk terms. I hear people say that they have 10,000 albums on their harddrive, and I always, I can’t think of 10,000 albums that I would even want to listen to! 9- Do you listen to new bands? (like Beirut, Bon Iver and new Balkan and/or Bossa Nova bands)... Are there bands you really can recommend? And what do you know about Turkish music? I’m not very well informed about new music. The truth, I don’t listen to music very much. Typically, I’ll have about 20 or 30 songs on my iPod when I go on tour. I will have some that can help me to wake up whe I am exhausted (like Rick James, Madonna, or the SOS Band) and others that will help me to relax when I want to go to sleep (like dub reggae) and others that will cheer me up when I’m feeling kind of down (like Jorge Ben or old sambas). So basically, I guess I use it like a drug! As a musician, I tend to listen with too much attention to basslines, mixing techniques, arrangement etc. It’s kind of exhausting. So, in general, I prefer reading. As for Turkish music, I don’t really know very much. I would recommend that you check out the old Russian band, KINO from the 80s. They were great and they are pretty unknown outside of Russia. 10- I've heard that you will work with Deniz Cuylan from Portecho and the new album will be released from Elec-Trip Records. When will you start? How things going on with the next album? That’s true. We spent a couple of weeks recording when I was in Istanbul this last time. We got most of the basic tracks done. Now it is in Deniz’s hands. He is producing the record and will give it the overall sound. I am curious to see how it turns out. I think they are planning on releasing it in September. I am also at work on my next record here in Barcelona. 11- David, you played in the alternative rock band, Beck and then you formed Brazzaville... What was the reason to quit the band and to make music in a different genre, bossa nova? What changed your mind? I wouldn’t really call Brazzaville a bossa nova band. There are a few songs that definitely are in that style, but most of them aren’t. I suppose the way that I play the guitar is a bit bossa like though. I was still playing with Beck when I made the first 2 Brazzaville records. I never quit Beck’s band. It just reached a point where he and the band were both ready to move on to new things. It had been a great time playing together, but things move on and the time was right for change. 12- If you choose any artist or group from the past or present to make collaboration for a new song, who would it be? That’s a great question. I think I would have to say Jorge Ben. He is kind of my idol. NEWS-FEB. 2009 Jan 31, 2009
-I'll be playing 2 shows in southern Spain in Feb. You can find all the details on the gig page. There will be one in Granada and one in Utrera (Sevilla) -The DVD is finished and will, hopefully, be released in Russia in the next few months. BRAZZA NEWS Dec 13, 2008 Hello Hello! Please forgive my long silence. It has been a busy time of late. We played some really fun shows in Russia in September and October. I have only just begun to write the journal entries about them. I will try to get some more written and posted soon. It was a really inspiring tour for me. -Our Calle Casanova studio is in the process of being upgraded. The ancient Pro Tools system that I used to record the last 4 records was finally destroyed by an Iberian power surge. I tried to revive it by buying another ancient computer but I destroyed that one in another surge! Finally I bought a surge protector and a whole new system. It should all be ready to go in the next week. -Misha from Minerva will be coming to Barcelona so that I can record his album for him. It should be a lot of fun. He has some really nice songs. -We have 2 upcoming shows in Turkey in January. We will be playing at Ghetto in Istanbul and at Dib Sahne in Ankara. I am very excited to return to Turkey to play. Mat Daly will be making a limited edition, silk screened poster for the Turkey shows. He is by far my favorite of all the print artists in the US. -I will be staying for an extra 2 weeks in Turkey to begin recording the long planned record with Deniz Cuylan. We will be recording Brazzaville songs with Turkish musicians. It should be a lot of fun. -The DVD is basically finished. I will try to bring some advance copies to sell in Turkey. -I will be playing 2 shows in Andalucia with a musician named Nano B. We will be playing in Utrera (Sevilla) and Granada. The last time I was in Granada was in the late 80s. I can’t wait to see it again. -I have signed a deal with a company called Big Sounds International