Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC, CBC, F24...), writer (on art, music, culture...), I work in radio, podcasting, online, on films.
As a writer, I also contributed to the New Arab, Art UK, Byline Times, the i Paper...
Born in Paris, I was based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and in Bristol, UK. I also reported from Italy, Germany, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq, South Africa...
This blog is to share my work, news and cultural discoveries.
It was such a great month for me, I’m so grateful.
All about finding the light in the darkness, and let ourselves get reborn.
It’s my birthday month in full winter, a challenge for a sunflower like myself...
It was also my father’s birthday month and the one of his passing, 10 years ago. I finally felt that pain differently this year. Not so much like a part of me died, not anymore, finally accepting that death is part of life.
Obviously the game-changer for my growth was this move back to England. Feeling so much more like myself. Respect, self-mastery, creativity ... All I find here.
Massive Attack in Glasgow for their ‘Mezzanine XX1’ UK tour
Massive Attack started their ‘Mezzanine’ tour in Glasgow last night.
I wanted to be there, despite the distance and a busy schedule.
The show marks the 21 years of their third album, that I describe in detail in my book about Bristol.
They surprisingly opened the night, which didn't include any first act, with a cover of The Velvet Underground‘s ‘I Found A Reason’, a song sampled in ‘Risingson’, which followed.
Here's my humble video recording for it:
Massive Attack cover 'I Found A Reason' by the Velvet Underground at the start of their Mezzanine XX1 tour to celebrate the 21st anniversary of their third album, in Glasgow, Scotland, on January 28th, 2019
Other covers include The Cure's '10:15 Saturday Night’ and Ultravox's 'RockWrok'.
They were performing with Elizabeth Fraser and Horace Andy.
The visuals augmenting the show were provided by the British filmmaker Adam Curtis – who already worked with 3D Del Naja for a show in the Manchester International Festival in 2013. It brought a sort of saddening but keenly realistic visual representation of the past 50 years in our western culture, including images of royalties, political leaders and simple, naive everyday life amusement, in a sometimes puzzling, sometimes dazzling, sometimes violent manner.
(Photos by myself)
In a statement released on Monday, Curtis and the band explained that the shows bring “the story of the strange journey we have all been on over the past twenty years since ‘Mezzanine’ was released: How we have moved into a strange backward-looking world, enclosed by machines that read our data and predict our every move, haunted by ghosts from the past. A pleasure dome that makes us feel safe from the endless wars outside, and plays back stories both of dreams of glory and the fear of others. But in that safe world suspicion and distrust is spreading — like a virus. The air is growing stale. Everyone sees conspiracies everywhere. But maybe suspicion is control?”
The band played the entire songs from Mezzanine. Video recording by myself: Massive Attack - 'Exchange' (Live Glasgow, Jan. 28, 2019)
Massive Attack - 'Where Have All Those Flowers Gone'/'Inertia Creeps' (Glasgow, Jan. 28)
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Massive Attack’s setlist:
I Found a Reason (The Velvet Underground cover)
Risingson
10:15 Saturday Night (The Cure cover)
Man Next Door (with Horace Andy)
Black Milk (with Elizabeth Fraser)
Mezzanine
Exchange
See a Man’s Face (Horace Andy cover)
Dissolved Girl
Where Have All The Flower Gone (Pete Seeger cover)
Rockwrok (Ultravox cover)
Inertia Creeps -
Angel (with Horace Andy)
Teardrop (with Elizabeth Fraser)
Group Four (with Elizabeth Fraser)
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They are now touring the UK before Europe then North America.
Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa
I found a reason to keep living Oh and the reason, dear, is you I found a reason to keep singing Oh and the reason, dear, is you
Oh I do believe If you don't like things you live For some place you never gone before
Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa
Honey, I found a reason to keep living And you know the reason, dear it's you And I've walked down life's lonely highways Hand in hand with myself And I realized how many paths have crossed between us
Oh I do believe You're all what you perceive What come is better that what came before
Oh I do believe You're all what you perceive What come is better that what came before
Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa Pa papa papa papa And you'd better come, come come, come to me Come come, come to me
Massive Attack collaborated with Adam Curtis on Mezzanine audiovisual tour
“The show tells the story of the strange journey we have all been on over the past twenty years since Mezzanine was released.”
Massive Attack have collaborated with filmmaker and video essayist Adam Curtis for their forthcoming Mezzanine tour, which marks the 21st anniversary of their seminal album.
As announced in the autumn by the band, Curtis has been providing the visuals to accompany the entire album, describing the show in a statement as “the story of the strange journey we have all been on over the past twenty years since Mezzanine was released. How we have moved into a strange backward-looking world, enclosed by machines that read our data and predict our every move, haunted by ghosts from the past.”
He added: “A pleasure dome that makes us feel safe from the endless wars outside, and plays back stories both of dreams of glory and the fear of others. But in that safe world suspicion and distrust is spreading — like a virus. The air is growing stale. Everyone sees conspiracies everywhere. But maybe suspicion is control?”
Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja explained that the show is “a deconstruction of the entire album with the original songs and samples being performed live. This isn’t a greatest hits show”, he warns, “don’t expect a Hollywood ending”.
