Angelique Kidjo is steps away
Angelique Kidjo and most of humanity are within 6 degrees of each other. This matrix combines the small-world principle behind this fact with inter-artist recommendations-in-series. By this m.o., writers, musicians, filmmakers, quiltmakers, dancers, painters, multimedia artists, architects, sound designers, chefs, producers et al (see categories) across the planet are within close, discoverable steps of each other, and most of the world as well. 100% AI FREE
I RECOMMEND people (do you?)
Why again is Angelique Kidjo mere steps away from all other artists in here, and by extension, everybody on the planet?
WHO IS CURATING FROM HERE?
- Vertex/Edges Out by: The Matrix via ↴
Artist & Where
- Name: Angelique Kidjo
- City/Place: New York City
- Country: United States
- Hometown: Cotonou, Benin
Life & Work
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Bio:
Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has included her in its list of the continent's 50 most iconic figures, and in 2011 The Guardian listed her as one of their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Forbes Magazine has ranked Angelique as the first woman in their list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa. She is the recent recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award.
As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.
The new year brings us Angélique’s newest project, her interpretation of The Talking Heads’ classic 1980 album, Remain in Light. She will record her version of the album with superstar producer Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Taylor Swift), taking classic songs such as "Crosseyed and Painless," "Once in a Lifetime," and "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" and reinterpreting them with electrifying rhythms, African guitars, and layered backing vocals. Angélique will bring this musical extravaganza to concert halls and festivals across the globe including a premier performance at Carnegie Hall and U.S. festival debut at Bonnaroo in 2017.
Her star-studded album DJIN DJIN won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Album in 2008, and her album OYO was nominated for the same award in 2011. In January 2014 Angélique’s first book, a memoir titled Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music (Harper Collins) and her twelfth album, EVE (Savoy/429 Records), were released to critical acclaim. EVE later went on to win the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 2015, and her historic, orchestral album Sings with the Orchestre Philharmonique Du Luxembourg (Savoy/429 Records) won a Grammy for Best World Music Album in 2016.
Angelique has gone on to perform this genre-bending work with several international orchestras and symphonies including the Bruckner Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Philharmonie de Paris. Her collaboration with Philip Glass, IFÉ: Three Yorùbá Songs, made its US debut to a sold out concert with the San Francisco Symphony in June 2015. In addition to performing this new orchestral concert, Angelique continues to tour globally performing the high-energy concert she’s become famous for with her four-piece band. Her rousing live show was captured at the revered Austin City Limits and made its television debut in January 2016.
Contact Information
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Management/Booking:
Nate Erwin
nate.erwin@redlightmanagement.com
Media & Markets
- ▶ Book Purchases: http://www.kidjo.com/books
- ▶ Twitter: angeliquekidjo
- ▶ Instagram: angeliquekidjo
- ▶ Website: http://www.kidjo.com
- ▶ YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/angeliquekidjo
- ▶ YouTube Music: http://music.youtube.com/channel/UCKy_RKvarNHSW-1IZzDFtBA
- ▶ Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/0RV0acsVSRtBj0ngVHfzDD
- ▶ Spotify 2: http://open.spotify.com/album/0emSHfQ64wlmh1ziOAw11K
- ▶ Spotify 3: http://open.spotify.com/album/1Bb5UeMGzTX0n8Gm3U86MY
- ▶ Spotify 4: http://open.spotify.com/album/1zQ3u7t7FV8nQDg0LMN5pw
- ▶ Spotify 5: http://open.spotify.com/album/1FmjOQhxwxC0flGj4PNdza
- ▶ Spotify 6: http://open.spotify.com/album/4RWSXCDIk9HDCAjRFTPVcn
More
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Quotes, Notes & Etc.
“Celia Cruz’s music and her entire being was a reminder of the presence of Africa in Cuba. Angélique Kidjo’s Celia musically closes that circle with reverence and more than a little love.”
— Felix Contreras, NPR
Clips (more may be added)
ABOUT THE MATRIX
This matrix is dedicated to creative artists and non-algorithmic discovery.
It was described (to some degree) and can be accessed via this article in British journal The Guardian (which named our radio of matrixed artists as one of ten best in the world):
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/17/10-best-music-radio-station-around-world
While the Brazilian musicians I work with now you may not know, I formerly worked (chasing unpaid royalties!) on behalf of Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Led Zeppelin, Jim Hall, Mongo Santamaria, Gilberto Gil, Astrud Gilberto, Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin), Philip Glass, The Cadillacs (Earl Carroll), The Flamingos (Zeke and Jake Carey), and others, including Oscar-winning world-class great-guy Robb Royer. I was interviewed by David Dye for broadcast on U.S. National Public Radio several years ago ... about the Brazilians:
- Randy "Pardal/Sparrow" Roberts
All is more connected than we know.
w/ David Dye for U.S. National Public Radio
The matrix was inspired in (the kabbalah-inspired fiction of) Borges' El Aleph, that in the pillar in Cairo's Mosque of Amr, where the universe in its entirety throughout all time is perceivable as an infinite hum from deep within the stone...
Our logo, per the "spirit" above, is a cortador de cana, a cane cutter. It was designed by Walter Mariano, professor of design at the Federal University of Bahia to reflect the origins of the music the shop specialized in. The Brazilian "aleph" doesn't hum... it dances and sings.
