Business Barge Judith, Hale Wharf, Ferry Lane
N17 9NF London
United Kingdom

http://www.continentaldrifts.co.uk

We have been running for 15 years. We have always specialized in the most cutting edge mixes of world and 21st Century Styles.

public contact

• phone: +44 2083659555
• fax: +44 3659666
eMail:

business contact

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activities

• Artist
  • Agent/Booker
• Promoter
  • Festival

participation in

• WOMEX 2004
• WOMEX 2005
• WOMEX 2006
• WOMEX 2007
• WOMEX 2008
• WOMEX 2009
• WOMEX 2010

company description

CONTINENTAL DRIFTS

"Irrepressible" Joe Strummer

We have been running for 14 years. We have always specialised in the most cutting edge mixes of world and 21st Century Styles. We particularly work with UK based diverse culture for innovative crossovers. We have an incredible project that finds the real heart and soul of new Womex UK sounds . This is called Global Local and its one of the biggest and best projects in Europe to find innovation. Check Globallocal.co.uk . We always aim to take world music more into the mainstream and away from a closed market.


AGENTS

We have a diverse roster of absolute storming acts that are tried and tested there are more on the website continentaldrifts.co.uk but heres a selection . We should have a consultation if you need any help setting you're stage alight


SKA CUBANO - Chief Latin band in Europe mixing Jamaican sounds with Cuban Brass
TOP CATS - One of the best ska bands in the world
DESTROYERS ( some territory's ) - whacking great 15 piece Gypsy Punk orchestra
CORRESPONDENTS - Kings of the Swing Dance Remix
KATY CARR - New acoustic Royalty
SHANTEL ( UK ) - Gypsy Beats Originator
LATINDUBSOUNDSYSTEM - Latin Dub and breaks from 9 piece live band
MAX PASHM ( certain Territory's) - Uk's original Hassidic remixer
ALEJANDRO AND MAGIC TOMBOLINOS - 1000 mile an hour gypsy jazz
PEYOTE FOR PRESIDENT - Uks Latin radicals
SOOTHSAYERS - Afro Dub JAzz from the maestros
SWAMI - Asian Cinematic Dance music
BRASS ROOTS - With a member of Young Blood Brass Band at their roots a jumping brass band with a difference .



see more at continentaldrifts.co.uk - globallocal.co.uk



We work with most major agencies and festivals in the UK and programme across a vast array of cultures and genres suitable for every type of audience. We pride ourselves in working with a diverse range of performers and artists, from big acts like Madness and Scissor Sisters to up and coming bands unknown to our audiences. We have often been the first to present new acts, such as Lilly Allen, Mika, Muse & Noisettes to name just a few have all had their first concerts at a festival with us.

Programme team
Continental Drifts Music - is a remarkable music company with its own innovative direction. In 2007 alone we programmed stages with an audience of over 1 Million people (30 stages this summer), creating for many some of this summers "golden "moments.

Our real strength lies in the fact that we program me such a vast and diverse culture from top names to new and up and coming artists from many different countries. What makes us unique is that we have been involved in the creation of many great festivals and have been able to watch them develop and grow.
We were co-creators of the Lost Vagueness Field at Glastonbury, taking this from an unknown area with little budget and kudos and developing it as a brand, programming acts such as Fat boy Slim, Scissor Sisters, Lilly Allen, Mika, and Madness and having the artistic freedom to programme these amazing bands alongside unknown artists from the underground scene.

At Lovebox Festival (an urban "Glastonbury event) we have one of the largest open air stages programming the likes of Gogol Bordello, Toots and the Maytals, Ojos Do Brujo, King Creosote and many more, This stage has built over the three years to become one of the most popular destinations at the festival We also program a 3000 person Brazilian area at this event.

In the 15 years we have been working in this industry we have managed to give literally 1000's of bands their first big break in the UK festival world; Acts like Muse, Snow Patrol, Alabama 3 and Gogol Bordello all had their first UK festival moments with us, our stages themselves are renowned for being "the" place to be. This year acts like Tunng, Candi Payne, Seasick Steve , Kitty Daisy Lewis and many more have taken our stages best positions, and have become extremely popular across the media from this exposure.

Our work takes us around the world and also involves programming across most cultures. We run England's Largest East European Festival (Pulse), co created London Mela, Europe's largest Asian Event, we also are renowned programmers of Arabic music and have the largest Arabic stage in London's Rise Festival that attracts over 70,000 people.

We created a UK wide global music stage programme which receives £120,000 a year funding from the Arts Council of England in recognition of this work and to develop new audiences for diverse work. This programme offers culturally diverse programmes of music from a variety of world genres to UK councils and boroughs for their community festival stages.

In 2009 our main media partners have been Radio 1 (for London Mela and Bestival), Sahara Television, Sunrise Radio and BBC Asian Network.

Aside to programming, we release music under our own Acoustic Sound-clash Label, and lately with Universal Records.

Programmers Credentials
CHRIS MACMEIKAN - Has been working in events and as a programmer for 15 years. He has Programmed stages at Glastonbury (last 15 years), Lovebox, Bestival, Wychwood Festival, Thames Festival, V Fest, Ealing Festival, Queens Jubilee, Victoria and Albert Museum, Dubai Festival.
Aside to that Chris has promoted hundreds of events across the UK in a variety of venues. He is an agent for some of the U.K's most exciting music, including BBC World Music Awards Nominees Ska Cubano and Shantel. The work of Continental Drifts music is recognised by Arts Council of England and Greater London Authority.
Aside to this he is a musician and renowned DJ and broadcaster.

We pro gramme at least 30 stages a year of brilliant music across the UK , we also put on many nights but we are most of all agents .

21ST CENTURY SILK RD MUSIC - Music from Gypsy acts from China to Spain, mixing it up.

DESI REMIX - Cool Asian Beats from the fire of the Asian Community .

ARABIC BEATS - The best new Arabic crossover musics.

LATIN BOMBA - Europes most cutting edge new LAtin bands mixing it up from Dub Step and break beat to full Samba Drum and bass Orchestras

MAGPIES NEST - Is a partnership with the best young English Folk artists mixing their ancient English and Irish folk in a 1000 ways .

SANCTUARY - Refugee music from Iraq , Congo and beyond from the diaspora that is London

SKA - We have the best Ska bands in Europe including the Top Cats and Ska Cubano

We are also renowned for bringing world class crossover music to main stream festivals for instance at Glastonbury 2009 we received coverage on all main medias, and brought in over 400 musicians from Latin, Asian and Gypsy Genres running until 7.00am to 1000's.



Aside to world based crossover we also pro gramme the UK's most successful festival stage Club Dada which aside to Africa Express and Lady Gaga will also have kicking Bhangra and 32 piece brass bands playing Acid House.


EVENT ORGANISERS

We organise events for upto 1 million people annually, either by producing events or programming stages between May and October at events like Glastonbury, Bestival, Thames and Englands largest Latin event Carnival Del Pueblo.


Please see our website for more info.

Sponsorship and Marketing
Our production department also has an experiential marketing side that produces live events for brand creatives. These include innovative stunts and product launches, sampling campaigns and trade and consumer shows. We work with major agencies like JCPR, Hill and Knowlton, Webber Shandwick and Sledge Media. Events include creating a pathway of coins over the Millennium Bridge for Mastercard, Programming stages at Fruitstock, providing artists for the Red Bull Saloon tour and building a tree house for the press launch of Microsoft's wireless working campaign. All of this work stands us in a good position to deal with sponsorship opportunities at the events as well as creating high profile and innovative event work.

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