The collaboration marks the second time the trip-hop group have worked with the filmmaker. In 2013, Del Naja curated an eight-night festival with Curtis called Massive Attack V Adam Curtis.
Trailer: MASSIVE ATTACK v ADAM CURTIS
Curtis’ latest work, the 2016 documentary Hypernormalisation, also quoted Del Naja as a collaborator.
Massive Attack will be joined by long term collaborators Elizabeth Fraser and Horace Andy, and the show will also include additional visual work from AI artist Mario Klingeman.
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The Mezzanine XX1 tours starts on January 28 at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow – for more, you can visit Massive Attack's website.
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Mezzanine XX1 tour:
Jan 28 – Glasgow @ SSE Hydro
Jan 29 – Manchester @ Manchester Arena
Jan 31 – Brussels @ Palais 12
Feb 01 – Amsterdam @ AFAS Live [Sold Out]
Feb 02 – Amsterdam @ AFAS Live [Sold Out]
Feb 04 – Frankfurt @ Jahrhunderthalle
Feb 05 – Munich @ Zenith
Feb 06 – Milan @ Mediolanum Forum
Feb 08 – Rome @ Palalottomatica
Feb 09 – Padua @ Kioene Arena
Feb 11 – Paris @ Zenith [Sold Out]
Feb 12 – Paris @ Zenith
Feb 13 – Nantes @ Zenith de Nantes Metropole
Feb 14 – Bordeaux @ Bordeaux Metropole Arena
Feb 16 – Barcelona @ Sant Jordi Club
Feb 18 – Lisbon @ Campo Pequeno [Sold Out]
Feb 19 – Lisbon @ Campo Pequeno
Feb 22 – London @ O2 Arena
Feb 24 – Dublin @ 3Arena
Mar 01 – Bristol @ Steel Yard [Sold Out]
Mar 02 – Bristol @ Steel Yard
Mar 11 – Montreal, QC @ Place Des Arts, Wilfrid Pelletier Theatre [Sold Out]
Mar 12 – Toronto, ON @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts [Sold Out]
Mar 14 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center [Sold Out]
Mar 15 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall [Sold Out]
Mar 16 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Mar 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Metroplitan Opera House
Mar 20 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Mar 22 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
Mar 23 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre [Sold Out]
Mar 24 – Saint Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre [Sold Out]
Mar 28 – San Francisco,CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium [Sold Out]
Mar 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium [Sold Out]
Mar 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium [Sold Out]
Mar 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
Apr 02 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Delighted to tell I'll be participating to this festival later in August!!
I've been meaning to go to Greece for years! Absolutely delighted.
And the denomination, "Beyond Borders", means the world to me!
More soon!!
BEYOND BORDERS
International Documentary Festival Castellorizo, August 25th– September 1st2019
PRESS RELEASE 22.01.2019
CALL FOR FILM SUBMISSION
“Let’s bring the world to Castellorizo and take Castellorizo to the world!”
Launched in 2016 by the Hellenic History Foundation (IDISME) in Athens and internationally supported by the Association Ecrans des Mondesin Paris (AEM) the 4th International Documentary Film Festival “Beyond Borders” rooted in the Greek island of Castellorizo, will screen documentary films from Greece, Europe and the whole world, produced within the past five years (2015-2019). The Festival program also includes several cultural events in Castellorizo. The Festival seeks to reflect strongly, on a global scale, the importance of studying and documenting historical trends and events to understand the challenges, opportunities and hazards of our political and socio-economic present. “Beyond Borders” is now addressing filmmakers of historical and socio-political documentaries from all over the world, to submit their films.
Applications and Festival regulations are available on the Festival’s website:
The competing films are appreciated by an international Jury. This year, the Jury will be chaired by multiple award-winning Australian documentary filmmaker Nick Torrens. Two awards will be discerned by the Jury: Best History Documentary and Best Sociopolitical Documentary. These Awards are a kind courtesy of the Hellenic Parliament.Each screening will be followed by Q&A sessions with the director and / or an expert of the film’s topic. Entrance is free.
Under the aegis of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Municipality of the Island, with the support of the Administration of the Region of South Aegean and the General Secretariat for the Aegean and Island Policy as well as by prominent businesses andmedia organizations, the Festival is a true celebration of culture on the edge of the Aegean. Watch a short film about the 3rd “Beyond Borders” here:
Finally, every year, the Festival presents an award to two different special partners: The Media of Honor and the Academic Institution of Honor. This way “Beyond Borders” honors those who uphold the values that it represents.
Coming in the winter: Parentland!!! The fourth episode of our BBC World Service podcast is in the making with our wicked presenters: Linda Geddes and Mercy Harouna...
A project launched by Anna Lacey from the BBC World Service's Science Section , and produced by Anna and myself with the help of two young and talented researchers!!
...Answering to listeners' questions on parenting, family life and children's education.
Launching on Feb. 25 worldwide... Email us your questions at Parentland@bbc.co.uk or Parentland@bbc.com with your questions on parenting and family issues !! - More soon, including our Facebook group, 'Parentland' and more on our first episodes... Thanks!
