Ultimate Ears

Who I'd like to meet:

We can’t help ourselves – we are music fanatics. We are constantly being exposed to new sounds from around the world. Our jobs literally revolve around seeing live music and meeting up with killer emerging acts. We are surrounded by honey-glazed pipes, wailing guitars, pounding beats, simply stunning talent. And we want to share this with as many people as possible – that’s the point of great music, right? So we built an Artist to Watch section to turn you on to some of the treats that we run across during the natural course of business. Some of these bands are unsigned, some are on the majors, some tour internationally, most are even clients (although it’s not a prerequisite.) Listen to the great Artists to Watch For (featured to the left in our Music Player) and head to our website for a complete list of up and coming musicians. http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/community/artists_to_watch.php BIOGRAPHY: “To all the rock ‘n’ rollers of the USA, I’m coming in February, 2010!” That’s Malian maestro Bassekou Kouyate with a heads-up well worth heeding. A virtuoso picker and musical visionary whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music, Bassekou has jammed with Bonnie Raitt and Bono, won praise from Eric Clapton. He’s also dug into blues and country music with Taj Mahal and created freewheeling improvisations with banjo maverick Bela Fleck. Bassekou’s instrument, the ngoni, is a “spike lute” and an ancestor of the banjo, sharing its taut-skinned drum body, percussive attack, and varied picking techniques. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis—all played by members of his family. The group’s second CD I Speak Fula comes out on Sub Pop in February of 2010 (preceded by a digital release via iTunes in December ‘09) on the occasion of Bassekou’s first U.S. tour as a headliner. Bela Fleck will join the group on stage for a number of shows, guaranteeing a storm of string-picking ecstasy.