Wanderer

Seriously?!! The first part of the voting passed and no points for NZ Beware, I am going "bestmen" all over you! Cheaters.

Paises Baixos

Very, very elegant!

Wow, what a logo! Absolutely magnificent. Didn't know the bird is in danger of extinction. Great opening ceremony, Vini. A lot to learn

Wow, I like Voce Nao Presta

Tsitsipas Finally good Greek player playing for Greece Thiem has everything to be such a beast on clay, except brains.

I'll read it later, but from the brief look - yes, the first TISC edition was THE BIG BANG! Long Live TISC The drama and Bulgarian votes won't be forgotten!

I guess the logo for this edition is going to be presented tomorrow. Thank you Vini and Team Brazil for this Gala event! Beautifully done. I might ask for recipes though

@LDOG might go nuts, the map on the globe is clearly eurocentric

So glad that Tokoliana was liked Though, I went "Antartica" and helped a bit

If ants only

Wow, Vini Food #GIFTeam on the red carpet

Melissa Horn, pleasant re-discovery! Thank you Dan for these posts

What is this attitude? Cancel life, we have TISC to attend!

Congo and Spain tied. Vamos Congo !

[hide] Preliminary Round May 4th - May 15th, 2018 16 Nations, 2 Groups, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Nations from each Group will qualify for the Quarterfinals Group A Date & Time (GMT +9) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 May 4th 2018, h. 16:15 Russia 5 France May 4th 2018, h. 20:15 Sweden 2 Belarus May 5th 2018, h. 12:15 Switzerland 1 Austria May 5th 2018, h. 16:15 France 2 Belarus May 5th 2018, h. 20:15 Czech Republic 1 Slovakia May 6th 2018, h. 12:15 Austria 3 Russia May 6th 2018, h. 16:15 Sweden 1 Czech Republic May 6th 2018, h. 20:15 Slovakia 1 Switzerland May 7th 2018, h. 16:15 Belarus 2 Russia May 7th 2018, h. 20:15 Sweden 3 France May 8th 2018, h. 16:15 Austria 1 Slovakia May 8th 2018, h. 20:15 Czech Republic 2 Switzerland May 9th 2018, h. 16:15 Switzerland 1 Belarus May 9th 2018, h. 20:15 Sweden 2 Austria May 10th 2018, h. 16:15 Slovakia 2 France May 10th 2018, h. 20:15 Czech Republic 1 Russia May 11th 2018, h. 16:15 France 2 Austria May 11th 2018, h. 20:15 Belarus 1 Czech Republic May 12th 2018, h. 12:15 Slovakia 1 Sweden May 12th 2018, h. 16:15 Austria 1 Belarus May 12th 2018, h. 20:15 Russia 2 Switzerland May 13th 2018, h. 16:15 France 3 Czech Republic May 13th 2018, h. 20:15 Switzerland 2 Sweden May 14th 2018, h. 16:15 Russia 2 Slovakia May 14th 2018, h. 20:15 Czech Republic 2 Austria May 15th 2018, h. 12:15 Switzerland 2 France May 15th 2018, h. 16:15 Belarus 1 Slovakia May 15th 2018, h. 20:15 Russia 1 Sweden Group B Date & Time (GMT +9) Nation 1 T1 T2 Nation 2 May 4th 2018, h. 16:15 United States 1 Canada May 4th 2018, h. 20:15 Germany 2 Denmark May 5th 2018, h. 12:15 Norway 3 Latvia May 5th 2018, h. 16:15 Finland 5 South Korea May 5th 2018, h. 20:15 Denmark 3 United States May 6th 2018, h. 12:15 South Korea 3 Canada May 6th 2018, h. 16:15 Germany 1 Norway May 6th 2018, h. 20:15 Latvia 3 Finland May 7th 2018, h. 16:15 United States 2 Germany May 7th 2018, h. 20:15 Canada 2 Denmark May 8th 2018, h. 16:15 South Korea 1 Latvia May 8th 2018, h. 20:15 Finland 2 Norway May 9th 2018, h. 16:15 Germany 3 South Korea May 9th 2018, h. 20:15 Finland 3 Denmark May 10th 2018, h. 16:15 United States 3 Latvia May 10th 2018, h. 20:15 Norway 2 Canada May 11th 2018, h. 16:15 Denmark 1 Norway May 11th 2018, h. 20:15 United States 4 South Korea May 12th 2018, h. 12:15 Latvia 1 Germany May 12th 2018, h. 16:15 Denmark 2 South Korea May 12th 2018, h. 20:15 Canada 2 Finland May 13th 2018, h. 16:15 Norway 2 United States May 13th 2018, h. 20:15 Germany 1 Finland May 14th 2018, h. 16:15 South Korea 3 Norway May 14th 2018, h. 20:15 Canada 2 Latvia May 15th 2018, h. 12:15 Finland 1 United States May 15th 2018, h. 16:15 Canada 2 Germany May 15th 2018, h. 20:15 Latvia 1 Denmark [/hide]

Antarctica to be beaten at the final Winterfest? I doubt But I'll cheer for eSwatini

What happened with my Swaziland entry?

