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News Releases - 2003

Exposed Roots participants Les Frères Diouf win the Galaxie Rising Stars Prize of the CBC

Ottawa, November 6, 2003 - Traditional African music artists Les Frères Diouf have won the Galaxie Rising Stars Prize of the CBC for World Music worth $2,000. This award is the result of a partnership between Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC and Canada Council for the Arts. The Council’s peer assessment committee, which selected the participants of the Exposed Roots showcase, also selected the winner of the prize. It was awarded to the new and emerging world music group in the competition showing the most outstanding musicianship and originality. The group will receive the prize on Sunday, November 23, at 4:30 p.m., while they are onstage at Montreal’s Maison de la Culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville during the Exposed Roots showcase.

Galaxie recognizes Canadian talent by supporting the development and promotion of homegrown musicians. Working with nearly 60 partners of the music industry across the country, Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC encourages up-and-coming stars.

"We share a deep sense of passion for music with our partners and embrace the bright talent of Canadian artists on the rise. For Galaxie, it is our way of showing how proud we are of our new artists," said Jean-Richard Lefebvre, Manager, Partnership and French Programming. To this day, over 180 artists have benefited from the Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC.

La Chaîne culturelle de Radio-Canada will expand the scope of the prize through a performance of the winner during the 11th edition of Mémoires vives, at the Maison de la culture Frontenac. This concert will be broadcast on the show Des Musiques en mémoire, aired Saturdays at noon on La Chaîne culturelle. Lorraine Chalifoux, artistic director of Mémoires vives, and Jean-Richard Lefebvre of Galaxie, will present the Galaxie Rising Stars Prize to Les Frères Diouf.

Les Frères Diouf
Les Frères Diouf, representatives of the powerful culture of West Africa, deliver a music that is energetic and joyfully percussive. Senegalese voices belt out traditional melodies that celebrate the hunters and warriors of the 14th century, while the drums flirt with a more modern pop spirit. Les Frères Diouf’s first solo album, Dund, produced by Disques XXI-21 and distributed by SRI Canada, was released on November 4. The group is based in Montreal.

Exposed Roots
Les Frères Diouf are among 16 Aboriginal and world music groups and artists selected in a national competition organized by the Canada Council to increase awareness, among Canadian and international audiences, of Canadian Aboriginal and world music artists available for tours and performances.

World beats, jazzy tunes and original sounds will converge when Exposed Roots brings together these excep-tional Canadian musical groups and artists to perform on Montreal stages from November 21 to 23, 2003. Exposed Roots will take place in Montreal during the CINARS Forum and Rendez-vous Folk Conference. The musicians will perform at both the Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Club Soda.

The selected artists present an overview of the talent, diversity and scope of these musical forms created in Canada. Exposed Roots will create greater awareness of Canadian Aboriginal and culturally diverse music artists to international markets through increased sales, tours, performances and collaborations, and will target Canadian promoters who organize concert series throughout the year.

The other groups and artists participating in Exposed Roots are: Asani, Edmonton AB; Celso Machado, Vancouver BC; Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Vancouver BC; George Leach, Sta’atl’imx Nation BC; Joaquin Diaz, Montreal QC; Khac Chi Ensemble, Vancouver BC; Kiran Ahluwalia, Toronto, ON; Leela Gilday, Dene Nation, NWT; Mernie!, Toronto ON; Mighty Popo, Ottawa ON; Sandy Scofield, Vancouver BC; Taima Project, NU/QC; Tasa, Toronto ON; Uzume Taiko Ensemble, Vancouver BC; and Vuja dé, Toronto, ON.

General information

Exposed Roots is part of a larger strategy undertaken by the Canada Council for the Arts Outreach Office (New Audience and Market Development), advisory committees and the Music Section in developing the careers of Canadian culturally diverse and Aboriginal music artists. In 1998, the Canada Council coordinated the Showcase of Culturally Diverse and First Peoples Music Artists and it organized the Native to Canada: Showcase of Aboriginal Musicians at WOMEX 2000 in Berlin, as well as the Sonic Weave European tour of Canadian world music this past summer.

The performances are open to the general public free of charge. For information on attending the showcases, the general public should visit the Canada Council for the Arts web site or contact:

Club Soda
1225, boulevard St-Laurent
Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22, 2003
8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
For information call: (514) 286-1010

Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville
10300, rue Lajeunesse
Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 23, 2003
1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For information call: (514) 872-8749

For more information on the selected artists and on this initiative, contact Sandra Bender, Project Coordinator, at (613) 566-4414 or 1 800-263-5588, ext. 5272; e-mail: sandra.bender@canadacouncil.ca. A show schedule as well as information and photos of the selected groups and artists are available on the Canada Council web site.

For more information about the Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC, contact Mathieu Denolf, Communications Assistant, at (613) 562-8881, or visit the web site www.galaxie.ca.

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