Rhythms del Mundo - Classics: out now! 28 August 09

I'm an adviser to Artists Project Earth, the charity that funds climate-related campaigns and other activities, using funds generated from the sales of Rhythms del Mundo albums. The new offering is out now, featuring classic songs covered by artists such as the Rolling Stones and Amy Winehouse. I'm also putting up here an interview with Kenny Young, the producer and leading light behind the project.

PRESS RELEASE

HOW MUCH MONEY DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET?

$100,000

To celebrate the launch of the new album Rhythms del Mundo – Classics, Artists’ Project Earth (APE) will make an award of $100,000 to the single project judged most likely to make a significant impact in the struggle to prevent dangerous climate change.

APE is the brainchild of music producer Kenny Young, who founded the charity in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He wanted to be able to alleviate the suffering created by natural disasters whilst at the same time addressing the root causes of climate change. (See the interview below with Kenny Young.)

The APE Special Award of $100,000 is open to any organisation in any country for projects related to the mitigation of climate change. Applicants may be working in the arts, education, policy, community organisation, energy and engineering, ‘Transition’ initiatives, adaptation and conservation or something quite different. If your idea is brilliant we want to hear from you! See www.apeuk.org for more details.

‘Rhythms Del Mundo – Classics’ is the soundtrack to the summer! Released July 13, 2009 on Universal Music

Cuban beats help keep down the heat as some of the world’s best musicians unite against climate change. Featuring The Killers, Amy Winehouse, The Rolling Stones, Jack Johnson, Kaiser Chiefs, Editors, Keane, The Zutons, The Kooks, KT Tunstall and many other artists. The sublime talent of Cuba’s finest musicians together with the unmistakable vocals of artists including Amy Winehouse, The Killers, Jack Johnson, The Rolling Stones, Kaiser Chiefs, Fall Out Boy, and many others, results in a unique album merging Afro-Cuban rhythms with some of the most memorable songs of the last 40 years. With brand new recordings from the The Killers, Editors, KT Tunstall, The Zutons and OneRepublic, through to special recordings from contributing artists such as Amy Winehouse and Jack Johnson, this long player is set to be the soundtrack to the summer!

Rhythms Del Mundo – Classics follows in the footsteps of APE’s first release Rhythms Del Mundo – Cuba! (ft. Coldplay, U2, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys and others) which went platinum and gold in many countries across the globe and was met with much critical acclaim; “….an album made with such integrity and passion that turns out as entertaining as this, is hard to resist.” – The Independent. As a result 170 groundbreaking projects have been funded globally, all of which are developing solutions to climate change.

Kenny Young, RDM’s producer and founder of APE says: “These great artists have given up their time to be part of an album that will raise awareness and funds for the most crucial crisis facing us today. Climate change is our greatest global challenge – so join us and act now to do something positive for our future.”

To listen to extracts of the new album, visit: http://www.rhythmsdelmundo.com/classics/

Rhythms Del Mundo – Classics Track-listing

Hotel California – RDM ft The Killers

Cupid – RDM ft Amy Winehouse

Walk On The Wild Side – RDM ft Editors

Imagine – RDM ft Jack Johnson

Beat It – RDM ft Fall Out Boy and John Mayer

Under Pressure – RDM ft Keane

Satisfaction – RDM ft Cat Power

Heard It Through The Grapevine – RDM ft Kaiser Chiefs

Because The Night – RDM ft KT Tunstall

Bohemian Rhapsody – RDM ft Augusto Enriquez

Under The Boardwalk – RDM ft The Rolling Stones

Runaway – RDM ft The Zutons

For What Its Worth – RDM ft OneRepublic

Big Yellow Taxi – RDM ft Aquila Rose and Idana Valdes

Purple Haze – RDM

Smells Like Teen Spirit – RDM ft Shanade

Are You Ready For Love – RDM ft The Kooks

My Cherie Amor – RDM ft Eros Ramazzotti

Stairway To Heaven – RDM ft Rodrigo Y Gabriela

ENDS

http://www.rhythmsdelmundo.com

http://www.myspace.com/rhythmsdelmundoclassics

http://www.apeuk.org

RHYTHMS OF THE WORLD

An Interview with Kenny Young, Producer of Rhythms Del Mundo – Classics and Founder of Artists’ Project Earth

‘Rhythms Del Mundo – Classics’ is a blend of rhythms and songs from around the world and features some of today’s top artists. What are some of your favourite moments on the album?

Kenny: There are too many to mention! It is always a great privilege to work with the Cuban musicians on this album who have music in their blood and rhythms in their bones – but when a talented musician like KT Tunstall agrees unreservedly to support the album, or we get a “Yes” from Amy Winehouse, then my job is made much easier. To have the support of these great musicians not only gives the album a massive boost but because of their own fan-base it also helps to raises awareness about the issues of climate change to a really wide audience.

‘Classics’ is the third album you have produced in support of Artists’ Project Earth. What do you hope to achieve with this third offering?

Kenny: ‘Classics’ takes some wonderful songs and remakes them in unexpected ways. If it sells even half as well as the previous albums, then hundreds of projects from around the world will benefit: from regenerating coral reefs to planting thousands of trees in Africa and Brazil, every sale of this album will make a difference to the future of the planet.

Tell us a little more about APE

Kenny: I originally founded the charity to raise funds for the people made homeless in the Indian ocean tsunami and the in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina – and disaster relief is still a big part of our work. But it seemed somehow short-sighted to just focus on disaster relief without looking at the wider related issues. So we decided to also fund projects that are actively working to reduce climate change and thereby lessen the possibility of such disasters occurring in the future. We have funded over 170 projects to date, reaching tens of thousands of people with the message that we can do something about climate change – it’s not too late to give ourselves a future. We don’t need to wait for technology to come up with a ‘quick fix’ – we can all do something now, in our own homes.

APE are making a Special Award of $100,000 to the single project judged most likely to make a significant impact in the struggle against climate change. Tell us more.

Kenny: I heard this week that one hundred thousand dollars is the smallest large amount of money there is! But for some organisations it is all they need to kick-start a really fantastic project. We want to give that opportunity to an amazing project that will really make a difference to the future of the planet. We are open to any ideas and welcome applications from all over the world. Its incredible to think that a few wonderful songs can make such a difference, and that in order to participate, all you have to do is buy the album!