Tabla de contenidos para March 2024 en Songlines

It’s been a humbling experience putting together this special 25th anniversary issue of Songlines. Humbling, because of the realisation of not being alone. As someone who has spent a large chunk of their life researching obscure Colombian bandleaders from the 1950s, even more obscure Uruguayan guitarists from the 1960s, and countless small labels and local musicians everywhere from Sāo Paulo to the heights of the Peruvian Andes, and finding very few people who share those precise interests, it’s wonderful to find that I’m part of a community. The idea behind the feature to celebrate our anniversary was simple: to find 25 stories, one from every year of Songlines’ life. The hard part was choosing which stories to focus on. Over the past months I’ve been speaking to contributors and digging…

Following the announcement that 2023 was the hottest year on record, Emergence Magazine’s ten-day-long immersive exhibition at the beginning of December could not have felt more relevant and timely. While the world’s media focused on COP28, in London Shifting Landscapes’ curator and executive magazine editor Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee outlined the aim of the exhibition: to explore the impact of climate change and how we grieve for the changes and losses taking place around us. Held at the Bargehouse, a former warehouse on the south bank of the Thames, the huge industrial and desolate space lent itself perfectly to the cataclysmic themes on display. Spread across four floors were nine highly contrasting exhibits, among them a large-scale video installation called Breathing with the Forest by art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. Also featured…

Our seven musically mind-expanding weeks in Mexico began in the Central Mexican Highlands. There, I tested out a workshop design I had developed using improvisation to encourage students to explore their own creativity. In building a brand-new piece together, the thoroughly creative and receptive group of young people from the San Miguel de Allende Youth Orchestra expanded my vision of the potential power that workshops like this can have – not only to enable people to draw upon the culture surrounding them in their own music making, but to connect across cultural divides. We then headed to Xalapa, Veracruz for our first collaboration – with Oaxaca-born folk and jazz singer Coyo Licatzin and the requinto jarocho player Diego Huerta. We put our heads and instruments together and wrote a brand-new…

Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you! Adams & Durante Cast Spells on Stroud Last night I was in the Prince Albert, Stroud, again. What an extraordinary experience that I wanted to share with Songlines. What a privilege to see two experienced musicians who aren’t afraid to share their emotions with their audience. I’d like to suggest a new way that performers can play live gigs for an intimate experience – ‘Tiny Stage Productions’! Having recently discovered The Prince Albert in Stroud, it has been a revelation to share such a tiny space with musicians who have filled auditoriums and performed at festivals around the globe. After their performance at WOMAD 2023 Justin [Adams] asked the audience if anyone could recommend small venues where they could appear.…

The art-deco Arcub Hall in Bucharest was buzzing in December 2000 as Romania’s most famous Gypsy band, Taraf de Haïdouks, met with North Macedonia’s Kočani Orkestar. Furious fiddles, rattling cimbalom and plaintive vocals met punchy Balkan brass. The strange thing was that, while the Taraf had played large concert halls around Europe and America, this was their first performance in the Romanian capital, despite their home village of Clejani being only 40km away. Basically, Romania has never appreciated their musical ambassadors being a ragged Roma Gypsy band. This concert followed a presidential election in which the extreme nationalist candidate Corneliu Vadim Tudor didn’t win, coming second with 28% of the vote. In an election promise made in 1997 Tudor has been quoted as saying: ‘[I will] isolate the Roma criminals…

In Algeria, Souad Massi was infamous as the lead singer of the rock band Atakor. During the Algerian Civil War they were vilified for their politicised lyrics, with Massi getting particular attention – it was not common for a woman to be a singer, never mind in a rock band. She tried to disguise herself as a man, then came anonymous death threats. Things changed in 1999 when she was invited to perform solo at a concert in Paris, a show that singlehandedly started her solo career. Her debut album Raoui arrived in 2001 and made her a star in France. Deb, which arrived in 2003, made her a star globally. “Deb was the vision of my past from afar, as if I was in a car moving forward but…

