I Save Babylon July 17, 2010

What: I Save Babylon' benefit concert
When: Saturday July 17th, 8pm
Where: Warfield 982 Market Street, San Francisco
Who: SILA, Mc Rai, Cheb i Sabbah, MJ GREENMTN -hamsa lila, DJ Pheeko dubfunk, Kristina Nekyia
Tickets: $25 available at http://i-save-babylon.eventbrite.com/

The 'I Save Babylon' benefit concert featuring SILA, Cheb I Sabbah, MC Rai, MJ Greenmtn (hamsa lila), Kristina Nekyia and DJ Pheeko will provide western instruments to community and youth centers in Iraq to help bridge the gap between cultures through music. Some of the Iraqi children have never touched a musical instrument due to poverty, the area in which they live, and the war. We hope to bring inspiration to the children of Iraq so they can envision a brighter future for themselves and their community through the unity of music.

Proceeds from this concert will go towards purchasing and shipping both western and eastern instruments to predetermined community centers selected by the Levantine Center located in Los Angeles, CA. For more information about their mission you can visit their website at http://www.levantinecenter.org/.

ARTISTS PERFORMING:

SILA (http://silaband.com/)

Sila sings of the African experience: the problems he and many others face every day, in a language understood throughout the world. His lyrics and beats reflect the music, the language, the energy, and the spirit of growing up in Africa.

Winner 2010 NAACP Image Awards for "Outstanding World Music Album"

Winner 2009 SF Weekly Music Awards for "Best International Act"

Mixing the legendary sounds of Fela Kuti with some tricks gleaned from James Brown and P-Funk, Sila (who sings in Swahili and English) and company create a dancefloor-ready throb guaranteed to move you. -San Francisco Weekly

Kenyan funk master - San Francisco Chronicle

"Embracing his African roots and his love of funk, Sila channeled James Brown for inspiration and six years later, with the help of his renowned cast of bandmates, he's achieved success without having to compromise his heritage (he sings in both Swahili and English) or his musical tastes." - The San Francisco Examiner

Guaranted to keep you glued to the dance floor. -San Francisco Bay Guardian

MC RAI (http://www.myspace.com/mcrai)

MC Rai was born in the southern Tunisian city of Gabes. As a youth he was immersed in the folk music traditions of chabi, or mizoued, as it is known in Tunisia. At the age of eight he was performing live on the local radio station. In 1995, he began to turn his attention from chabi to rai music, and realized that he could develop a style of rai distinct from that emanating from Algeria, and infuse it with the traits of his Tunisian music.

While many of his contemporaries relocated to France to garner an international audience, MC Rai chose instead to move to San Francisco in 2000. He has performed with well-known rai musician Khaled, and appeared on stage with artists such as Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez. MC RAI appears in the soundtrack to the movie Rendition and released his album Raivolution in 2006 on Embarka Records. Currently based in Los Angeles, MC Rai is in the studio working on his latest work 'De Gabés a Los Angeles' to be released in the summer of 2010.

"This SF-by-way-of-Tunisia album stands as one of the most mind-blowing local releases...taking the traditional music of North Africa and affixing it to a contemporary template which fused dub, electronica, hip-hop, and dancehall into one trance-inducing package." - East Bay Express.

CHEB i SABBAH (http://www.myspace.com/chebisabbahji)

Cheb i Sabbah, musical adventurer, global spiritualist and producer extraordinaire has returned to the Indian subcontinent for Devotion, his seventh album on Six Degrees Records. Hundreds of artists in the world music genre, or for that matter any genre, have come and gone like bottle rockets, but Cheb i Sabbah's light keeps burning and it is his bhakti (devotion) to the spiritual essence of music, and to truth and humanity, that is responsible for his longevity. If there was a Cheb i Sabbah in every country, there would be a thousand windows through which we would see other countries and other cultures and perhaps develop empathy to other people that would help solve some of the problems of our troubled, ravaged world. Devotion is a step in that direction and a call to the prayer of love.

MJ GREENMTN -hamsa lila- (http://www.mjgreenmountain.com/)

MJ GREENMOUNTAIN's music carries Reggae, N. & W. African, Brazilian and Asian flavors woven with trance rhythms and healing vibrations, while captivating vocals shine through pulsing polyrhythms. Both organic and electronic, he makes use of looping and dub elements into an otherwise sacred, rootsy mix. MJ is a lead vocalist and founding member of the widely acclaimed and pioneering world fusion band HAMSA LILA, & has also shared the stage with Ozomatli, Azam Ali, Michael Franti, Hassan Hakmoun, Jai Uttal, & Babatunde Olatunji.

DJ Pheeko dubfunk (http://www.myspace.com/pheekodubfunk)

Originally from Oran el Bahia in Algeria. Pheeko Dubfunk has been residing in San Francisco since 2002, he has been dishing out the best funky electro and tribal house tracks from Miami to SF as well as taking his music with him internationally. It was the works of Aretha Franklin, Delegation, and Alexander O'Neal that filled the ears a budding DJ with funk, reggae and R&B.; At his first US home in West Palm Beach and Miami, Pheeko was further exposed to house music and became a resident DJ at Club Bliss. He also graced the decks at Florida's hottest destination in South Beach Miami. After moving to San Francisco, Pheeko further had the chance to showcase his trademark silky smooth, dub filled funky house. He quickly acquired coveted residencies at clubs like Ruby Skye, Vessel, 1015, DNA Lounge and Harlot. The increasing recognition and acclaim of Pheeko’s talent by the industry and house lovers alike, lead to the success of his track “Closer to Me” with Hideo Kobayashi and “Sahara”, which had the honor of gracing the late night mixed cd of the well-renowned group Groove Junkies. “Closer to Me” made it to the top 10 download on beatport in 2006 and was chosen as one of the top secret weapons at the Winter Music Conference in Miami by Swank Recordings.

Kristina Nekyia (http://www.nekyiadance.com/)

Erupting from the molten core of California’s arts inferno, Kristina Nekyia burns bright across the star-studded skies of stage and screen. Showgrrrl, belly dancer, circus contortion dancer, burlesque queen, pin up nymph, actress, fire eater, director, and writer, she is a Renaissance Femme in the technicolor world of show. Kristina was the 2010 First Runner-Up for the title of Queen of Burlesque at the Burlesque Hall of Fame competition in Las Vegas, and has won awards for innovation and fusion in burlesque and belly dance. She trained with the Mongolian Circus in Ulaanbaatar and develop the first ever belly dance contortion fire duet with world-famous contortionist Serchmaa Byamba. Her eclectic career has enabled her to work, on stage and on screen, with major talents including George Clinton, Margaret Cho, David Arquette, Rachid Taha, Peaches, and DJ Shadow.