K-Pop Group 2NE1 Continues World Domintaion with New Show

They're baaaaaack! Not that they ever went anywhere in the first place, but K-Pop's favorite spunky girl group 2NE1 continues to dominate the worldwide music scene from East to West.

By now you know we love these ladies! We featured their debut, a collaboration with the boy band Big Bang, on the ¡GLOBAILE! Podcast. The video is so SICK we had to feature it here on the blog too!

And last we reported to you, 2Ne1 had just swept the MNET Asian Music Awards, taking home the Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best Female Group awards! Woo hoo! Check out the shout-out we gave these mamacitas on our show Around the World in 6 min!

Well now the same network behind the award show, MNET, is bringing you the latest 2NE1 venture - their very own Reality Show, airing WORLDWIDE. Yep, these K-Pop divas are pioneering the future of music and media by bringing you a glimpse into their life via a globally aired web show!

This is the future, kids. Shows like this one and like our very own ¡GLOBAILE! - shows that air to a worldwide audience! The future is NOW! We goin' global!

The world premier for 2NE1TV LIVE: WORLDWIDE airs tomorrow night! Make sure to tune in to MNET (http://www.mnet.com) on July 17th at 8pm ET/PT to check it out! Here's the promo:



They'll be broadcasting each Sunday night in prime time, beginning with the world premiere on July 17 at 8pm ET/PT, with an encore presentation the following Saturday (July 23) at 8pm ET/PT. The series will air for a total of ten weeks with over twenty half hour episodes. To learn more about the show, check out details here.

Want a sneak preview of the sassy, saucy fun that 2NE1 brings to the scene? Check out this bangin' video for their jam Follow Me:

Schlachthofbronx - Oktoberfest Goes Electronic

Nowadays, Munich is known for 2 things: Oktoberfest and Bass music. Put them together and what do you have...? Schlachthofbronx.

Schlachto-what? Yup, this electronic duo makes music that sounds even crazier than their name looks! Their self-titled full length debut album launched them into tours all over Europe and South Africa in 2009. The album features guest singers from Costa Rica and Mali, joint work with brass bands from Bavaria, rappers from South Africa as well as a ghettotek-collabo with german MC Ron Foto. That's so ¡GLOBAILE! Their live shows include the same variety of eclectic sounds with the duo rockin' everything from Rave, Dancehall, Dubstep, Baile Funk, Bounce, Cumbia, Soca and traditional Bavarian music.

With such multi-culti, bass-heavy flava, it's no surprise that Diplo's Mad Decent label has snatched up Schlachthofbronx and released their latest EP - Nasty Bass.

Check out this video for their song Too High featuring Big Space & Spoek Mathambo, shot at the Oktoberfest in their home town Munich, Germany.

GD & Top - Seoul to Soul

So by now, we all now about K-Pop....that Korean Pop music that has been taking over the world. Well how about K-R&B...?

Yes, leave it to our favorite Korean heartthrobs, GD & Top, to smooth out the K-Pop sound and take it to a more sexy, soulful place...They sing and rap in both English and Korean over some groovy guitar-laced beats, with a sexy female voice coming in at the end, talking in...French! 3 languages in one tune - that's so GLOBAILE!

The last time we featured GD & Top, it was for their catchy collabo with USA's Diplo - Knock Out (listen to that tune on our podcast). Well, once again they have taken a more Western approach, coming out with a tune with a little more soul than Seoul....

El Guincho - Island Flare with Space-Age Vibes

With our love of bright colors, island sounds and stop animation, Barcelona's El Guincho has won our hearts with his quirky and charming style!

El Guincho is the recording alias of Spanish musician Pablo Díaz-Reixa. Originally from the Canary Islands, El Guincho rose to prominence with his 2008 album, Alegranza. His musical style - what he's described as "space-age exotica" - relies heavily on the use of sampling and incorporates elements of Afrobeat, dub, Tropicália and rock and roll.

In 2010 he released his latest album, Pop Negro. Earlier this month at Spain’s Premios de la Música Independiente (Indie Music Awards), El Guincho received praise and accolades from music critics worldwide, earning him "Best Song of the Year" for Bombay, a single off Pop Negro.

Bombay is a rad tune!! But due to a little nudity, the video is age-restricted. If you're legal, check it out here. In the meantime, check out the super cute and fun video for his song Palmitos Park off the Alegranza album...

