Music:

Member Since: 7/15/2006
Band Website: echosnubianvoyager.com
Band Members: VISIT The Official Les Nubians page !!
VISIT The Official Echos page !!
Visit our websites :
Les Nubians
Echos website
Nubiatik website
Official forum

La page MySpace d'Anouch Adjarian
La page MySpace de John Banzaï
La page MySpace de Souleymane Diamanka
La page MySpace d'Allonymous
La page MySpace de Queen Godis
La page MySpace de Jamarhl Crawford
La page MySpace des Nubians
La page MySpace de Nazelah Jamison
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Here are a few videos...
We will soon post subtitled versions of the interviews in french on this page; plus the videos shot for Temperature Rising(versions with Talib Kweli and John Banzaï ) on our Les Nubians page. Keep checkin' back in! :):)

ECHOS ...a few extracts at the New Morning (Paris). Video by Linda Drouet

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L'enjeu artistique du projet ECHOS (Emission Boite de N'huit enregistree le 30 Novembre 2005, Direct 8)

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Freestyle de John Banzaï(Emission Boite de N'huit enregistree le 30 Novembre 2005, Direct 8)

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Les 4 élements...

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Célia parle du projet ECHOS
EPK ECHOS

EPK Echos
Influences: ECHOS: NUBIAN VOYAGERIntroductionCHAPTER I Motherland Beautiful stories, those that are told and retold, always have some degree of connection with the truest, greatest story of all: the story of mankind. And dont be surprised if the story begins with the Nubian tribes.A Peul poet, Souleymane Diamanka has patiently stood in the shadow of his peoples history, waiting for his time to come, the day when he would become a voyager too. He told aloud the story of a princess born in Nubia, L-N, a princess whose eyes penetrated into the day-to-day life of her ancestors, though it were a living painting. After returning from a poetic journey to the Americas with her sister, this princess vowed, upon listening to the story, to make this new griots voice heard. In America, she had already met some new poets that she wanted to tell the world about. Chuma and Fisiwe, for example, who spoke of Paradise. Africa + America: was this enough for someone who called herself Afropean? For she had also brought new poets from Europe, like Anouch, a native of Armenia, who mixed his words with those of Zuga, a consummate artist who hailed from Cameroon. Together, they told of the benefits of crossed-Souls, which produces the wisdom that comes with mixed blood. Before setting out with her caravan to conquer the city and its lives, L-N met up with her sister C-Lia, and together, as if to better proclaim this Queen Godis who spoke of Liberty, they sang another round, a roots demo version, of their famous "DÈsolÈe".CHAPTER II Urban City LifeShortly after arriving in town, the multi-coloured caravan of words, christened "Echos" along the way, came upon Jamarhl, an urban poet, who was spotted in Atlanta, in Boston, live, in a film, and on a Pr. Griff CD. He told the story of the war in Babylon, the city of cities, and improvised his biography for journalists who asked where he came from. It was also in America, while travelling around with her sister-Nubian, that L-N had met another of these latter-day griots. His name was John, but also BanzaÔ; he said he was Polish, but also a musician. When he gigged at Lipstik (1), his electric prose infused the City with new colours and gave love back its original fervour. It was no doubt while listening to "New York City", as told by Kasema Kalifah Caines, that L-N understood how French could provide a meaning that would become sound in America, and vice-versa on the condition, however, that these sounds and meanings were put to music. She entrusted this job to her old accomplice Mounir Belkhir, with Lee Hamblin doing all the mixing and remixing, two magicians at transforming sounds into music. Together, they thus produced the melodies, the arrangements and the beats, which were then assembled behind the poetic flights of fancy.CHAPTER III LOVE STORIES"Echos", therefore, is not just poetry, not just slam (no competition between them), and not just another form of rap, either (the voices are not laid over the music); nor, is it song. So what is "Echos"? Its something else, another way of expressing in words whats bad, whats beautiful, and whats hot in spoken word, if you will. Its a new genre of poetic expression that can combine an ode to a Queen by Mr. Jamarhl and the "Untitled Rhapsody" of Nazilah Jamison, straight from San Francisco, which she left to perform with the legendary Michael Franti. A new genre of poetic expression that, like the woman to whom Souleymane wishes a sleepless night, would be dressed only in Eves attire, or a smile, and whose melody would be the most beautiful sigh. A new genre of poetic expression that would make it possible in both