in Los Angeles. They will be representing our music to film, TV etc. They have a great roster of labels and artists. DVD, NEW SHOWS, PHOTOS ETC Nov 12, 2008 BRAZZAVILLE NEWS, NOV. 2008 -Our DVD is almost completely finished! The great Dr. Tikov has been hard at work in his lab and he is closing in on the final product as we speak. Here are some samples to check out: Super Gizi (Brazzaville’s first TV show in 2004) http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=D6dq4i6MJUA Dear Diary (New song live in Barcelona,2008) http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=CfRsSbvfAYM Baltic Sea (Moscow 2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ivd9F1hDPo LAX (Moscow 2008) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tE9MVfP1pAY Jesse James (Moscow 2008) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wbS--VJ-aNA -I have been asked to play in a show in Utrera, Andalucia in February. It will be at Bar Latino www.myspace.com/barlatinoutrera I will be playing with a guy named Nano B.: www.myspace.com/nanobarrera He is a talented musician and it should be a lot of fun. I will post the exact dates when I have them. -Our show at Ghetto in Istanbul on January 16th, 2009 has been confirmed. We are working on booking shows in Ankara, Izmir and maybe even Israel around the same time. -I should be recording a record with some Deniz Culyan and some other Turkish musicians while I am there. -Misha, Alsou and Dasha from Minerva are supposed to come to Barcelona in a few weeks so that I can produce some songs for them in our Calle Casanova studio. It should be a lot of fun. -We are still working on trying to make our beloved ship tour down the Volga happen next summer. I really hope it works out. We would be playing sunset shows on the beaches of each town. We have found an appropriate ship, now it’s just a matter of getting the funding and organizing everything. -I had dinner with some great musicians form NY when they were passing through Barcelona last week. They are from a group call Joan As Police Woman. Check them out if you haven’t heard them already. Their show was a lot of fun. http://www.myspace.com/joanaspolicewoman Timo is playing bass with Joan. I met him years ago when I was on tour with Beck. I hadn’t thought of him in years and earlier that day, he popped into my head. A few hours later I bumped into him here in Barcelona. It was very odd. He has several great projects as well. You can check them out here: www.myspace.com/thenetherlandstheband -We have added some new photos to the website and myspace page. www.brazzaville2002.com -I will begin working on the new record in the next few weeks. I have many new songs to record. All the best, David Arthur Brown SEPT/OCT. 2008 Sep 21, 2008 Hello Everybody, FAR EAST!!!!! - I played 3 shows in the Russian Far East. 2 in Vladivostok and 1 in Khabarovsk. It was so much fun to be out there again. The Far East is really one of my favorite regions of Russia. It is so magical. I swam in the sea and saw thousands of star fish and sea urchins. The shows in Vladivostok were kind of part of the Pacific Meridian Film Festival. I met lots of interesting people. There were directors, actors, writers and producers from all over the world. We all stayed in a worn out Soviet Era hotel called the Vladivostok. It had amazing views of the sea and all the freighters in the harbor. I was accompanied by friend Oleg, a great keyboard player from Novosibirsk. He is a lovely guy. He had never seen the sea before. Ruslan, my good friend who had been working on a radio station in the arctic circle (Chukotka!) came back to Vlad and arranged all the shows for me.
OCTOBER TOUR -Well all the dates are set for the October tour in Russia. We will be playing Ekaterinburg, Samara, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Rostov and Kazan. There might be a couple of other shows as well but they will be a surprise. I am very excited about this tour as it will feature a different cast of characters than the last few tours. I am bringing kenny Lyon out from LA. He is Brazzaville's original guitar player from years ago and a very close friend of mine. On keys will be Oleg from Novosibirsk, one of the best keyboard players I have ever played with. Ramon will be coming with my from Barcelona to play drums and Alsou, the beautiful violinist from Moscow will be with us on most of the shows as well. All the dates are available on the tour page or at our myspace page.
DVD Dr. Tinkoff and I should be finishing up the DVD in the next couple of weeks. I think it will be a double DVD. It has some fun footage on it.