Les Amazones d’Afrique are a band born to fight. Over the last decade or so this mighty pan-African collective, this all-female supergroup, has taken on the patriarchy in ways cultural, political and transnational, wielding their powerful voices and formidable charisma like weapons. “We are named for the warrior women of Dahomey, who for 200 years protected what is now modern-day Benin,” says Beninese vocalist/actress Fafa Ruffino, via Zoom from Togo. “Being a woman in Africa, being a woman anywhere, can be tough. We want women to rise up, be stronger together. To find joy. To move.” Indeed, while Les Amazones’ latest record, their third overall, Musow Danse (Women’s Dance), contains all the elements that wooed fans from the get-go – the bold solos and glorious harmonies, the mix of genres…

Chaos Immensum Music On first play of this sparkling debut album from Nigerian 12-piece Lagos Thugs, it’s hard to believe you’re not listening to Fela Kuti. The voice, the tone, the rhythms, the lyrics: it could almost be Nigeria’s ‘Black President’ himself, reincarnated to resume his task of calling out corruption and injustice — a fearless act in a country where doing so could cost you your liberty or your life. Fela has, of course, been gone since 1997, but his baton has been taken up, musically and metaphorically, by frontman, singer & saxophonist Adetunji Adeyemi who hails from Africa’s most populous city. Dispelling any doubts about the band’s inspiration and the severity of the task they’ve inherited, the opening track, ‘Kalakuta President’, with its immense trumpet solo, is indeed…

Aiace Eu Andava Como Se Fosse Voar Aiace A title that translates as ‘I Walked as if I Were Flying’ somehow suggests this north-eastern Brazilian singer’s ambition both as artist and co-producer of her second solo album. “I relish the challenge of pushing my musical boundaries,” the ex-Sertanília member suggests, “experimenting with different musical languages, and inviting artists with diverse expressions that may seem initially contrasting to my own.” With a plethora of contributors and whether singing her own compositions or interpreting others’, there is no lack of diversity here: Mestrinho’s accordion invests ‘Quando a Gente Se Vê’ with distinct baião and forró generic traces; ‘Toda Verdade Guarda Uma Mentira’ rocks out after an ominous synth-charged introduction; and ‘Ponha Colírio na Flor’ serves light, bubbly samba-pop. The Afro-Bahian influence evident…

Could you tell us a little about the Hopi and your upbringing? I was born and raised here on the Hopi Reservation [in north-eastern Arizona, US], my home village is Hotevilla, one of the 12 villages the Hopi people reside in. My first language has always been Hopi, writing and speaking English is at times difficult. How many face this dilemma is different today, the language is getting lost with the pressure of speaking English only, and we are losing fluent speakers daily. I’m now 66, I received my education here on Hopi, served in the US Army, then came home and restarted my life and engagement into being a Hopi first, then an American. It’s been a tough journey with many obstacles. I’m a simple man, I continue with…

How long have you been playing the daegeum and sogeum for? My first connection to traditional Korean music was when I held my mother’s hand and enrolled in a local danso class when I was seven years old. Later, I learned daegeum from teacher Lee Seang-gang, who is recognised as a national intangible cultural asset, and went on to attend art high school, university, and I am currently pursuing a doctoral degree, specialising in my instrument. What do these instruments signify for you? I think the charm of wind instruments is that their sound is based on how you breathe. Depending on the playing technique, you can make a sound like a warm embrace, or like a sharp stab to the heart. Basically, one can breathe life into the instrument…

Classical Brought to you by Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire / Pascal Rophé Michael Jarrell: Orchestral Works BIS As on its previous album devoted to Jarrell’s music, BIS has paired two of his scintillating concertante works with an orchestral work as centrepiece. Paysages avec figures absentes – Nachlese IV (2009) was written as a ‘sort of antiphony’ for violin and orchestra created ‘differently,’ and there is little of the conventional cut-and-thrust of the standard concerto. Rather, the work has a meditative feel, due perhaps to the music’s resolute refusal to develop its material in a traditional manner. Ilya Gringolts is the passionate soloist here, turning these ‘gleanings’ into something wholesome and substantial. There is no lack of substance in the percussion concerto …Un Long Fracas Somptueux de Rapide Céleste……