French and English, fused through music to express love, the city, death, and life; to imagine, recount, interpret and celebrate; from the serious to the soft, from the mystical to the autobiographical.CHAPTER IV Spiritual Human NatureAll in all, this is what "Echos" is a convoy embarking from a mythical Mother Earth, winning over whole cities full of artists, bringing them along, letting them tell their various tales... But wait, says the unbeliever, what are the Nubian sisters four songs doing here? This is not about songs, nor is this a Nubian album. Well, the songs are a reminder that all these people, all these artists, met each other through the journey of these two princesses. It was L-N who brought all these poets together; these are clearly her musical choices, the project is her creation, but without C-Lia, she would not be L-N... And, by the way, they are offering new versions of these songs. All means are necessary if their purpose is to make the very cries of the sky heard, to set off the elements and the fire evoked by the incandescent Queen Goddis, the prose composed of the winds, finally given wings by the Peul poet, the one who, while reading over the Scriptures, asks himself whether, after all, there were not Emotions before the Word as in the beginning
Sounds Like: LES NUBIANS DE RETOUR EN ATELIERS MUSICAUX AVEC LE PROJET ECHOS D'AQUITAINE!!!!!!!!!
Duo bordelais composé des soeurs Hélène et Célia Faussart, Les Nubians sortent leur premier album Princesses Nubiennes en 1999. C'est un succès immédiat outre manche, avec plus de 400 000 ventes, et 1 Lady Soul Train Award en 1999. En 2003, Les Nubians reviennent avec leur 2ème album One Step Forward. Cet album leur permet d'explorer leur sensibilité artistique à travers un voyage musical métissé mariant des sonorités des quatre coins de la planète. Ce projet est récompensé d'une nomination aux Grammy Awards 2004.
2005 sonne le retour des Nubians, avec la sortie de l'album Echos Nubian Voyager, projet de slam / poésie urbaine regroupant des poètes des quatre coins de la planète. Ce projet se décline désormais sous la forme d'un livre sorti dans le commerce en Août 2006, en complément de l’album CD, disponible lui depuis Novembre 2005.
Mais c’est depuis 1995 que Les Nubians font leurs armes sur Bordeaux en menant notamment par le biais notamment de l’association « Les Nouveaux Griots » des actions socio-culturelles. Fortes de leur expérience sur le marché musical international, Les Nubians reviennent en 2004 en tant que directrices artistiques du Carnaval de Bordeaux et de Quartiers Musique, pilotées par l’association Musiques de Nuit diffusions.
Sans cesse, Les Nubians continueront leurs actions dans la ville de Bordeaux et la CUB (Communauté Urbaine Bordelaise), intervenant en direction des jeunes, des écoles, collèges et lycées, des centres d’animation ou d’écoles de musique, sous forme d’ateliers ou de rencontres (ateliers de sensibilisation musicale, chant écriture poétique).
C’est donc naturellement que Musiques de Nuit Diffusions et Les Nubians se rapprochent de nouveau en créant le projet Echos d’Aquitaine.
Désormais, l’opération Echos d’Aquitaine 2006 s’ouvre aux villes de Bayonne, Biarritz, Mont de Marsan, Villeneuve sur Lot, Bergerac, et un grand final se tiendra à Bordeaux en Mai 2007.
Chaque ville concernée sera le lieu privilégié des interventions sous forme d’ateliers musicaux d’une durée d’une semaine, impliquant localement les salles de musique amplifiées des villes concernées, les écoles primaires, les classes niveau collège et les écoles de musique.
Les Nubians, accompagnées de plusieurs artistes du collectif Echos interviendront et encadreront ces ateliers, et proposeront trois types d’ateliers de sensibilisation et de pratique artistique :
- ateliers d’écriture poétique / slam,
- ateliers de chant,
- ateliers de découverte instrumentale de la musique soul.
Chaque semaine d’ateliers se terminera par une représentation le samedi soir d’un concert du collectif Echos, en présence des Nubians. Les créations travaillées durant la semaine trouveront leur place sur scène et seront présentées au public lors du concert de Bordeaux, en Avril 2007. Cette opération permettra aux poètes locaux alors rencontrés en atelier de rentrer dans le casting visant à réunir les nouveaux poètes de la future compilation Echos.
Ce concert clôture de l’opération ECHOS D’AQUITAINE qui se tiendra à Bordeaux s’agrémentera d’une restitution scénique des meilleurs travaux réalisés au sein de chaque ville participante.
A signaler également que l’enregistrement d’un DVD aura lieu lors du concert de Bordeaux.
Par Florence Borrut & Hélène Faussart