NEWS, NEWS, NEWS Sep 05, 2008 RUSSIAN FAR EAST SHOWS BRAZZAVILLE DVD OCTOBER SHOWS TURKEY
BRAZZA NEWS Aug 02, 2008 Hello Everyone, -21st Century Girl will be released in the US on Parasol/Bus Stop Label on Sept. 8th. -The interview/live session we recorded at WXPN in Philadelphia for World Cafe w/ David Dye will be broadcast on Sept. 30th on most NPR stations in the US -The Brazzaville DVD/audio CD with B sides etc. should be finished by this fall. -The Clouds In Camarillo (w/Minerva) is on over 64 radio stations across Russia and has been played more than 25,000 times in the past few months. It remains in the top 10 on Radio Maximum. -We are still hoping to record a CD with Turkish musicians but that plan seems to have stalled for the moment. -We are planning a big Russian tour for the fall. The cities that we are hoping to hit if all goes well should include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. We will post all shows and dates as they are confirmed. -There might be some slight movement with the ship tour. -There are some new songs in the works, some of which will be played at the upcoming shows. -We have posted 6 brand new songs from the new CD on our myspace page. FORÇA BRUTA!!!!! Jun 27, 2008 I can say with complete certainty that my favorite album of all time is Força Bruta by Jorge Ben. I have put the photo from the cover of it's 1970 release on our front page for inspiration. Years ago I had a cassette with many of the songs from the record and I listened to it non stop for months. I am off to play a solo show in Kiev tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to visiting Ukraine again. It's a wonderful country. I hope we'll be able to make it back with the whole band next year. The US tour is coming up! If we coming to your town, it would be great to see you at a show. I love playing in the US. The complete tour schedule is on our Tour page as well as our myspace page. Here is a really funny video that Justin, the bass lpayer from Beck's old band sent to me the other day. I'm the one in the funny wig playing the sax with football shoulder pads on. BRAZZAVILLE NEWS Jun 10, 2008 -We will be playing a big show in Barcelona at Sala BeCool on June 26th at 10 pm. -I have finally written the final chapter of the Russian tour journal. You can read it by clicking on the journal icon. -The US tour dates have all been finalized. We will be visiting Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Providence and L.A. You can see the complete schedule with dates and times by clicking on the microphone icon or by visiting our myspace page at www.myspace.com/brazzaville ST. PETERSBURG NEWS STORY Apr 25, 2008 This is a news story about Brazzaville that was filmed in St. Petersburg on our last tour in Russia. It's in Russian http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=3xJ_sgJE3vY NEW ENTRY IN THE JOURNAL SECTION Apr 18, 2008 I have finally continued the Russian tour saga. Check the journal section and scroll down. NEWS! Mar 24, 2008 -I just got back from almost a month in Russia. It was an amazing experience. I have begun to write about it in the journal section and will continue with that this week. -The Clouds In Camarillo (with Minerva) is becoming kind of a minor hit in Russia. It’s getting a lot of play on the radio and there is talk of making another video for it. -We are off to play three shows in Ireland later this week. Two of the shows will be with Larry Beau. I am really looking forward to playing with him. I really enjoy his music a lot. -We are working on playing in Romania around May 8th and 9th. That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. -The US tour seems to be coming together for July. As of now, it looks like it will include, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, New York, and L.A. In addition there might be shows in Minneapolis, Boston, Philadelphia, DC and Providence. I will post the dates on the site as soon as they are confirmed. -The first pressing of 21st Century Girl in Russia has completely sold out and they are pressing a second run. -We are planning to release a DVD/CD in the fall. -Lots of people have been ordering our new CD from the website. The system seems to be working out quite well. We ship them anywhere in the world! -Soon you will be able to buy all of our record on mp3 from CD Baby. Actually, you can already get most of them there. They come in a higher quality mp3 format than even iTunes and they include the album cover art. -Hopefully, I will record an album with the Turkish musician, Denis Cuylan when his military service is over in May. -We are planning a HUGE Russian tour with the full band for September. We may include a show in China at the