Desert Road (Wayward, 2000) The remarkable first solo album introduced his unique fusion of blues, rock and African styles. There’s added percussion on two tracks, but this is otherwise a completely DIY project. Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara Tell No Lies (Real World, 2009) ‘No passport, no visa!’ yells Adams at the start of a glorious set mixing punk rock energy and blues with wild ritti fiddle work and Fulani vocals from Juldeh. Les Triaboliques rivermudtwilight (World Village, 2009) Adams plays guitar, Lu Edmonds (of Public Image Ltd fame) is on saz and cümbüş, while Ben Mandelson adds mandolin and banjo to create what this celebrity trio call ‘distressed string band music for the 21st century.’ JuJu In Trance (Real World, 2011) Adams and Juldeh are joined by bass and…

Jo Frost Former Songlines editor, Jo is now enjoying life as a freelance journalist. This issue she grooves to the olllam (p20), checks out a new Sam Lee doc (p11) and harks back to Bellowhead (p36) and Spell Songs (p43) Martin Longley Marty started writing for Songlines in 2001, and also pens for sister journal Jazzwise. He’s normally on the road, which is the case this issue where he offers a dispatch from Belgrade’s noisy innards (p87) Fiona Talkington A BBC radio presenter, including 20 years with the award-winning Late Junction, Fiona is also a curator who works extensively with Nordic music. She revisits Kimmo Pohjonen’s unique charge on p37 Songlines was launched in 1999 and is the definitive magazine for world music – music that has its roots in…

If you bought this issue of Songlines from your local newsagent or magazine retailer you may well be asking where the usual CD is. Beginning with this issue, we have made the decision not to include a covermount CD with retail copies of Songlines, though please note that all subscribers will continue to receive a CD as per usual. We have not given up on CDs yet, which we know are important to so many of our readers, but we want to improve our environmental impact. Magazines which are not sold at retail are recycled, but unsold CDs are more likely to end up in landfill and we’d rather they go directly to the readers who really want them. For this reason, we are encouraging our readers to subscribe directly…

After sell-out shows across the UK, the London Gospel Afrobeat Choir’s GRACELAND REIMAGINED continues in Dublin (Feb 6-7), Cork (Feb 8), Bristol (Mar 28) and Liverpool (April 5); those diamond-soled shoes are still dancing… Through The Noise, a platform for a new wave of classical musicians, has announced its 2024 line-up including UK dates for Braimah Kanneh-Mason & Plinio Fernandes, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Seckou Keita, the Abel Selaocoe-fronted Chesaba and an extensive UK and European jaunt from SIDIKI DEMBELE & FRIENDS (March 2-21)… Scottish harpist ESTHER SWIFT (June 14) is to turn Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall ‘into a breathing urban forest’ to mark the release of her debut album Expectations of a Lifetime… AOIFE O’DONOVAN (June 18) will be performing songs from All My Friends, a new album investigating the evolution of women’s…

On August 4, 1991, at the famous Féile festival in Tipperary, Ireland, I had never heard the Pogues live before. My friends and I had made the ‘Trip to Tipp’ to see the host of new British indie bands that had just swept the charts – The La’s, James and the Wonder Stuff. It was a new sound that came with floppy hair, big shirts and moody dancing. We would fit right in. To this 17 year old, The Pogues were already past their pinnacle. It had been three years since ‘Fairytale of New York’. Hot Press, the Irish rock magazine, had told us that their third album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988), was one of the best Irish albums of modern times, but it was…

Charles Mingus Mingus at Antibes (Atlantic, 1979) I’m drawn to this album not necessarily because it’s the best of all time, but for the rich history it encapsulates. This live concert features three pivotal artists – Charlie Mingus, Eric Dolphy and especially Bud Powell. Each of them boasts incredible individual albums deserving a spot in my top five, but the allure of having them all on one album compelled me. Bud Powell’s influence on me can’t be ignored. His presence on this album resonates deeply with my musical journey. Eric Dolphy, the most signature improviser of the 20th century, captivates me with his bass clarinet. I look forward to exploring more with this unique sound in the future. ARON OTTIGNON Voodoo D’Angelo (Virgin Records, 2000) Selecting an album from my generation was…