LES NUBIANS PRESENTS:'ECHOS: CHAPTER ONE - NUBIAN VOYAGER' (ARTEMIS/TRILOKA/NUBIATIK PUBLISHING)Sisters Helene and Celia Faussart of the Grammy-nominated, French urban music duo Les Nubians have always had an affinity for poetry. That love has culminated with 'Echos: Nubian Voyager,' a unique and remarkable project more than five years in the making. 'Echos: Nubian Voyager' brings together contemporary slam and musical poetry scenes with the ancient tradition of the Griot, the sacred African storyteller and oral historian. Ahmadou Hampate Ba, The Last Poets, Zora Neale Hurston Amiri Baraka, Maya Angelou also paved the way for this project. 'Echos: Nubian Voyager' will be released Sept. 27 on Triloka/Artemis.The album finds Les Nubians telling a new story with deep roots. Conceived and co-produced by Helene, 'Echos: Nubian Voyager' features a remarkable group of French and English-speaking urban poets -- Souleymane Diamanka, John BanzaÔ, C.Lia, Anouch, Zuga, Chuma, Fisiwe, Jamahrl Crawford, Kasema Kalifah Caines, Claire Keim, Nazeelah Jameson and Queen Godis. Les Nubians have also included three new tracks including Rendezvous with John Banzai and previously unreleased live versions and remixes from their groundbreaking debut album. 'Echos' is a new wave of poetic expression that is redefined through street inspiration and a new vocabulary, with urban rhythms borrowed from hip-hop.The sisters began to formulate 'Echos: Nubian Voyager' while on a boat journey to Nubia (a region of southern Egypt and Sudan) to celebrate New Year's Eve 2000. They were amazed at the beauty of the land and its people and appalled by the discrimination facing the Nubians. Helene promptly canceled her hotel room. She says, "I decided to give that money to my Nubian brothers. So I stayed and I slept on the boat. We spent the whole night talking about what their lives were like, how is it to be twenty-something in Nubia. We listened to some music. We shared a lot of things." By morning, the ideas behind 'Echos' were fully formed. "For me, that was the revolution of the new millennium," adds Helene.Les Nubians had previously toured the United States in 1999, befriending many talented musicians and poets; they held a contest in each city to find the best poet, who performed onstage with the duo. Helene also found some talented French wordsmiths. Amazingly, the poems all come together to form one narrative, the story of the 'Nubian Voyager,' which is divided into four sections: La Terre-mere/Motherland; Urban City Life/Dans La Ville; Des Hommes Et Des Femmes/Love Stories; Spiritual Human Nature/Les Elements."When they recorded the poems a cappella," Helene says, "I could feel the energy when they performed their poetry. After the recording was done, I knew what type of beats, what type of instruments, the BPM, I knew what type of music would definitely put a spotlight on their poetry." Helene set up sympathetic musical backgrounds for the poets that complemented their voices and words, allowing them to speak outside of a strict meter. She worked with Les Nubians veteran Mounir Belkhir, the soulful producer of the US hit track Makeda." Guest producers Yogi & Wamba, Brian Frazier Moore, Kevin Arthur, Lee Hamblin and Jason Katt Chue also contributed. The music and poetry were recorded in Marseille, Bordeaux, Paris, London, New York, and San Francisco.Everything fell into place in what Helene calls "little miracles." For example, when she came to New York to record, she could not find a studio. The night before she was supposed to leave town, her friend invited her to dinner with a few people, one of which had a studio with time available.Multi-cultural sensibilities come naturally to Les Nubians. Born to a French father and Cameroonian mother, Helene and Celia learned how to sing at a young age. Inspired by a backstage meeting with jazz singer Abbey Lincoln (who encouraged them to "do it-the greatest thing in the world is to be a singer!"), the group pursued their music relentlessly. Their debut, 'Princesses Nubiennes' (Higher Octave/Virgin), was a successful amalgam of the music they'd experienced during their life travels, combining their African roots with jazzy nuances, funky rhythms and a hint of British soul, all delivered in their uniquely elegant French style. 'Princesses Nubiennes' became the most successful French-language album in more than a decade of Billboard charts.The acclaimed 'One Step Forward' (Omtown) album followed, seeing Les Nubians joined by African jazz legend Manu Dibango, pianist Ray Lema, classical musician Benjamin Biolay, dancehall reggae stars Morgan Heritage, UK electronica wizard I.G. Culture, Belkhir and more. More recently, Les Nubians have presided over an explosion in the French slam scene. The sisters oversaw the artistic direction of the Carnival of Bordeaux in France, bringing poetry in the form of workshops, performances, and public billboard displays.Helene knows that, like a modern day Griot, she has more stories to tell. This album is just the first chapter in what promises to be an ongoing series for Les Nubians. Helene says, "We'll tell another story, still a voyager story because this is my life. I love that nomadic experience because it opens us to humanity."
Record Label: Nubiatik
Type of Label: Indie