Inhaltsverzeichnis für July 2023 in Songlines

It’s interesting reading about the new Scottish project Thirteen North who are trying to capture the ambience of a folk club for a string ensemble concert (see p9). In many ways, this has been part of my aim as editor, to create a magazine that is as rigorous as any academic journal, that is endlessly curious in its search for music, but that is also personable, that welcomes you in. To that end, when I took over I wanted to replace our previous Folk Focus page with a column written by an esteemed folk artist from our lands, as wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear about the folk scene from someone in the midst of it? There was one name at the top of my list: Eliza Carthy. I’m sure…

Sunny War Catalina Maria Johnson gets the lowdown on gospel, anarchy and government failings from the finger-picking punk troubadour When Sunny War sings, raw, vulnerable vocals glide through the air surrounded by a cascade of intricate, artful fingerpicking. The self-taught guitarist has the voice of an old soul who has seen too much of life, and somehow survived to tell the tales. Born Sydney Lyndella Ward in Nashville, Tennessee, War’s folk-punk tunes build upon a mélange of influences: old-time Delta blues, gospel-reminiscent phrasing, edgy rock’n’roll, country-tinged roots Americana. In certain moments, Tracy Chapman’s and Joan Armatrading’s narrative ballads come to mind. War grew up intermittently in Nashville, with childhood stints at her grandparents’ home in Detroit. As a teen and young adult, she resided (and busked) on Southern California’s Venice…

A few years ago, after a visit to Turkey, I wrote in this column (August/September 2008, #140) about the number of statues of Turkish folk musicians I happened to run into, totally by chance. They are usually saz players or aşıks (minstrels). It made me realise that Turkey is a country that celebrates its grass roots musicians in a way that we in Britain don’t. I was recently in Istanbul and was interested to discover that, backed by UNESCO, this year has been declared the year of Aşık Veysel. He’s the most famous Turkish aşık and is being celebrated because he died 50 years ago in 1973 and is described as ‘one of the cornerstones of the… country’s cultural heritage.’ Born Veysel Șatıroğlu in 1894, Aşık Veysel also became known…

What better way to start than with a true legend? For several decades, it seemed like Naná Vasconcelos was on more albums than you could shake a shekere at. On his own as leader, he could truly stretch out. Recorded in Paris and released on Pierre Barrouh’s Saravah label in 1973, Africadeus (Altercat Records ***) is a somewhat demanding but mesmerising listen. The title track reworks the long improvisation on Vasconcelos’ trademark berimbau that featured on an earlier album. ‘Aboios’, the shortest number, adds bells and voices to suggest a jungle congress. The final ‘Seleção de Folclore’ is another long improvisation that pulls all the threads together. Recorded two years later by Vasconcelos for the same label, Naná-Nelson Angelo-Novelli (Altercat Records ****) is a more accessible affair. Nelson Angelo’s (mainly)…

Peter Culshaw Music from the Temple of Light Iskra Records It is hard to sum up the music of Peter Culshaw in a single sentence. It runs the gamut of influences on this musical polymath, from Indian music, to jazz and Cuban rhythms, to ambient sounds, to French music of the early 20th century (think Satie with the harmonies of Ravel). His travels in search of different musics are legendary, as are the people he has met along the way (this album was paid for by the sale of Malcolm McLaren’s car, which was left to Culshaw), and these no doubt add to the gallimaufry we have here. The album tends towards the ambient (shades here, perhaps, of his time working with Brian Eno), and a lot of it is…

Best-known as part of Cairo-based psychedelic folk/rock band The Invisible Hands, Adham Zidan’s latest project Baskot finds the musician and producer charting unique strains of avant-pop music. Baskot Lel Baltageyya (Wall of Sound/Akuphone ****) was written in collaboration with poet Anwar Dabbour whose surreal, vocoder-fragmented rhymes, delivered in colloquial Arabic, lend an otherworldly air to Zidan’s fantastical keyboard. Topped by tumbling tabla beats, elements of shaabi segue in and out. Funk-laced bass lines drive the languorous ‘Cinderella (Cinderella)’ while a pronouncedly Egyptian air marks the keyboard harmonies of ‘E7tekak (Contact)’. Compellingly oddball music. Based in Cairo’s Agouza district, experimental US/Egyptian trio The Dwarfs of East Agouza features Zidan’s The Invisible Hands bandmate, vocalist/bassist/saxophonist Alan Bishop, alongside Maurice Louca on keyboards/drum machine and Sam Shalabi on guitar. Two extended improvised…