In Naples in December, I met up with Enzo Avitabile, which was a real thrill after more than ten years. I was last with him in 2011 during the filming of a documentary (Enzo Avitabile Music Life) about him by the late Jonathan Demme, when the director described him as the “spiritual son of John Lennon.” Avitabile, who studied at Naples conservatoire, is a maverick figure who speaks out for the marginalised and who I’ve always felt is like the soul of Naples. His songs are always in Neapolitan dialect. At Napoli World, where I met him, he presented a show called Meglio ’na Tammurriata ca ’na Guerra (Tammurriata is Better than War) in the spectacular surroundings of the Bellini Theatre opera house. Tammurriata is a kind of Neapolitan dance…

BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH (1958-2023): after establishing himself as a poet in the early 1980s, Zephaniah’s creativity and his passion to be heard and understood knew no limits. He regularly appeared on TV, as an actor and important voice, he wrote novels, advised politicians, recorded music, and so much more. He was a British cultural icon. And he featured in Songlines on a number of occasions: we reviewed his albums, profiled him twice for our My World feature (a rare accolade), he presented an award at the Songlines Music Awards 2018 and we celebrated his appearance on The Imagined Village’s debut album in 2007. We will miss his thoughtfulness deeply. Here’s a quote from our 2007 interview with Zephaniah: ‘For me‚ music does two really important things. The first is to turn…

Some albums never leave you. They creep up the wall of your sub-conscious and stick there like melancholy ivy. The Living Road by Mexican-American composer Lhasa is such a record. Named one of the ten best world music albums of the noughties by The Times, the album was as close to cinematic magic realism as you could get. And for good reason, as Lhasa confided to me shortly after its release: “We talked about that a lot when making the album, about making each song be a small film. We worked very visually because I don’t read or write music and my language is very visual.” 20 years later, Montréal producer, multi-instrumentalist and close friend Jean Massicotte concurs: “Along with co-producer François Lalonde, we tried to make a movie, only…

I remember the day I met Andy Palacio. He was sitting at the Bellevue bar in Belize City. It was 1993. I was only 21 and had just started to make recordings. He already had a couple of punta rock hits under his belt and was a star on the local airwaves, yet I remember him being very friendly and easy going. I was studying music in Havana, Cuba and was eager to return to Belize to record Belizean music. I admired Andy not so much for his popularity and his dancefloor hits but for what he had done on Sunrise Records. I used to buy all the cassettes they released; it was an inspiring grassroots effort to record and document Belizean roots music in all its manifestations, from mestizo…

Of all the musical collaborations to have featured in Songlines, few have, in my opinion, matched the beauty and importance of Spell Songs, in terms of subject matter, artistry and musicality. The idea for the project initially came to light on a serendipitous evening at a Hay Festival event in November 2017. Caroline Slough, co-director of Folk by the Oak festival had gone to hear Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane talk about their recently-released book, The Lost Words, a gorgeously illustrated compendium of spells based on nature words that were in danger of disappearing from a children’s dictionary. Slough was already a committed fan of Morris’ works, but the moment that really sparked the idea for a musical companion piece was when they played a video of Kerry Andrew’s take…

How Abel Selaocoe got to selling out concert halls internationally, and how his brilliant debut album landed in our ears in 2022 is an impressive story. The cellist, who fuses Western classical and South African and African hymnal/musical traditions, began learning music at ACOSA, a music school in Soweto, a little way away from the township where he grew up. Of home, he says, “I just remember having a miscellaneous grouping of instruments like tuba, clarinet, trombone and cello. And then going, ‘shall we play?’ ACOSA didn’t have all the resources, and that’s where that creativity came in of DIY, find-your-own combinations. Sometimes we learnt [classical music] off the radio, just listening by ear and then somebody could afford to buy a score later on. But you’ve got this very…

