LATEST NEWS…HOMEBAKE RETURNS TO KICK OFF THE FESTIVAL SEASON: Festivals remind one of summer, sweat and….songs. Homebake is an annual festival that represents the Australian music scene showcasing an all-Australian line-up with the occasional act coming from our sister land, New Zealand. Homebake is set to commence on the 3rd December 2011 at the Domain in Sydney after a one year break in 2010. With an even bigger line-up than the preceding year Homebake is sure to be a sell out. A few of the renowned acts that make up the huge line-up are Nick Cave's Grinderman (pictured), Pnau, Gotye, Gurrumul, Icehouse and The Vines. The Homebake line-up literally hits home on how great the music talent in Australia is. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketek & Oztix. Check out www.homebake.com for more info…EVERYONE LOVES A BAD SEED: In more Nick Cave news, the bad, brooding Australian rock icon isn't even dead yet and they are already paying homage to him with tribute concerts set to tour his mainland Australia in November. The songs of Nick Cave are to be reinterpreted by some of Australia's top vocalist's including rock chick, Abbe May and You Am I's, Tim Rogers. Brought to you by Triple j the shows concur with their own Ausmusic Month. Nick Cave has had a busy life with 35 years experience under his belt giving the artists chosen a lot to work with; it will be interesting to see who can pay tribute to his work most respectively. Tickets are on sale now, sadly for the young folk all shows are 18+…CHICKS CAN DJ! - DJ MINX TAKES OUT SHE CAN DJ TITLE 2011: The She Can DJ final was held at cream of the crop Ivy bar, where ten finalists battled it out with twenty minute sets, proving that yes chicks can DJ. Supported by big name sponsors and full to the brim with industry super stars such as the likes of international guest ambassador and DJ direct from Pacha Ibiza, Sarah Main and Stereosonic Festival co-director Simon Coyle, the event was more than impressive. DJ Minx won the title however isn't the only fox that has a future to look forward to with EMI Music, the brain behind the competition. Alison Wonderland also scored a recording contract with the EMI family and recently accompanied DJ Minx and the She Can DJ crew to London & Ibiza where they will worked alongside DJ kings, David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia playing at Ibiza parties notorious for dance music…SO LONG KURT COBAIN. NEVERMIND IS HERE TO STAY: Nevermind is an album that will never be forgotten or put aside to collect dust. Twenty years on since the release date September 24, 1991, Nevermind is being celebrated and praised by living music legends as well as today's music geniuses. Following grunge record Bleach was Nevermind, the mastermind of Kurt Cobain who was the group's chief songwriter. Cobain, a self confessed heavy metal devotee wanted to write more pop driven songs but what really helped the band in its aim to create a mix of pop and rock with Nevermind was getting American producer Butch Vig on side. Entering the charts in November 1991, Nevermind remained there for 52 weeks but took three months to get to number one. Twenty years on and Nevermind still belongs at number one in many musicians and music lovers minds…TRIPLE J HAS 'UNEARTHED' A NEW STATION: Triple j Unearthed started as a band competition in the 1990s, which then turned into a music sharing website and is now becoming a new ABC digital radio station along with already established radio station Triple j. Triple j unearthed is a digital station dedicated entirely to playing unsigned and independent Australian music. Unearthed is a music commune open to musicians and the public to upload, download and review tracks. Triple j's new born station gives Australian bands an original and exciting avenue to get noticed in this dog eat dog world…TWO TAKES ON NEIL YOUNG @ BLENDER GALLERY: If you are into photography Blender Gallery is Sydney's mecca of the exhibition world, especially if you are heavily into music. Blender Gallery specialises in Fine Art Music Photography and Limited Edition Rock 'n' Roll Prints. Being home to a number of iconic Rock 'n' Roll photographers and their collections such as AC/DC EXPOSED! by Philip Morris and Pattie Boyd (The Beatles & Eric Clapton), Blender Gallery will soon be providing accommodation for music photographers Henry Diltz and Joel Bernstein and their limited edition prints of legendary musician Neil Young. Both men are multi talented who are photographers as well as musicians, which has given them an advantage to understand and capture Neil's visual persona. Make sure to visit Neil Young in all his glory at Blender Gallery, 16 Elizabeth St, Paddington, Sydney from Thursday, November 3 at 6:00pm - December 3 at 6:00pm…LEONARDO SWEEPS OUR SHORES: Leonardo Di Caprio has introduced many unknowing Australians to the novel The Great Gatsby just by arriving here in September to begin filming on the drama romance film adaptation of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic 1925 novel of the same name. With a $120 million budget and being directed by Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby consists of a reputable cast, amongst them is Australian actor Joel Edgerton who will take on the role as Tom Buchanan. The Great Gatsby has before now been filmed six times and is due to be released for the seventh time on December 25, 2012 by Warners Bros. Pictures…CONCERNS FOR ADELE'S NUMBER ONE ASSET: Anyone who owns a radio would know Adele for her chart hits Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You. Who truthfully knows any other of her songs as these are the only tracks that get any airtime and substantial amounts at that? Concerns surrounding Adele's voice have been the reason for her absence from the recent Q Awards and a run of performances in the U.S. Adele has been battling with a haemorrhaged vocal cord since January and still continues to struggle with throat problems. 21 is Adele's second studio album which was only released at the beginning of the year on the 21st January 2011. Die hard fans are hoping that she gets back to full health swiftly as they are anxious to have new tracks of hers replayed and stuck in their heads…STEVE JOBS, THE MAN BEHIND THE PC: Where do you begin with Steve Jobs? His career was so innovative and significant that there are not enough words to praise him with. Jobs' has had such an impact on the world that it feels a felony to try and summarise his life. Jobs' has been in the news not just since the day of his death but through out his career so it is not necessary to try and begin to summarise his remarkable life. Everyone knows his achievements and how he battled with a terminal illness. This piece is merely a tribute to his life and his contribution to the world. Jobs' was not only a genius inventor but a family man like everyone else. Jobs' creation is in most family homes in the form of a notebook, an iPhone, iPod, iPad, the list goes on and the Apple empire will continue to expand and continue to be apart of everyone's family and the way the world connects…TAME IMPALA: AUSTRALIA'S OWN WAVE OF PSYCHEDELIC: Tame Impala have proven that Australia has still got it by bringing back the sixties roots of when psychedelic music became a craze. The band comprises of four young, bare footed psychedelic rockers who have already made a name for themselves in the music industry and signed a worldwide deal with independent Australian label Modular People in 2008. Among the Modular team are well recognised acts such as Wolfmother, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ladyhawke. In their short career Tame Impala have already played at Glastonbury, Big Day Out, Vivid Live, have had a slot on the Jimmy Fallon show and are headlining at Bengkel Night Park in Jakarta on the 29th October 2011. If you happen to be in Indonesia be sure to watch them take over its capital city…
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WAR CHILD: A BOY SOLDIER'S STORY
BY EMMANUEL JAL