beginning of the tour and then begin the Russian tour in Vladivostok and Khabaravsk and work our way west to Moscow, P-burg and maybe even Kaliningrad. Hopefully we will get to play in Nizhniy Novgorod this time as I know there are a lot of great fans out there. BRAZZAVILLE NEWS FEB. 28TH 2008 Feb 28, 2008 -We played 3 really fun shows in Turkey last week. The first was at Locus Solus in Ankara. A lot of people turned out for the show and, even though there was a fair amount of talking during our set, everyone seemed to have a good time. There was a total eclipse later that night but I was too tired to stay up for it. The second show was in Istanbul at Is Sanat Concert Hall. It is a beautiful concert hall which is located a bit far from Taksim, but has the best acoustics I’ve ever experienced. It is a sit down venue so it was a pretty relaxed evening. We had a great time and Richie got to play a Steinway for the first time in his life. The third show was on the Anatolian side of Istanbul in a neighborhood called Kadikoy. It was at a club called Isis. That show was acoustic. The setting was very intimate and we had a wonderful time. The Turkish audiences were great. James Hakan Dedeoglu and Ipek sat in with us that night. -March 1st will be the first show of the upcoming Russian tour. I will be doing a solo set in Ekateriburg. After that, the full band has 3 shows (2 in St. Petersburg and one in Moscow). The P-burg shows are at Maina and The Place. The big show in Moscow will be at Apelsin. It is on March 8th which is Woman’s Day. After that, the band will go home and I will head out to Vladivostok to play some shows with som Russian musicians. They are busy learning about 22 Brazzaville songs as I write this. It should be a great adventure. After Vlad, I will fly to Siberia to play some solo shows in Novosibirsk and maybe Tomsk. -We are planning a US tour for July. So far we are looking at shows in Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC, Brooklyn, Philly, DC and maybe Boston. IN addition, we are considering a west coast swing through LA, SF, San Diego and maybe even Portland. -We are talking with prmoters in Ukraine about touring there at some point this spring. -We are also talking to a promoter in Romania about doing a show in Bucharest. I would LOVE to do that. -We will be playing 3 shows in Ireland at the end of March. I haven’t been there for many years. It will be very interesting to go to the place where a lot of my father’s family came from. -I will be performing the song Kao San Road with the Russian band, B2 in Moscow on March 3rd. It is a song that I co-wrote with Shura’s uncle. -The new CD, 21st Century Girl has been released in Russia and Ukraine. It is also for sale through our website. It has 14 tracks of brand new Brazzaville songs! -We are still planning on putting out a Brazzaville DVD/CD combo at some point this year. BRAZZAVILLE NEWS JAN/FEB 2008 Jan 23, 2008 -We played some really fun shows in Amsterdam. Many thanks to Coparck for inviting us to play with them at Paradiso and to Olga and Jeroen for arranging our show at De Neiuwe Anita and to them and Arthur for putting us up while we were in Amsterdam. -East L.A. Breeze has been released in Benelux on V2 Records. People in Amsterdam told us they have been hearing it on the radio and that it was featured on an important Dutch website last week. -The Turkish shows are all finalized. for February. We will be playing full band shows in Istanbul and Ankara and an acoustic show on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. There are full details for the shows on the tour page of this site. -Our Russian language website, www.brazzaville.ru will be launched shortly. -The Russian tour is coming together for March with shows confirmed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok. We are awaiting word on shows in Siberia. -21st Century Girl will be released in Ukraine at the beginning of Feb. Hopefully we will come and play some shows there in April. -We have 2 shows in Dublin at the end of March. We are hoping to book a show on the west coast of Ireland as well. -21st Century Girl is available for pre-order in our online store and should be available in the next month or so. BRAZZAVILLE NEWS JAN. 2008 Jan 01, 2008