We review full-length world music, roots and folk albums (not singles or EPs), available on CD, digital or vinyl. Please note we only accept digital submissions. Email details of albums to reviews@songlines.co.uk for consideration Aron & the Jeri Jeri Band Dama Bëgga Ñibi (I Want to Go Home) Urban Trout In the spring of 2020, Bakane Seck, the Senegalese percussionist and founder of Dakar’s Jeri Jeri Band, found himself stranded by lockdown in Berlin, where he met the New Zealand-born electronic producer Aron Ottignon. In uncertain times, Ottignon’s studio became a meeting place for the city’s West African diaspora and this album began to take shape, starting with the title-track on which Pape Diouf sings the refrain ‘I want to go home’ over a thrilling fusion of mbalax rhythms and…

It’s clear that the band’s name might be something of a misnomer. These are intelligent, talented musicians making well-crafted songs about weighty subjects. So why the name? The kind of music that we play, we are playing by force. These are not love songs. We cannot sing love songs because there is no love in Lagos. Afrobeat is the music of consciousness. You can’t be calm when you hear it [because] it makes you aware of what is going around you. So we are thugs, or rebels, that cause chaos — not with guns or violence but with our music, by raising consciousness. Have things improved in Nigeria or do the same problems exist for politically conscious musicians as in Fela Kuti’s time? For me, it’s the same, maybe worse.…

Songlines 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 this music is defined as traditional, contemporary, folk or fusion, Songlines is the only publication to truly represent and embrace it. Why should you subscribe? ▸ 10 new issues each year delivered straight to your door ▸ Subscriber-only CD or track downloads with every issue, featuring the best music from around the world ▸ Expert music reviews and global dispatches ▸ Access to every issue in our digital archive and 7,500+ album reviews in our online database From £58 a year magsubscriptions.com/music-songlines subscriptions@markallengroup.com +44 (0) 1722 716 997 Discover the world through music Subscribe today at magsubscriptions.com/music-songlines Stated subscription rate based on Annual…

Os Barbapapas’ first studio album Enigma (Fun in the Church ***) could be brushed off as a tropical take on space age exotica, but there’s much more to it than that, with influences ranging from eastern rhythms to Ethiopian jazz. There’s also the ethereal sound of the distinctive glass harp, ‘water-tuned glasses running through a wah-wah and other pedals,’ that give the album an otherworldly touch. You can find some tasty Afro-Latin swing on ‘Caminho Para Itiwawa’ and there’s a clear nod to Ry Cooder on album closer ‘Yucumã’, making this an intriguing mix of genres. The soundtrack to O Esquadrão Da Morte (Mr Bongo ***) by Zé Rodrix & A Agência de Mágicos is a lot of fun with wild exploitation-style jazzy breaks, chase-scene funk and psychedelic freakouts. Zé…

Badieh Badieh II Worlds within Worlds Formed around the nucleus of Michel Gasco (rubab, oud) and Mohammad Miraghazadeh (tar, setar), Badieh is an exploration of the folksong repertoire of Greater Khorasan, which historically encompasses both sides of the border between Iran and Afghanistan. Following their impressive 2021 debut EP, Gasco and Miraghazadeh have expanded their list of guest musicians to include Persian classical singers Ehsan Nasibi and Golnaz Hariri – who make their presence felt on the soaring opening track ‘Yar Golakom’. The percussion section – led by regular collaborator Ramin Ahmadi on tabla – is bolstered by Puriya Bahrami on daf and Yoohanna Alavi on zarb, each skilfully decorating the simple yet intricate rhythm cycles of each piece. ‘Asheq Bodom Leili’ is another highlight, featuring a stunning guest performance…

This round-up begins with familiar sounds in fresh form, via reinterpretations of some of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ most popular songs. True to its name, Africa Unite (Island Records ***) emphasises contemporary African sounds, featuring tracks from artists including Ghana’s Sarkodie and Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage. Songs lean into poppy Afrobeats, dancehall, glimmers of highlife, contemporary R&B and hip-hop, while Marley’s unmistakable voice slides in and out. This may not be one for rootsy Wailers purists, but it is a celebration of modern African pop, of Marley’s continuing influence, and of songs that resonate across generations and genres. Inhabiting a different sonic world, An Honest Meal (Equiknoxx Music ****) sees Jamaican producer Gavsborg turn vocalist with his first full-length release as unkle G. Embracing minimalist sensibilities, the album moves between…