Emmanuel Jal escaped a violent life to become Africa's #1 hip-hop artist, and an international ambassador for children in war-torn countries 'Frank, unsparing...[A] searing portrait of a war-torn youth turned community advocate and role model' - Kirkus Reviews

'There's no glamour here, no pitched battles, only unimaginable misery... Utterly grounded, specific and real... You'll come away from this book loving Emmanuel Jal' - Washington Post

'Fast-paced...stark...a provocative challenge' - The New York Times

In the mid-1980s, Emmanuel Jal was a seven year old Sudanese boy, living in a small village with his parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. But as Sudan's civil war moved closer - with the Islamic government seizing tribal lands for water, oil, and other resources - Jal's family moved again and again, seeking peace. Then, on one terrible day, Jal was separated from his mother, and later learned she had been killed; his father Simon rose to become a powerful commander in the Christian Sudanese Liberation Army, fighting for the freedom of Sudan. Soon, Jal was conscripted into that army, one of 10,000 child soldiers, and fought through two separate civil wars over nearly a decade.

But, remarkably, Jal survived, and his life began to change when he was rescued by a British aid worker (Emma McCune) who smuggled him into Nairobi to raise him as her own. To help ease the pain of what he had experienced, Emmanuel started singing, beginning a journey that would lead him to change his name and record and release his own album. In 2005, he released his first album, 'Gua' ("peace" in his native Nuer tongue), with the title track broadcast across Africa over the BBC and becoming a number one hit in Kenya. 'Gua' also earned him a spot on Bob Geldof's "Live 8_ concert in the UK. Jal performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations in Hyde Park, London, June 08, he shared a stage with Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Damien Marley and Stephen Marley at the Black Ball in London in July 08 and also addressed delegates at the UN in New York in the same month. Jal has also performed with Razorlight, Supergrass, and Faithless in Europe Shocking, inspiring, and finally hopeful, War Child is a memoir by a unique young man, who is determined to tell his story and in so doing bring peace to his homeland.