01 Various Artists Luk Thung: Classic & Obscure 78s from the Thai Countryside (Dust-to-Digital, 2011) A beautiful compilation featuring tracks from collector Dave Murray’s personal stash of original 78s, with informative liner notes. It’s an excellent entry point for any newcomer to luk thung (Thai country music). The songs and artists are from the 50s and 60s and crucially include the ‘King of Luk Thung’, Suraphon Sombatcharoen. 02 The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band 21st Century Molam (Studio Lam, 2014) Classic molam (a rural style traditionally with vocals and khaen mouth organ accompaniment) rubs up against blues, rock, dance and dub in this debut release from a band with roots in a Thai club night run by the DJs and collectors Chris Menist and Maft Sai. Expect mesmerising rhythms, slow…

Lucy Hallam Lucy is a Paris-based writer and musician, with a particular interest in participatory music and music in advocacy. This issue she speaks to our cover star, Fatoumata Diawara, on p22 Juan José Relmucao An Argentine multilingual journalist, Juan José was shortlisted for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award in 2021. He chats to Buenos Aires institution La Bomba de Tiempo on p34. Fiona Mactaggart Fiona retired from child psychiatry to write about music, co-founding the Scottish music agency Jazz Forward in 2021. A regular visitor of Edinburgh International Festival, she profiles the festival on p70. Songlines was launched in 1999 and is the definitive magazine for world music – music that has its roots in all parts of the globe, from Mali to Mexico, India to Iraq. Whether…

• 100 pages of stunning content exploring the region’s history, musical styles and traditions • Profiles on the countries of Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina • Over 120 recommended album reviews • Exclusive opinion piece on the role of music in Latin American politics The Music of Latin America + The Music of West Africa available as a bundle for the special price of £19.99 Order online at magsubscriptions.com/songlines or call +44 (0)1722 716997 *Free P&P for UK orders. P&P postage will be added to international orders. £9.99 FREE P&P*…

August/September 2023 (#190) On sale July 21 Femi Kuti speaks about the New Afrika Shrine, making music with his son Made and more; we tell the story of zamrock pioneers WITCH (pictured); the hottest name in Flamenco right now, Israel Fernández, discusses putting his own stamp on the style; the Master Musicians of Joujouka will have plenty to talk about after playing Glastonbury and their own legendary festival in Morocco; and we sit down with Bonjo and Adrian Sherwood to talk about their new African Head Charge album. We also have a Beginner’s Guide to much-loved bluegrass trio Nickel Creek; we hear from Brazilian rapper Emicida, Asian fusion pioneer Sheila Chandra and percussive finger-picker Yasmin Williams.…

here must be few childhood obsessions that can propel an adult through their entire life, certainly fewer from which the adult can make a living. For singer-songwriter Brigid Mae Power, it was a childhood steeped in music, and a fervent absorption of different genres – blues, soul, Irish trad – that set her up for life, and made any other path seem irrelevant, impossible. From singing at family gatherings to her mother’s love of Nirvana, Power was an extroverted explorer, a mimic, getting up at relations’ get-togethers to perform blues on the piano that she had proudly taught herself, or heaving a huge button accordion up the three flights of stairs at the Cricklewood Irish pub to join other young musicians in rousing sessions. “It’s quite embarrassing, but one of…