Common Kings Celebration Mensch House Records Like many of their Oceanic compatriots, ever since their 2013 debut California-based quartet Common Kings have managed to craft a distinctly Pacific brand of reggae, which is true to their own diverse backgrounds. With all but one member being first-generation American, the band is made up of a Samoan-born Hawaiian lead guitarist, a Fiji-born bassist, a Hawaii-raised Samoan rhythm guitarist, and an LA-born Tongan drummer. But their Polynesian roots don’t completely mask their obvious affection for both the original Jamaican reggae style and inner-city American hip-hop. ‘Do My Thing’ combines well-known James Brown and Bob Marley riffs with a bass-heavy rap from Jamaican artist Royal Blu, while other album guests include Jamaican star Kabaka Pyramid & Spanish rapper Spreadlof (‘Came Up’), American-Samoan reggae singer…

“Portuguese fado singer Mariza has been on the cover of Songlines no less than five times – no-one has been on the cover more – so clearly we’ve heard a lot from her over the years. But aside from her artistic prominence and the quality of her music, the fact that her career mirrors the magazine’s lifetime and we’ve been able to chart her progress pretty much from the beginning makes her someone special for us. “It’s true we are walking together with Songlines,” Mariza says. Songlines started in 1999, which happens to be the year that Amália Rodrigues, Portugal’s biggest fado star, died aged 79. The country declared three days of mourning and Mariza, then making a name for herself in the best fado tavernas of Lisbon, was asked…

Happy New Year! In reflecting upon last year our esteemed ed noted that we have not yet marked the passing of musical polymath, my friend and bandmate Simon Emmerson, by looking at The Imagined Village. In the summer of 2022, we marked ten years since the group’s final album by getting back together to play three shows. Simon’s cancer was bringing the great man down, but he was still filled with humour, energy and love for the musical family he had brought together. In December 2023, his combined musical families – IV, Afro Celt Sound System and Working Week – celebrated his life at The Roundhouse, so now is a perfect time to remember. Musician, podcaster and former editor of fRoots magazine, Ian Anderson, was part of the band’s conception:…

In April 1996 Gramophone, the classical music magazine, offered a world music supplement with its latest issue. It included articles on music from across Asia and North Africa. Simon Broughton picked up a copy, and was appalled. “It was very old-fashioned in its approach,” he remembers. “It was calling Korean music timeless and meditative, when actually there’s so much else going on. I mean it was partly because it was really just looking at classical traditions, but there was nothing on African music or Latin music or any other territory. You can’t call something ‘world music’ and ignore all these other parts of the world and the popular traditions that are going on there.” At this point, Broughton had been working on various ‘world music’-related projects on radio and TV,…

BRAZIL: a new film from the makers of Chico & Rita will be in US theatres from February. They Shot the Piano Player, directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, is an animated homage to bossa nova narrated by Jeff Goldblum… COLOMBIA: a 6.5-metre statue of Shakira has been unveiled along the seafront of Barranquilla, Shakira’s hometown. An inscription next to the statue reads: ‘Hips that do not lie, a unique talent, a voice that moves masses’… GHANA: Afua Asantewaa Aduonum began singing at midnight on Christmas Eve and didn’t stop until December 29. There is hope that her 127 hours stint will get the Guinness World Record for continuous singing, though she won’t know until every second of the video footage has been analysed… IRAN: Atash, the sole member…