EMMANUEL JAL

EMMANUEL JAL lives in London. His music has been featured in the movie 'Blood Diamond', the documentary 'God Grew Tired of Us', and in three episodes of 'ER'. He is a spokesman for Amnesty International and Oxfam, and has done work for Save the Children, UNICEF, World Food Programme, Christian Aid, and other charities, and has established his own charitable foundation, Gua Africa, to help former Sudanese child soldiers. He has been featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, the Washington Post, Newsweek.com, and on NPR, CNN, Fox, MTV, and the BBC. A documentary about Jal's life, also called 'War Child', premiered to acclaim at the February 2008 Berlin Film Festival and the April 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. His first international music album 'War Child' was released in May 2008 on the Sonic360 label (distribution by ADA Global) with additional production and mix by Neal Pogue (Outkast, Talib Kweli, Pharohae Monch).

Listen to the music and watch the trailer at www.emmaueljal.org

Emmanuel Jal will also be a guest of the Sydney Writers Festival 18-24 May. Dates are:

Sonya Renee and Emmanuel Jal
Thu, 21 May 2009
7:00pm-8:00pm
Venue: Riverside Theatres, Raffertys Theatre, Cnr Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
Presenters: Sonya Renee & Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Morganics
Cost: Free, bookings recommended on (02) 8839 3399

Emmanuel Jal and Sonya Renee speak about combining creativity and activism with award-winning Australian hip hop artist and spoken-word performer Morganics. Emmanuel Jal was only seven years old when he was taken from his family home to become a child soldier with the rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war for nearly five years. Now, he is an internationally acclaimed hip-hop artist who spreads a message of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences. Sonya Renee is possibly the most distinguished, accomplished and recognisable woman in the world of slam poetry. A social activist and women's rights advocate, she uses her blunt, raw and poignant poetry to challenge society to face its deepest and most long-lived ills with strength and courage. Supported by Parramatta City Council.

Will the Real Writer Please Stand Up?
Sat, 23 May 2009
10:30am-11:30am
Venue: Bangarra Theatre, Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: Miles Merrill, Sarah Blasko, Chris Bray, Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Benito Di Fonzo
Cost: Free

Who gets to call themselves a writer and why? Singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko, spokenword artist Miles Merrill, Sudanese hip hop artist Emmanuel Jal and adventurer and journalist Chris Bray dissect their various approaches to being a 'writer', with SMH arts journalist Benito di Fonzo. Presented in association with Word Travels.

The Message
Sat, 23 May 2009
1:00pm-2:00pm
Venue: Heritage Pier, Main Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: James Maskalyk, Benjamin Gilmour, Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Meredith Griffiths
Cost: $15/$10 Bookings (02) 9250 1988

Is it possible that wars can be fought, even won, via non-violent mediums like film and blogs? Experiences in the tribal provinces of Pakistan led Benjamin Gilmour to make his film Son of a Lion in an attempt to combat negative stereotypes about the Pashtun people. MSF doctor James Maskalyk's experience in Sudan inspired him to write a blog that ultimately became a book, in order to limit the distance which separates action from inaction. Emmanuel Jal has won worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences as a child soldier in Sudan. Benjamin Gilmour, James Maskalyk and Emmanuel Jal discuss with Meredith Griffiths.

Emmanuel Jal in Conversation
Sun, 24 May 2009
1:00pm-2:00pm
Venue: Heritage Pier, Main Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Annette Shun Wah
Cost: $15/$10 Bookings (02) 9250 1988

Emmanuel Jal was only seven years old when he was taken from his family home to become a child soldier with the rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war for nearly five years. Beaten, starved and brutalised, Emmanuel was put into battle in Ethiopia and southern Sudan carrying an AK-47 taller than himself. He attempted to leave the SPLA but was hunted down and thrown into a desert prison. Now an internationally acclaimed hip hop artist spreading messages of peace and reconciliation, he talks about his memoir 'War Child: A Boy Soldier's Story' with Annette Shun Wah.

ANNETTE SHUN WAH is a writer, actor and broadcaster. Co-author of Banquet: Ten Courses to Harmony, she has also contributed short stories to several anthologies including Come Away With Me, Growing up Asian in Australia and Grandma Magic. She has published essays, articles and reviews, and has been a regular contributor to The Sydney Morning Herald. Annette currently serves on committees for Performance 4a and Asialink.

For more information on other talks at the Sydney Writers Festival visit www.swf.org.au

'War Child: A Boy Soldier's Story' is available now.

© 2011 Sydney Unleashed - All Rights Reserved - editor@sydneyunleashed.com