African Songwriters Shine In 2007 International Songwriting Competition

 

April 14, 2008 - The prestigious US-based International Songwriting

Competition (ISC) is pleased to announce its 2007 winners and the
strong presence of African songwriters in several categories. Mouhamed
Diouf (De Diouf), hailing from Senegal, is the winner in this year's
World Music category for the song "Adouna". The song is co-written by
Francois Rivollet, and Guyom Eyango. In addition to Senegal, several
other African countries were represented by this year's winners,
including South Africa, Congo, Ghana, and Tanzania.

Renowned for its prestigious celebrity judges, ISC received over
15,000 songs from amateur and professional songwriters from 100
countries worldwide, confirming ISC's status as the leading global
songwriting event. In fact, for the first time in the competition's
history, the majority of winners (59%) come from outside the USA. More
than $150,000 in cash and prizes is shared among the 59 winners,
including an overall Grand Prize of $25,000 (US) cash, the largest
cash Grand Prize of any songwriting competition in the world, and
$30,000 in merchandise and services.

For a complete list of 2007 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs,
go to www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.htm

 

 

 Candace Avery, Founder and Director of ISC, says "Over the years, ISC
has received many great entries from African songwriters, and it is
especially exciting this year because it is the third year in a row
that the First Place winner of the World Music category comes from
Africa. I hope this trend continues, and I look forward to hearing
many more songs from songwriters all over Africa."

Winning First Place in the World Music category is Mouhamed Diouf (De
Diouf) of Senegal, along with his co-writers Francois Rivollet and
Guyom Eyango, for their song "Adouna". De Diouf's music, referred to
as World-Soul music, was inspired by traditional African rhythms
intermingled with a dose of Marvin Gaye and James Brown. His debut
album, entitled A.N.G (African Artists for the Next Generation),
includes songs written in Wolof, French, and English and is a
testimony to the singer's eclectic journey.

In addition to these winners, several other African songwriters
garnered an Honorable Mention in their respective categories:

"Locked In" - Michael Dodds / Scott Nunan (Michael Dodds aka Rolanoid)
- Durban, South Africa - Dance/Electronica
 "Seasons Of Love" - Sara Jaffe - Cape Town, South Africa - Lyrics Only
"Esa Morena" - Frank Anthony Paco / Muriel Marco (Tucan Tucan) - Cape
Town, South Africa - World Music
"Maza Africa" - Alex Kajumulo - Bukoba, Tanzania - World Music
 "Sambadia" - Bueso-Bua-Baniakina Murphy (Lang' i) - Brazzaville,
Congo - World Music
"Tabli Tabli" - Mohammed Alidu - Tamale, Ghana - World Music

In addition to these Africans, winners in a total of 19 categories
come from all over the world. The 2007 Grand Prize is awarded to
Eduard Glumov (Aktobe, Kazakhstan) and Z. Mulls (Swarthmore, PA, USA)
for their song "I'm Not Your Friend." The song, entered in the Rock
category, was written by Glumov with lyrics provided by Z. Mulls of
Swarthmore, PA, USA. This collaboration - from Kazakhstan to the USA -
from one side of the globe to the other - perfectly reflects ISC's
mission of creating a competition that is inclusive of songwriters
worldwide. Glumov, a singer/songwriter, and Z. Mulls, a lyricist, met
each other on MusesMuse.com, a songwriting resource website, and their
musical collaboration produced the winning song.

Applauded for its high caliber of judges, ISC compiled a stellar panel
of judges for the 2007 competition, including: Tom Waits; Loretta
Lynn; Julian Casablancas (The Strokes); Nelly Furtado; Ray Davies (The
Kinks); Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Ornette Coleman; Youssou N'Dour; Sean
Paul; Jerry Lee Lewis; "Weird Al" Yankovic; Black Francis (Pixies);
Robert Smith (The Cure); Cassandra Wilson; David Cross; Craig Morgan;
John Mayall; Joe Satriani; Toby Mac; Michael W. Smith; Chris Hillman
(The Byrds); John Scofield; Hinder; Amy Ray (Indigo Girls); Cheech
Marin (Cheech & Chong); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Macy Gray; Peter
Hook (New Order); Paulina Rubio; Tiesto; Charlie Walk (President, Epic
Records); Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Mona
Scott-Young (President, Violator Records); Cameron Strang (President,
New West Records); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2,
The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Peter Gabriel, and
more); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Cory
Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ,
WAMR Miami, pioneer of Latin radio); Angel Carrasco (President, 605
Discos and Sr. VP A&R, Sony BMG Latin America); Thomas Brooman
(Co-Founder/Artistic Director, WOMAD); Dan Storper (President,
Putumayo World Music); Nancy Wolpert (VP Home Entertainment and Nick
Records, Nickelodeon/BMG); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People);
and Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music).

2007 Sponsors include: Electro-Voice, ASCAP, Berklee College Of Music,
Cakewalk, Shure, D'Addario, Thayers, Sam Ash, Hear Technologies, Disc
Makers, Sonicbids, Musician's Atlas, Sibelius, Karian Studios,
OnlineGigs, The Music Business Registry, Mediaguide, ArtistMonitor,
Platinum Blue Music Intelligence, Alphabet Arm Design, George Stein,
Esq., SongU, Shari's Berries, The Indie Venue Bible, and Taxi.

ISC is now accepting entries for 2008. The 2008 competition will
include many new judges and a new Music Video category. Go to
www.songwritingcompetition.com for more information and an entry form.