Tinariwen - Bluesy Rock from the Sahara Desert

A band of nomads, playing soulful, bluesy rock music through the dunes of the Sahara desert. Sounds like a movie premise...maybe even a tall tale from times past. But this is not fiction. This is Tinariwen.

But their story is certainly dramatic...

Tinariwen was founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, who grew up in Mali in the Tuareg culture - a nomadic people of the Saharan region of North Africa. At age 4 he witnessed the execution of his father (a Tuareg rebel) during a 1963 uprising in Mali. He then lived in refugee camps and later resided with other Tuareg exiles in Libya and Algeria. Ag Alhabib built his own guitar out of a tin can, a stick and bicycle brake wire and started to play old Tuareg songs.

In the late 1970s Ag Alhabib joined with other musicians in the Tuareg rebel community, and people began to call them "Kel Tinariwen", which in the Tamashek language translates as "The People of the Deserts" or "The Desert Boys." (Wikipedia.com) They were influenced by Moroccan protest music, Algerian pop, Western rock, and reggae. Over the next ten years they recorded homemade cassettes and played gigs for far-flung Tuareg communities throughout the Sahara region, gaining word-of-mouth popularity among the Tuareg people.

In the late 90s, Tinariwen began to garner international attention, and since 2001 they have played over 700 concerts in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. Their 2004 CD Amassakoul ("The Traveller") and its 2007 follow-up Aman Iman ("Water Is Life") were released worldwide and gained the notice of celebrity fans including Carlos Santana, Robert Plant, Bono and the Edge of U2, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, and Henry Rollins. In 2005 Tinariwen received a BBC Award for World Music, and in 2008 they received Germany’s prestigious Praetorius Music Prize.

What an inspirational tale! From an orphaned nomadic refugee to celebrated world-traveling musician! Over the span of 30 years! That is true devotion to one's craft...

Here's a video they recently shot with Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio for their song Tenere Taqqim Tossam. It captures the life, look, sound and vibe of their roots in the Sahara with a profound beauty.

Queen Sea Big Shark - Chinese Electro Punk Pop

These Beijing pop rockers see what they like, and they take it.

"One day we walked around Queensea Lake in Beijing, we saw a sign that read 'This is mine, don't even touch it, I'm queen sea big shark,' then we thought, 'Wow! That's cool. Let's take it.'" (Wikipedia.com)

You might say the same thing happened with their sound. The band could very well have watched an 80's Depeche Mode video and said, "Wow! That's cool. Let's take it."

Not to say Queen Sea Big Shark is not original. Their upbeat sound and colorful look is certainly all their own. But yes, it does have that distinctly 1980's style and feel to it. Which is kind of ironic considering their latest album is entitle The Future Wave...Still - all that being said - we dig it! And so does everybody else...

They released their debut in 2007, and in 2009, they released a song and music video, entitled Let's Play, exclusive to the Converse China website. Also, that year, they embarked on a short tour to the U.S.A. entitled "Sing for China" with other Beijing bands Hedgehog and Casino Demon. The tour was to promote awareness for AIDS in China. They released their latest album The Future Wave in October 2010, and recently took SXSW by storm.

Their music is infectious and makes you wanna jump around, like any good punk song will...Check out their neon, geometric, animated 80s fun in the aforementioned Let's Play video...

Locos Por Juana - The Sound of Miami

Take some Colombian cumbia, mix it with some Jamaican reggae, a dash of Puerto Rican sabor and a healthy dose of some good old American funk and hip hop, and what do you have? You have the pulse of Miami, and the sound of Locos Por Juana.

Formed in 2000, Locos Por Juana has been dominating the indie music scene in Miami for over a decade. Just like the people of their hometown, the music of Locos Por Juana comes from South American and Caribbean roots. They blend various rhythmic influences together to create a fusion that truly represents the heat, the sensuality, and the energy of the Magic City.

Miami New Times called their 2008 release La Verdad “the truth of a new multicultural, cosmopolitan generation, played out in the music that represents their cross-cultural connections.”

But their buzz has been felt and recognized far beyond Miami. Locos Por Juana has been named "Best New Latin Rock Band" by BBC America, received a Latin Grammy nomination for "Best Album by Group", and a Grammy nomination for "Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album".

Here's a video of their latest release, the Evolucion EP. Indeed, the fellas of Locos Por Juana have continued to evolve over the past 11 years, we can't wait to see what's next...!