-V2 Records will be releasing East L.A. Breeze in Benelux in January -We will be playing a big show at the legendary Paradiso with the Dutch band Coparck on January 17th. -David will be playing a solo show at De Nieuwe Anita the following night on January 18th. -21st Century Girl will be released in Russia and the Ukraine at the beginning of February -We will be playing a show in Istanbul at Is Sanat on Feb. 22nd and David will be playing a solo show across the Bosphorus in Kadikoy, on the Anatolian side of town at Arka Oda on Feb. 24th. We are working on booking shows in Izmir and Ankara around that same time -We will be playing a HUGE show in Moscow to celebrate Woman’s Day and the release of our new CD, 21st Century Girl. The show will be at Apelsin on March 8th. We are working on putting together some other Russian dates for around that same time. -We will be shooting a video for Jesse James with Dr. Tikov, a Russian director and musician who lives here in Barcelona -We are hoping to come and play some shows in Ireland toward the end of March. A wonderful musician by the name of Larry Beau (www.myspace.com/larrybeau) is helping us to set them up. -Staying with Ireland, a super-cool Irish guy named Mark Wrafter is rebuilding our website so that it will be easier for us to upload photos, text, music etc. He is also building us an online store so we will be selling our CDs, t-shirts and even songbooks directly from our site. -There is a possibility of us going to play some shows in China in late March/early April. -We are looking into playing some festivals in the US this summer. If that happens we will book some other shows around them. Cities would most likely be in the Midwest and on the East Coast but maybe we’ll try to get out to L.A. as well. -HAPPY NEW YEAR to all out wonderful fans! Love, Brazzaville NEWS NOV. 2007 Nov 01, 2007 NEWS NOV. 2007 -We have been in Cristian Vogel's Station 55 studio mastering our latest CD. It should be all finished by next week. -V2 Records has licensed East L.A. Breeze for Holland, Belgium and Luxambourg! -Brazzaville will be playing in the legendary Paradiso in Amsterdam on January 17th. We will also be playing a show the following night at our favorite Amsterdam club, De Nieuwe Anita (The Foyer). -Brazzaville will be playing in Istanbul at the Is Sanat Concert Hall on Feb. 23rd. -We are working on playing a HUGE show in Moscow in February or March to celebrate the release of the new CD. -We are planning the release of the latest CD in Russia in early February. -We are planning to release a DVD/CD set featuring live footage of the band as well as TV interviews, videos etc. The CD will have radio interviews from around the world as well as rare recordings and live versions of some of the songs. -David will be going to Istanbul next Spring to record a record with musician/producer Deniz Cuylan. It will feature 12-15 Brazzaville songs recorded with various Turkish musicians. It will be released in Turkey on Elec-Trip Records. -We are working on shows in many other countries right now and will post information about them as they are confirmed. Upcoming shows (confirmed): Jan. 17 th Jan. 18 th Feb. 22nd NEWS-FALL 2007 Sep 01, 2007 NEWS-FALL 2007 (old)
-We recorded an English/Russian version of a song called Camarillo that was co-written by Misha Korneev, his friend Vanya and myself. Misha was visiting in Barcelona and he and I got together in the studio to do the version. I am very happy with how it turned out. -On Sept. 11th we shot a video for the song with the great video director Ferran Calvo and starring the beautiful Dadanoia http://dadanoias.blogspot.com as the protagonista. Sept. 11th is a big holiday here in Catalunya. I walked out of my house at about 9 AM and the street was filled with police and people assembled in front of the Tibetan Center around the corner from my house. I walked over to take a look and a car pulled up and the Dali Lama emerged, smiling and waving to everybody. He seems like a truly wonderful man. Anyway, it seemed like a good omen. We shot all day in locations around the wastelands of Besos and Badalona. -Brady and I went to the US to play some shows from Sept. 12th through the 18th. It was a whirlwind tour through Madison, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago. We played with Todd Richards on the guitar and Eric Radloff on the drums. They did a great job. Todd arranged the whole tour and put us up in his house the entire time. He is a real mensch! -I leave for Turkey tomorrow, Sept. 20th, to play a couple of solo shows in Ankara and Istanbul. The details of the shows are listed below. -We are playing some shows in Russia beginning on Oct. 17th in St. Petersburg. P-burg, Ufa and Kaliningrad have been confirmed. We are waiting to hear about a few other cities and we will list them as soon as they get confirmation. - Here are a couple of bits of press from the Midwest tour:http://www.mkeonline.com/story.asp?id=1402384
SARATOV
NEWS AUGUST 2007 Aug 01, 2007 MIDWEST TOUR SEPT. 13th-16th 2007 Sept. 13th
upcoming Turkey shows: Sept. 23rd
JULY 2007 Jul 01, 2007 Brazzaville News
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