Alanis Morissette, known best for her songs "Ironic" or "All I really want" was at the European Parliament on Monday night for the Energy Globe Award. She has been active in environmental issues for several years - notably against US energy policy and drilling for oil in Alaska. At the Gala she sang her latest song to the assembled crowds. Prior to her performance we caught up with her and asked her a few questions on activism and the environment.

 

 

I think it's very trendy right now to be aware of the eco situation, especially with the Live Earth concerts. So I think that people are aware and doing the best they can - doing the little things they can.

 

 

Activism! I did some activism with Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys. Bush was trying to have an energy plan go through where he was going to affect native people's way of life in Alaska - so we did some concerts. It's a great way do it through music and art. I think I have some social activism by default in some of lyrics. The song I'm going to sing tonight is about taking personal responsibility, rather than trying to control people outside and tell them what to do. I'd rather take responsibility for my own life.

 

 

We run our tour busses on bio diesel, recycle, use solar panels, I drive a hybrid car, I paid for my CD covers to be made of eco-friendly materials when they weren't doing it. They wouldn't pay, so I paid for it myself at the beginning.  Now it has become a sort of a commonplace thing, but a few years ago the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and myself were paying for it ourselves - so that was cool.

 

 

One of Bollywood's brightest stars was at the energy globe awards in parliament Monday night. Indian actor and producter Aamir Khan said he had come to try and raise awareness of the need to act with rather than against nature. In this interview he brings a bit of Indian philosophy to the environmental debate. His role at Monday's Gala was to present an award for a project that had helped protect the earth and during his speech he stressed the need to protect and preserve "mother earth".

 

 

I'm not a politician; I have some creative ideas about it. I do not feel any different from the earth, I feel part of it. The earth is 80% water, like a body. In India we have this philosophy of three gods: Brahma, the god of creation, Vishnu, the god of sustenance and Shiva, god of destruction. We believe that everything that exists goes through these 3 stages. We are the level above the earth because we are the only creatures on earth who are acting against nature. When it is hot, we put air conditioning on, when it is cold we put the heating on, we are driving miles in few hours to be able to conquer distances. We control the earth. So, we are doing everything against what is natural in nature.

 

 

For me destruction is a natural process, as natural as birth is. It's time to look back and ask ourselves: what do we do? What we think we have to do is find new sources of energy - but this only means we are going to go faster, not really to go back. There are ways to slow down - to respect life.

 

We are wasting resources and that is a shame. Saving resources should be the number one step. We have to make sure that people across the globe have the basic necessities. For example, if we have water, we should use it well and what I can't use I should share.

 

 

(Laughs) Not enough. I try to save as much water as I can, try not to waste electricity and try not to waste paper. Most of us living in big cities got accustomed to a certain lifestyle. I would strongly recommend stopping using cell phones and video recorders. We can delay climate change; we can respect what we have.

 

Most of us in India are trying to be progressive - as we understand it. My question is what is progress? All the things we call progress have actually resulted in huge destruction of the Earth - airplanes, electricity, cell-phones and the big factories - to make our life easier.

 

 

After a day hunting through press conferences and musical rehearsals ahead of the Energy Globe Awards Gala on Monday 26 May, we finally found Italian rock star Zucchero 'Sugar' Fornaciari., who has collaborated with a host of international stars during his long career, including Sting, Elton John, Pavarotti, Brian May, Joe Cocker and Miles Davies. Here's what he had to say.
 
Why are you here tonight?
 
Kofi Annan and Gorbachev asked me to be here...I said yes because it’s a good cause! It is important to do something for the planet, a planet which is going in the wrong direction....I hope my presence here will amplify this message from people that I know and trust like Annan and Gorbachev.
 
I’ve been part of many events like this, with Peter Gabriel, with Bob Geldof for Live Aid, with Pavarotti and friends where I met Annan, for the Freddy Mercury tribute…if I can do something I do it. I am a lucky guy, I like my job, I like my music and this is the minimum I can do for others.
 
Is it different playing here than in a "conventional" concert?
 
It’s definitively different! It doesn’t look like a rock’n roll show, the gig is different! The stage is small, and I imagine there will be a lot of well dressed people...it’s going to be fun if I see these kind of penguins dancing. 
 
How do you look at the future of the planet?
 
When I was a boy I didn’t think about the planet...I was thinking about how to survive because I grew up in a poor family in the countryside. But now I feel very bad for the future and my children’s future. I don’t know what kind of planet we will leave them. If it goes on like this, I think it’s going to be dangerous for the future. Air and water are important issues: we need them to survive! Like wine…We have to be aware that the planet and the climate are going in a wrong direction. My message is: "be careful!”
 
Your last album is called “all the colours of my life”. Which is yours?
 
Definitely Blue! Like Europe, like the sea and the sky…"

"Just a friend of mine" was a huge hit for Belgian group Vaya con Dios in 1986. In the last 20 years the group - led by singer Dani Klein - have toured the world. On 7 April they came to the European Parliament to raise the plight of the Roma in Europe on International Roma day. We caught up with Dani Klein just after her rehearsal.

 

 

My group gives concerts in Eastern countries where there are a lot of Roma. When I sing "Djelem djelem" - the Roma hymn - people are very enthusiastic and identify with the song. But they often adopt a rather discriminatory personal attitude to the Roma...I find that a bit repellent, on the one hand we appropriate Roma culture and take the best parts of it, and on the other hand we discriminate against it. I don't have a political message, just that we must respect each other.

 

 

Yes, because gypsy music has contributed to art in general. I am not a classical music specialist, but Brahms would not be Brahms had not gypsy music existed, and that is the case with many traditional types of music. Their music, their language, their traditions contribute to the wealth of European culture. The Roma are somehow unyielding and resistant to changing their ways, they want to travel, and they are not sedentary. I admire them, because they resist the efforts to change them.

 

At present, many Roma in Brussels are seen, in particular at red traffic lights. Many people say to me, "I do not give, it's easy to live like that". I think that it's very difficult to live like that! Is there anyone who would choose to breathe in carbon dioxide all day for 15 or 20 cents and a scornful glance? This is not a good approach. We must look at the  positive.

 

 

I do not know what the powers Europe has, I am not political. But if it has means, yes. The initial aim of the EU was that France and Germany would no longer fight. If Europe's ambition is peace, that should certainly help in making the Roma accepted as part of Europe, but with their special characteristics.

 

 

I engage when I find the causes are just - to support the values of liberty and respect for others. Among musicians, racism is less palpable than in other milieus. To be an artist, is to be marginal. Artists are also disliked to a certain extent in society and fight to find ways to express themselves. Artists are sustained by all the influences that touch them - our music is fed by different music.

 

The fact that we are marginalised brings us close to other communities on the margin of society. Art has always broken taboos and opened minds and spirits.