Chae Suhyun & VOŁOSI Minyology pt 3 The Polish quintet collabs with Korean singer Chae Suhyun: dramatic and transportive. Ispíní na hÉireann Worse Things Than Dying EP ‘The Hardworking Men of Ireland’ take a sentimental turn, proving that they can be as heartfelt as they can jovial. The Cavemen ‘Dance Your Dance’ The Nigerian highlife siblings offered up this Christmas treat, and it’s a cracker with spiralling guitars, thumping bass and mellifluous vocals. MÍO ‘Det er Meg det Samme Hvor Jeg Havner Når Jeg Dør’ Translating as ‘It’s All the Same to Me Where I End Up When I Die’, this Nordic drinking song gets a punk treatment: chaotic, existential and dance-worthy. Various Artists Lembranças Do Nordeste Toronto’s Local Dish label visited Brazil’s Natal and Olinda and came back with…

On sale March 1 The latest film of Congolese/Belgian musician and director Baloji (pictured) has received rave reviews at Cannes. We speak to him about the film, Omen, and its soundtrack. We’ll find out about Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux’s long-awaited new album and world tour, and we’ll also talk to Asmâa Hamzaoui, Gnawa music’s female ambassador, and Katherine Priddy, whose latest work has us swooning. Michael Volpe, founder of Opera Holland Park, will explain how he loves opera, Neapolitan folk song and Phil Collins simultaneously; there will be a Beginner’s Guide to Colombian bandleader Fruko; introductions to Delasi and Lair and a guide to some of the music and trends to look forward to in 2024.…

Meza earned the nickname, ‘El Rey sin Corona’ (The King without a Crown), after a performance at the Valledupar vallenato festival in 1968. Duelling it out on his accordion, he reached the final only to be beaten by Nicolás ‘Colacho’ Mendoza, but for those present there were two champions that night, albeit one would never get to wear the crown. Meza was born in El Piñal, a small town in Colombia’s northern Caribbean region. He first found fame as a singer and accordionist as a member of the infamous Los Corraleros de Majagual, a breeding ground for some of Colombia’s finest purveyors of tropical music. He set up his own group, Lisandro Meza y su Conjunto, in the late 60s and would record numerous albums for Discos Fuentes filled with…

Songlines scribes and friends take a trip down memory lane to capture the albums, events, artists and stories that have left an indelible imprint. From festivals in war-torn deserts to Valentine’s Day specials through impossible-to-imagine collaborations, surprise reunions and the emergence of essential new voices, these are just a few highlights from the life of Songlines. The year that the Asian underground went overground, 1999 saw Talvin Singh win the Mercury Music Prize for OK and Nitin Sawhney release his influential Beyond Skin. It was also the year that British-Asian musician Jason Singh started Nashini, a new club night in Manchester. “It was all artists from the South Asian diaspora, you know?” he remembers about those early line-ups. “We had poets, MCs, graffiti artists. It was all about politics and…

In his Songlines review of Specialist in All Styles, Robin Denselow wrote ‘this, surely, is one of the greatest African comeback albums of all time.’ And over 20 years later it’s hard to disagree. That the band has recently celebrated their 50th anniversary and performs regularly at La Mer à Table on the beach in Dakar, as well as concerts around the world, is extraordinary. Orchestra Baobab were one of the most successful bands in Senegal. They started when the swanky Baobab Club opened in 1970 with singers Balla Sidibé, Rudy Gomis and Laye Mboup. Key instrumentalists were guitarist Barthélémy Attisso and tenor saxophonist Issa Cissokho. “The Baobab Club was like Mecca,” guitarist Latfi Benjelloun tells me. “Lots of people want to go to Mecca, but very few can.” The…

Never mind the fact that Dr G Yunupingu was blind, or that his totem was the saltwater crocodile, or that he played a normal right-handed guitar upside down. The most extraordinary thing about the Indigenous Australian megastar – who died on July 25, 2017, aged 46 – was his voice. Lilting, tender, tinged with sadness and sweetness and hope, it melted the hardest of hearts, and dazzled with a power that felt celestial. It was the voice of the world’s oldest living culture, where kinship, community and country is everything. Gurrumul – also referred to since his death as Dr G Yunupingu – was an unassuming man from the Yolngu people of Elcho Island in Australia’s Top End, a singer-songwriter and former Yothu Yindi band member, who became a global…

