Haiti’s devastating earthquake reinforced Peter Gabriel’s belief that disaster relief needs to take better advantage of the digital age.

“Technology has tremendous potential,” the 59-year old singer-songwriter said in a recent interview.

“I’m a big fan of mobile (phones),” said Gabriel. “You can send money from one person to another (via cellular phone) and they cash it for water, food or medical provisions.”

The Jan. 12 earthquake left an estimated a toll of 200,000 dead, as reported by the European Commission, while 250,000 people were injured and 2 million homeless in the nation of 9 million.

Gabriel, a techie who has been involved in different online ventures, is encouraged that volunteers from across the globe have come together to assist the impoverished Caribbean nation, but says people need to understand that Haiti needs more than just temporary aid.

“Someone from the Red Cross at an Elders meeting, recently, was saying that it’s very important to concentrate on the long-term rebuilding of a society that’s been so devastated,” he said.

Gabriel is one of the founders of The Elders, which he started with Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, and others. The goal of the group is to solve global problems through their collective wisdom. Among the group’s initiatives are climate change, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and resolving political conflicts throughout the world.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=9688897

PETER GABRIEL TO PLAY SELECT VENUES WITH FULL ORCHESTRA

Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel will visit select cities and venues beginning in March, billed as The New Blood Tour. Gabriel will be accompanied by an orchestra only, foregoing drums and guitars entirely.

The ensemble is now known as the Scratch My Back experience; named after the title of Gabriel’s forthcoming studio album, released in the U.K. on January 25 (Virgin).

Individual show information, including ticket options, is available here.

Scratch My Back was recorded at George Martin’s Air Lyndhurst Studios and the Real World Temple. Gabriel then did further editing and mixing at his own Real Worlds Studios in Wiltshire. Full album details available here.

Peter Gabriel Tour Dates
03/22/10 Mon Bercy Paris, FRA
03/24/10 Wed O2 World Berlin, GER
03/25/10 Thu O2 World Berlin, GER
03/27/10 Sat O2 Arena London, GB
03/28/10 Sun O2 Arena London, GB
04/28/10 Wed Bell Centre Montreal, QC
05/02/10 Sun Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
05/03/10 Mon Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
05/07/10 Fri Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA

http://www.petergabriel.com/

Interview: Youssou N’Dour
Updated on 26 July 2009
By Channel 4 News

Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour speaks exclusively to Channel 4 News about world music and his campaign on malaria prevention.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy went to meet him.

Youssou N’Dour is best known in this country for the track Seven Seconds, his duet with Neneh Cherry which became a chart hit in 1994. 

The Senegalese singer, songwriter and composer is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history, fusing traditional beats from his country with influences ranging from Cuban samba to hip-hop, jazz and soul. 

He has collaborated with the likes of Sting, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen and performed at three Live 8 concerts. Rolling Stone magazine described him as perhaps the most famous singer in Africa.

He is on tour in Britain at the moment, performing at the Womad (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festival tonight, and he took time out to speak exclusively to Channel 4 News.

He explained how the Womad festival began is international career, and how he is proud the festival brought world music to a wider audience.

”In the beginning they didn’t know exactly how diverse is the music coming from under-developed countries, how complex is the music coming from under-developed countries.”

When asked about the commitment of the music industry in Europe and the US to world music, he said: “I think in beginning it was a little bit difficult with the African music and with the world music. People were trying to get bigger fast and it was not possible.

”The public was learning more to accept, to receive, to listen to music from different parts of the world. Today, everybody – the musicians, the crowd, the press – everyone understands the music coming from what we call world music.”

He described world music as “something coming from nowhere”.
“Everybody is coming somewhere with something, like I’m coming from Africa. I’m not bringing all my African music. I bring something like what we did early in 80’s with Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon – everybody trying to bring a little bit.”
He described his involvement in the Malaria No More campaign saying: “I decided to do something because one part of the responsibility is coming from people.
“[People] didn’t know really they could die the same night. When I understood that I dedicate all my music, all my tours and energy, to go to the international level to tell people malaria is very dangerous, we have to put more resource to reverse this problem.”
He says one of his aims is to get every African child to sleep under a mosquito net.
When asked his opinion on western pop stars campaigning on Africa, he said it was important to get everyone involved.
“In the 80s, people would talk about Africa and the image was something like Ethiopia or something like that in the past. But today I think the approach is different.
“People have more information about Africa and more solutions about the problem. They have the possibility to talk to private people together, not government to government. I think a lot of things are changing now.”
He said the image of President Obama in Africa were positive, but added: “Lets see in four years how President Obama changes the relationship between Africa and the US or international things. Lets see.”
He reflected on where his music is now: “I’m happy and I think today what we’re doing is more sure, more powerful.
“People are ready now more than 20 years ago to talk about world music, African music. They can dance African music naturally and they understand Africans still keeping local language and local music sound.”

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/arts_entertainment/music/interview+youssou+ndour/3285057

Peter Gabriel rocks WOMAD crowd with stunning set
5:56pm Sunday 26th July 2009

By Alana Lewis »
•

Thousands made their way to the outdoor stage at the WOMAD festival to see rocker Peter Gabriel perform last night.
The festival’s co-founder entertained the crowd with a non-stop 90 minute set, which opened with thundrous rumbling follwed by gentle string music to build up an atmosphere of expectation.
A video screen played videos of the work of human rights charity Witness, before Mr Gabriel appeared dressed in a blue shirt and black waistcoat to rapturous applause.
Speaking to the crowd he said: “Well we didn’t expect to be back here two years later.
“Some of you might know I have been with Witness.org for some time and I promised to do some fundraising this year.
“I was going to do it at another festival and I got a message from the WOMAD team saying don’t do that, do it here.”
He then went on to introduce his support band John Metcalfe and The Bus Stop Strings, before saying: “What I have tried to do is make it a bit different to last time.
“I have been doing a project called Scratch My Back, which is a song exchange.
“I tell artists I will do one of their songs if they do one of mine.”
Boy In The Bubble and The Book Of Love got the crowd going, and a spectacular light show projecting images on to the back of the screen kept the energy high.
At one point stick-men images of the backing band with giant heads were chased back and forth across the screen by a comedic Mr Gabriel on various modes of transport from a bike to a canoe.
Fans of Mr Gabriel’s early works were not left disappointed as he rounded of the night with Solsbury Hill and finally the poetically political Beko.
Mr Gabriel hoped to raise £100,000 over the weekend for Witness, an organisation that he helped to set up to supply human rights activists with video cameras and computers to document and stop human rights abuses.

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/4512963.Peter_Gabriel_rocks_WOMAD_crowd_with_stunning_set/