Songlines digital subscribers can download the Top of the World & bonus tracks every issue. For more details visit songlines.co.uk/subs Art Melody Artemisia Tentacule Records/Wogdog Records Hailing from Burkina Faso, Art Melody is a farmer by day and rapper and singer by night, bringing a fresh take on the griot tradition. His eighth album, Artemisia, draws on influences from both sides of the Atlantic, melding heritage West African sounds with samples, synths and his own idiosyncratic flow. What strikes you immediately about Melody is his voice – impossibly deep. The verses of opening track ‘Boukma’ are delivered with power and raw-edged eloquence to evoke a trance-like tone. The next thing you notice is how much this album owes to the European and American rappers of the early 90s –…

Bjonko Balkan Express No Bounds Music Following the recent fusion-oriented album Enigma, Danish reedsman Bjonko Stosic and band return with a more traditional take on the music of South Serbia and Macedonia. A mix of traditional songs, slightly tweaked, and new material in that spirit, but with its own accent. The leader phrases his melody lines with the rhythmic flexibility of a jazz soloist, and his companions are no less capable – witness the lovely trumpet solo on the opener, ‘Balkan Express’, and the fleet yet solid support of the rhythm section. There’s nothing flashy or meretricious here; just well-made music, well played with a quirky and good-humoured attitude. Despite the straightforward nature of most of the music, there are some oblique references to fragments of popular culture. The driving…

Mo’Ju ORO, PLATA, MATA Virgin Music Australia An artist who has often dealt with issues of self-identity, gender and race, Mo’Ju (formerly Mojo Juju) has always been a captivating presence and compelling performer. Born Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga, to a Filipino father and a mixed-race mother of European-Wiradjuri (Aboriginal) ancestry, Mo’Ju’s 2018 album Native Tongue explored this unusual family history, with the hit title-track video breaking fresh ground in Australian Indigenous music and attracting new listeners. ORO, PLATA, MATA (Gold, Silver, Death/Bad Luck) continues this deeply personal journey of cross-cultural heritage, in homage to Mo’Ju’s late Tito (uncle) Peque Gallaga. It also features the voice of Tita (aunt) Madie Gallaga, who briefly introduces each album section. Having lost a grandfather during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as becoming a first-time…

Àbájade Latopa Àbájade Latopa is the first full-length album by Àbájade, a Paris-based octet whose music primarily draws from Afro-Cuban stylistic traditions shaded by varying hues of Western soul, funk and jazz. The album’s title refers to a type of rhythm or groove associated with the orisha (deity) Elegua whose approval for ceremonies and rituals in Santería religious practice must be obtained before proceeding. In performance, Àbájade’s original compositions are emotionally compelling. Lessons learned on trips to Cuba, where the band participated in sacred ceremonies and were exposed to the polyrhythmic inventiveness of Cuban street musicians, are clearly palpable alongside the influence of straight-ahead jazz on songs such as ‘Lalubanche (Elegua I)’, ‘Latopa (Elegua II)’ and ‘Peze Café.’ On ‘Obatala’, a tribute to the orisha responsible for creating Earth, authentic bata…

“Composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Michael League is familiar to many as the leader of uber-popular jazz and funk collective Snarky Puppy. But Songlines readers may better recognise him as the driving force behind Creole supergroup Bokanté, the producer of Afro-Peruvian Susanna Baca’s award-winning Palabras Urgentes, or as a collaborator with some of the world’s finest, including Bassekou Kouyaté, Purbayan Chatterjee, Chris Thile, Salif Keita, Kardeş Türküler… well, you get the idea. Even he has trouble remembering everything he’s been working on. As we speak, he scrolls through his phone: “Unfortunately, I think my Instagram… is the best thing for me to remember what I’ve done.” But can anyone blame him for losing track? His extensive list of credits suggests a fascination with global sounds, which he was surrounded by from…

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It’s the opening night of the inaugural Tromsø World Festival in northern Norway, the gateway to the Arctic Circle. The air is crisp enough to see your breath. There is snow on the mountains flanking the harbour and, in a serendipitous display, the night sky is strafed with silver and green. The festival’s main venue, the Studentsamfunnet Driv, is heaving, steamy. The coat racks are groaning under layers of puffer jackets and fake fur. A cheer goes up when festival CEO Vasil Gjuroski strides onstage to begin proceedings; the colourful ex-Yugoslavian is a popular figure in small town Tromsø, and his vision for a global music celebration – enabled in collaboration with Oslo World’s new five-city-wide Movement Network – has finally, fabulously, come true. The act that christens Tromsø World…