Hate that Russia-Latvia and Japan-GB ties had to happen in the playoffs. It is unbelievable to see Russia in Euro/Africa zone 1 But they deserved, despite having so many good players. Congrats for making World Group II Ostapenko GB's another attempt for WGII denied I am glad for Japan, and hopefully, GB won't give up and try next year too, to get that so wanted promotion. But Euro/Africa zone is getting so difficult to overcome, now with Russia being "new addition" Congrats Japan!

Swaziland Couldn't find a 2017 song from Velemseni, but this one ain't bad, a song featuring Swazi music legends - Velemseni, Bholoja and the recent discovery Tendaness. I hope you enjoy it! Velemseni is a female guitarist and vocalist from Swaziland. Her roots are firmly planted in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Her music reflects an aesthetic of jazz, rock and neo soul elements. She realized she had a talent while on stage and decided to join the school choir. Her church background had a major influence on her sound. Bholoja (real name Mbongiseni Ngubane) is one of the gifted musicians to emerge out of Swaziland. His songs have increased his following across national borders. He draws his inspiration from the Swazi tradition. His songs seek to preserve the country’s cultural heritage and historical neglect. His music is a response to the global changing situation and African growth challenges. He thus considers himself as a mouthpiece of the poor, orphaned, AIDS victims and the underprivileged. His music is a fusion of Southern African traditions such as mbira, sitolotolo and the traditional drumming styles. Blending of different sounds has made his music to be appreciated by a number of communities. He sings Afro-pop, traditional African and Swazi soul. His music focuses on the social and economic aspects that govern people lives on a daily basis. Tatenda Mandaza, known professionally as Tendaness, is a Swazi-born record producer, DJ and songwriter. Tendaness - Love Me ft Velemseni & Bholoja

Moldova? Curious to see But if Ireland wins again...

Oh wow, I really forgot some of the TISC gems Melimane-Music

sent Fed Cup team for the first time ever

Forgot to mention, you can actually see what kind of instruments these guys use!

Congo DR KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! KOKOKO! Well... If this song participated in this TISC edition, it would be my absolute 12! I cannot describe how much I love this band and their song "Tokoliana". Original, quirky, absolutely creative, catchy, raw, with huge post-punk vibe, mixed with electronica, definitely danceable. Love it! KOKOKO! is a collective of artists and musicians formed in Ngwaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Incredibly creative and friends since childhood, they invent their own instruments out of found objects: a one string guitar, a typewriter drum machine, water bottles pitched to play melodies, and a talk box made from a car cassette player. While such inventions came into being at first out of necessity (the artists not able to afford guitars), the group soon realized that the innovative instruments gave their music an original sound. KOKOKO! linked up with Débruit, a French producer and serial fan of African music. Together, they have brought merged sonic worlds and, in doing so, electrified their raw psychedelic sound and took it out to downtown clubbing. KOKOKO! typically improvise much of their music, and though they arranged and structured “Tokoliana” more formally, removing a few of their ad-hoc instruments and adding more traditional electronic sounds, that thrilling unpredictability remains. Their instrumentation moves at many speeds, sounding both vibrant and narcotic, and the many layers of percussion push the beat in and out of sync. Sometimes a metallic chime takes precedence, while other times, a bass line shines. KOKOKO! list Tupac, Biggie, and Congolese jazz as influences, but their noisy rhythms find some precedent in no wave groups like ESG, too. Cutting through the beat is a clear message: “We’re devouring each other,” they chant in Lingala, “Here in this jungle/ Like animals devouring each other.” Backed by bubbling instrumentals, this macabre chorus becomes almost tongue-in-cheek, and further demonstrates how KOKOKO! excel at turning chaos into euphoria. KOKOKO! - Tokoliana Further reading: https://www.kokokomusic.com/ http://www.okayafrica.com/kokoko-kinshasa-congo-music/ Tokoliana! Tokoliana! Tokoliana! Live version: