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Neil Sparkes(composer, vocalist, percussionist and producer) latest project is Loungeclash with Sam Dodson (Loop Guru/ Slipper/ Transmitters). Loungeclash debut album "Dread Time Story" (Warlock Records) is released in the USA on Feb 19th 2008.
LOUNGECLASH EXOTIC INVASION!!!!!Loungeclash are Neil Sparkes (Temple of Sound/Ex Transglobal Underground)
and Sam Dodson (Loop Guru/ Slipper)
LoungeClash Debut Album Released February 19th 2008 Warlock Records/Sony Red USA
CLICK HERE TO ORDER LOUNGECLASH "DREAD TIME STORY"
Neil Sparkes produced the debut album "Rhythm And Rhyme" by Batucada Sound Machine at The Lab Studios in Auckland,New Zealand in July 2007; the amazing group made a huge impact at WOMAD festivals last year.
CLICK HERE FOR A PREVIEW OF BATUCADA SOUND MACHINE'S NEW SINGLE RIVERS OF RHYME PRODUCED BY NEIL SPARKES
Batucada Sound Machine and Neil Sparkes at The Lab, Recording the bands debut album:
CLICK HERE FOR NEWS ON BATUCADA SOUND MACHINE ALBUM
Neil will be returning to the UK and MCing at this years WOMAD Festival at Charlton Park in Wiltshire.
Neil Sparkes worked in Mexico City in 2006 producing the debut album by new Mexican artist Fero with Fernando De Santiago, legendary Mariachi producer and arranger for Pepe Aguilar.
AVAILABLE ON iTUNES USA FOR DOWNLOAD
GLOBALHEAD AVAILABLE ON eMUSIC FOR DOWNLOAD
CLICK HERE TO BUY GLOBALHEAD FROM eMUSIC
CLICK HERE TO BUY GLOBALHEAD FROM ZUNE
CLICK HERE TO BUY GLOBALHEAD FROM AMAZON.COM
CLICK HERE TO BUY GLOBALHEAD FROM VIRGIN USA
MUSIC
Neil Sparkes is widely known as vocalist and percussionist with Indie dance group Transglobal Underground with whom he toured the World from 1992 to 1996. He appeared on all of TGU's commercially successful albums for Nation Records and Sony.
Neil's collaborations include work with Peter Gabriel as co-writer on his single "Burn You Up,Burn You Down" on the massive selling Best Of album "Hit". Neil first worked with Peter Gabriel in 1991 at the inaugral Real World Recording Week, held at Gabriel's recording studio's in Wiltshire, UK.
Sparkes has worked with Peter Gabriel, The Stranglers, Jah Wobble, Natacha Atlas, Los De Abajo, Batucada Sound Machine, Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali, Omar Puente, Fernando De Santiago, Fero, Simon Emmerson (Afro-Celt), Little Annie, Billy Childish, Loop Guru, Slipper, Zion Train, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jeff Nuttall, Michael Horovitz, Pete Brown, Alan Barnes, Hossam Ramzy, Shooglenifty, Dodgy and Adrian Sherwood amongst many others.
Neil Sparkes first solo release was the "Achtung Salaam!" EP, released by 2KOOL Records in 1996 while Sparkes was still a member of TransGlobal Underground. Released as a Ltd edition collectors item Picture Disc featuring Neil's paintings and images, this was the first of a series of three 12" Dub plates:
1996 - "Achtung Salaam!" - Ltd Edition Picture Disc/ 12"/ CD
1997 - "Saturday Night Shiva" - 12" Etched Vinyl
1997 - "Friday Night Shango" - 12" Orange Vinyl
Neil's debut solo album "Burning Mask" was released to wide acclaim ("A Musical Education" 5/5 - Pathaan, DJ Magazine) by Interchill Records. Recorded between extended visits to Cuba, where Sparkes lived for 6 months, returning regularly throughout the late 1990's; the album's release was followed by a British Council sponsored tour in Canada in 1999. Live shows in the UK featured UK saxophone Legend Dick Heckstall-Smith and Cuban Violinist Omar Puente (including BBC Music Live event on the South Bank, London). Other Interchill releases include remixes of Ekko on the Ekkocentric album; "Miramar" on the Chill Out album "Floatation"; "Talisman(Dub Praises Mix)" on the album "Talisman" which features Neil's paintings commissioned by Interchill.
Neil's ten year collaboration with legendary saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith is featured on the CD and book "Grandchildren of Albion" (New Departures). The duo's performances together from 1991 to 2001 include Ronnie Scott's,London; Literary and Music Festivals throughout Europe and the UK.
click here for Temple of Sound
TEMPLE OF SOUND
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Temple of Sound are releasing their fifth studio album "GlobalHead" on May 8th 2007 on Namaste Records/Koch in the USA;
A long term preoccupation with synthesising his multi-medic talents led to the formation of Neil's latest group Temple Of Sound with Count Dubulah. Temple of Sounds debut album "First Edition" was released by Wagram Music in 2002. "First Edition" contains twelve tracks written and produced by Sparkes and Dubulah. Sparkes also providing the painting and original artwork that graces the cover and inside booklet.
As producers and remixers, Temple of Sound have made the album "Peoples Colony No.1" for Peter Gabriel's label Real World, with Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali (nephews of the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) in 2001 and "Shout At The Devil", an album co-written and produced with Jah Wobble for 30 Hertz Records in 2002. In 2005 Temple of Sound produced the album "LDA v The Lunatics" by Los De Abajo in Mexico City at the studios of grammy award winner Pepe Aguilar. The album is released on Peter Gabriel's Real World label. 2006 saw the release of Natacha Atlas new album "MishMaoul" on Beggars Banquet featuring tracks produced, performed and co-written by Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah. The album was nominated in the BBC radio3 World Music Awards.
click here for LoungeClash
click here for BenBaddoo/Neil Sparkes BouGaRaBou Featuring Alan Barnes & Kadialy Kouyate
WORDS
As a poet and performer, Sparkes has read and performed widely in the UK ,Europe and Internationally; as well as alongside Michael Horovitz and Jeff Nuttall in the The Jazz Poetry SuperJam and Billy Childish's Hangman Poets. His work includes several collections of poetry published by Billy Childish, "All Metal And Other Mens Wives" (1989), "Rumba Rumba (Jazz From Hell)" (1990), as well as numerous appearances on BBC Radio.Magazines and anthologies include "Velocity" (Black Spring 2003); "Gargoyle" (Black Spring1999 ); Critical Quarterly" (1996); Grandchildren of Albion" (New Departures1992); Popular Front of Contemporary Poetry" (Apples & Snakes 1992), and the Hungarian/British collection "Fragile Continent" (Princes Trust 1991). A new collection "Drums In The Rain (New and Selected Poems & Drawings 1990 - 2005)" is to be published by Billy Childish's Hangman Books .
PICTURES
click here for a review of Neil's exhibition The Rhythms Inside My Head
Sparkes studied on the Foundation course at Maidstone, K.I.A.D. and then the B.A. Fine Art course at Goldsmiths College, London. A contemporary of Damien Hirst and the YBAs, his work has been exhibited in the UK and abroad. Neil's pictures have been sold to many Private Collections.