Joey Abarta King of the Blind Joey Abarta Originally from California, now based in Boston, the young uilleann piper Joey Abarta names his second album after a tune he found in John & William Neal’s 1724 A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes, attributed to famed 17th-century blind Celtic harper, Turlough O’Carolan. O’Carolan wrote the beautiful tune for ‘The Faery Queen’, also from the Neal’s collection and featured here, although in the album’s excellent, detailed notes, Abarta explains a more complex history, and how O’Carolan perhaps didn’t compose the tune but elaborated on the main themes of an older version. As for the title track, it too has a long, plaintive reach in terms of its music, deepening into a cavernous, hollow space illuminated by bright and curious notes…

Norwegian folk gets the electronic treatment, a Finnish drummer is let loose in the playground, Frigg give their fans a treat and the Swedish nyckelharpa gets a makeover! In Snu Hver Stein (Heilo Records ***), Kenneth Lien (fiddles, willow flute, mouth harp) & Center of the Universe (Jørgen Skjulstad – electronics) have embraced traditional Norwegian tunes and found a compelling meeting point between the genres. The album scores highly on production and sound design, grabbing the listener mostly when there’s real variety in the electronics. The rhythmic bass echoes the traditional fiddler’s foot-tapping, and really comes into its own in the delicious wrong-footed rhythms of the springar dance along with some earthy raw fiddle playing. Oskari Lehtonen is a percussionist with the adventurous Helsinki electro-folk band Okra Playground. His solo…

The Oldest Voice in the World (Azerbaijan) Thank You for Bringing Me Back to the Sky Six Degrees Records The music we call global should thank the heavens, really, for the Grammy-winning producer and field recordist Ian Brennan, who has taken his punk-rock spirit and assortment of microphones and wind protectors everywhere from Rwanda and Pakistan to downtown LA, showcasing the under-represented and finding the gold in the margins. Now, after some 50 album releases from the likes of Malawi’s Zomba Prison Project, Tanzania Albinism Collective and Sons of South Sudan, come 22 pieces recorded live in remote mountain villages of Azerbaijan, miles from the Iranian border. Where, it seems, lives are long – or they were until COVID hit – and memories indelible. With his wife, Rwandan-born videographer Marilena…

Classical Brought to you by VOCES8/Eric Whitacre Home Decca For fans of Eric Whitacre’s velvety vocal balm, the opening tracks of VOCES8’s new album will bring a sense of welcome familiarity and contentment. ‘Go, Lovely Rose’ is the earliest work included, dating from 1992. Here are all the essential Whitacrian hallmarks: an unhurried tempo, syllabic word-setting, close-harmony clusters and soothing homophony. One of his most popular pieces, ‘The Seal Lullaby’, receives a beautifully wistful performance, as does the serene ‘Sing Gently’, which grew out of his sixth Virtual Choir pandemic initiative. Christopher Glynn’s piano is faultless. The most recent piece (2022) is a setting of the fifth section of Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of the Open Road’, titled ‘All Seems Beautiful to Me’. Here Whitacre creates a palpable sense of the…

Hello! From a gorgeous early summer day in North Yorkshire, I’m delighted to be joining you good people of Songlines for what hopefully will be some ongoing snapshots of the English folk music scene, where it goes, and the odd blue-haired tarts that occasionally populate it. For our first missive from this bit of the ethnomusicverse, I’m going to start by telling you just how much I’m looking forward to playing the venerable Cambridge Folk Festival this summer. Yes, yes, I know that musicians always say that they’re looking forward to gigs, can you blame them? But I am looking forward to it. Those other buggers… are all piffle merchants, only I tell the truth! As I’m sitting here in my father’s house, I can hear him watching his friend…