I’ve been wanting to write about this for a long time now and finally I feel like it. There is this great artist whom I find listening to more and more since some years now, almost never getting enough of, even if at one point I am just repeating them songs.

Wyclef Jean – it’s him whom this post is about – is widely known both for his contribution to the Fugees and also in working with artists like Santana, Mary J Blige and lately Shakira. Comming from Haiti, with a reggae background and writing mostly hip-hop songs, he has proved in numerous times to know and be able to produce excellent pieces of music, either by himself or when working with another artist.

Unlike most hip-hop artists / bands, in Wyclef’s songs you can really hear and feel the music, together with some of the most inspired / inspirational lyrics in the industry – and if you find them a little bit strange in writing is, as he confesses, because his first language is still Creole, not English.

After studying guitar and jazz in New York, he formed the Fugees group together with his longtime friend Pras and another classmate, Lauryn Hill. They all ended having a huge success, both as a group and in solo projects.

Wyclef’s first solo album after the breaking up of the Fugees, entitled The Ecleftic, is an amazing album as it was rated by most critics, with an impressive guest line-up by Whitney Houston, Mary J Blige, Kenny Rogers, The Rock and more. And, to top it all, it ends up with an excellent cover of Pink Floyd’s Whish You Were Here. The album combines slow tracks like “911” with dirty hip-hop – in “Thug Angels” -, party songs like “Perfect Gentlemen” and an excellent guitar solo on “Something About Mary“.

I am not going to write much more about Wyclef and his career, instead here are some samples of his works:

• One of his excellent remixes – Another One Bites The Dust from Queen.
• One of his most famous hits – I’ll Be Gone Till November – performed together with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
• A song from his Ecleftic album – Da Industry.
• Whitney’s Huston praise to Wyclef Jean in the Dub Plate song.

Some students from UNATC (Theatre University in Romania) had a great idea of putting in play one of the greatest rock operas ever – Jesus Christ Superstar.

The play has been written in the 70′s by Andrew Webber and Tim Rice and – in the original version – was performed by, among others, Ian Gillan playing the role of Jesus and Murray Head in the role of Judas.

The Romanian version is played free of charge at the ArCub stage on 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19th of July. It’s nice to see such initiatives happen and I bet their act will be worthwhile for anyone to attend.

Later Edit: It seems someone liked it very much. Also some pictures here.

I am sure you all remember Skye, the ex-vocalist of the UK band Morcheeba. After a successful career, she left the band in 2003 and recently (February, 2006) she released a solo album – Mind How You Go.

With a sound similar to what the Morcheeba fans are used too, she now added more life to the songs, making them a little more dynamic. A good sample can be heard on the Love Show track, the first one on the album.

You can download Love Show here and also find some more media on her website – www.skyewebsite.com.

Fergie – the girl from Black Eyed Peas – is one of those girls that makes guys imagine stuff just by seeing her on TV. She doesn’t have to do much to be sexy and she is widely appreciated for that.

Still, there is more to her than just the looks – her performance with Black Eyed Peas are very good and she quickly became a key member of the band. As she said in an interview: “It’s funny because it’s backwards. A lot of times I don’t overtly try to dress sexy. In fact, I’ve actually made an effort not to. Because I don’t want it to be all about that, you know? I’ve been wearing baggier clothes at my shows, just because it’s important to me that people know I am an artist, and not just some men’s trophy model.”

With that success in her pocket, she is now preparing also for a solo carreer. This starts with the first single she realeased, London Bridge. Quite a sexy song, the lyrics are all about this and probably the video is going to be the same. Even though the song is not exceptional, is still a good performance for a starter. You can now download it here – Fergie – London Bridge.

The full album is supposed to be released in September and is going to be entitled “The Dutchess“.

Well, the Romanian series of rock concerts continues with the performance Placebo is going to have in Arenele Romane on 13th of August. They are currently in a tour promoting their latest album, “Meds“, which is highly appreciated in Romania, as far as I learned from a lot of people.

Even though I am not a big fan of their musical style, I must admit they are doing a pretty good job. And the results are showing, as ”Meds” is currently voted as the best album of this year by 32% of the responders of the poll on the right side of this blog :)

Tapinarii is on their fifth year as a band and they are celebrating this in an old-fashioned way….with a tour. They are to start in Bucharest’s Deko Cafe on 8th of July, then they will move to Timisoara for a concert on 15th on July, in Sibiu on 16th – in Atrium. Sighisoara will welcome them on 29th, on 4th of August they are going to the seaside, in Costinesti, then a little bit south in Vama Veche on 5th – at El Comandante. Next is saving the Rosia Montana on 25-27th of August and they are going to go back to Vama Veche for the Stufstock 2006.

Quite a long tour throughout the country and I hope they will have the best in each of these cities. So be prepared.

Ok, now with these dates marked in your calendar you can download, courtesy of them, the Puiul Paranoic sample track.

If you want to know who they are (who is Covei and who is Tanase), maybe you should drop by http://www.tapinarii.ro/.

Congrats guys and don’t stop here ! When is the next album comming up ? How about a DVD with live performances from this tour ?

Later Edit: The Concert in Cafe Deko starts at 22:00. Also, during the performance, videos of the band can be admired on the screen on which probably some would expect the football game to be shown :)

Lacrimosa was a few days ago in Bucharest, for a live performance. Unfortunatelly, I could not attend but here is a review of their performance.

It seems they did not attract too much public and is still a mistery to me why they decided to perform outside. This music style sounds so much better performed inside …

I was quite happy today to find out that a former colleague, Valentina Neacsu, launched a blog about recruiting, interviews and all the others related to this theme.

Vali is one of the best HR people I knew and I had the chance to work with her for several years, every time learning a lot from her in this field.

So, highly recommended for all of you who are interested in the recruiting field (hopefully she will post more on other topics, as well): http://valentina-neacsu.blogspot.com.

The third edition of the Fan (Hay) Festival in Rosia Montana – an event that aims at encouraging responsible behavior toward the environment – will take place between August 25 and 27, gathering over 30 performers and bands from Romania and abroad to support pro-bono the “Save Rosia Montana” campaign.

The lineup for the festival includes Romanian bands Luna Amara, Implant pentru Refuz, Altar, Kumm, Blazzaj, Guerrillas and Da Hood, and international acts Cartweel from Bulgaria, Nada and La Papa Verde from Germany and Agent Smith and No Substance from the U.K.

I remember that in the beginning mostly hip-hop bands would play at this, but now the line-up has changed a little bit. So if you enjoy some rock – and not only – music, you are welcome at the Hay Festival.

The lineup for the Artmania Festival from July 14 to 16 in Sibiu sees Finnish bands H.I.M., Nightwish and Amorphis sharing the stage with Romanian acts Kumm and Luna Amara. 

For the first time ever, H.I.M. has decided to include Romania on a tour, playing Sibiu on July 15 as part of their “Dark Light” world tour.

Nightwish, another top Finnish export, is no stranger to the Romanian public, as the band has played in Bucharest both in 2004 and 2005. The band will present their latest DVD “End of An Era” during the event.

Also, Amorphis is going to play in the same festival, so a nice rock night is granted.