I first met Finland’s wild-child accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen in Bracknell, South East England, in 2000. Sitting in the front row of the Wilde Theatre at South Hill Park Arts Centre I was mesmerised, terrified and completely in awe of how he and his instrument became one, marrying the most lyrical sounds with raw, dripping earthiness and fearless determination. Since then he’s never failed to surprise: accordion wrestling, farm machinery music, music for ballet, film and theatre and the brilliant full-on collaboration with King Crimson’s Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto (KTU). That most elegant and adventurous of the world’s string quartets, the Kronos Quartet, picked up on Pohjonen’s dynamic and irreverent music and were keen to see what might happen if they teamed up with his traditional and classical heritage, his…

“I was on the search for music I’d been wanting to hear for years,” says Turkish singer Gaye Su Akyol of her 2014 debut, Develerle Yaşıyorum (I Live With Camels). Recorded with Istanbul rock band Bubituzak, her groundbreaking album mixed traditional Turkish music with psychedelia and surf rock, providing the launchpad for Gaye Su Akyol to become one of Turkey’s most innovative and celebrated contemporary artists. She describes her debut as “an alloy of Anatolian folk music, classical Turkish music, psychedelia and subgenres of rock – the imprints of a land with thousands of years of history, of Istanbul, came together with the rebellion of the present day.” As a child, she absorbed her mother and grandmother’s love of classical Turkish music. “I started to memorise the music of a…

TOP OF THE WORLD https://content.markallengroup.com/songlines/2024/01/01-Musow-Danse-Womens-Dance.mp3 https://music.apple.com/us/album/musow-danse/1711264869?at=10lwtw Musow Dance Real World Records When Les Amazones d’Afrique gave their debut British concert at WOMAD, back in 2016, they sounded gloriously original. Here were a group of great African female singers of different ages, from different countries and musical backgrounds, who clearly loved working together, mixing traditional influences with reggae, blues, rap and glorious harmonies, while cheerfully fighting for women’s rights and empowerment. Their three subsequent albums have presented a very different, increasingly contemporary pop image, as they collaborated first with electronica exponent Liam Farrell and now with celebrity producer Jacknife Lee, who has worked with everyone from U2 to The Killers and Taylor Swift, and matches the six female vocalists against a slick, rousing barrage of electro-percussion, bass lines and keys. Their…

The death, reported in Songlines last year, of Julian Bahula robbed us of one of the last remaining links with the golden age of South African township jazz. ‘Golden age’ is perhaps a double-edged description, for although the music Black South African artists made during the apartheid years was a joyous celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, it was, of course, made under extreme duress and adversity which forced many of its leading exponents into exile, including Bahula. As the drummer and founder of the Malombo Jazz Makers, Bahula helped to create some of the most exuberant and earthy township music of the 1960s and early 1970s, but, harassed and persecuted by the apartheid regime and fearing imminent imprisonment, he fled to London in 1973. Shortly before his…

Mari Boine Gula Gula By Norse Fragile, urgent and strong, Gula Gula reveals itself within the first 20 seconds of the title-track as one of the most powerful and important albums of our time: there’s an intake of breath, then Boine’s hushed tones, rapidly crescendoing, gritty and purposeful, with a mysterious and compelling beauty. First released in 1989 before being issued by Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, it kick-started Boine’s exceptional worldwide career as a singer and composer whose music is rooted in her Sámi ancestry and its struggles, underpinned by the human spirit and nature, and the traditions of vocal joik. Now, Gula Gula has been re-released. Time has made it only more vigorous and deeply relevant: ‘Hear the voices of the foremothers, why do you allow the earth…

Dasom Baek Mirror City Métron Records Two instruments evoke Korea like no others: the daegeum bamboo flute (and its smaller equivalent, the sogeum) and the ajaeng long zither. Both play beautiful, lyrical melodies, but a mirliton on the daegeum makes it breathe, buzz and fizz, adding a unique and appealing quality. And in ancient times, when the ajaeng was bowed (rather than plucked) it was said to literally creak. Both instruments historically trace back almost 1500 years, but while they stand witness to a massive depth of tradition, here they meet contemporary electronica, ghostly whispers, multi-tracking, and a use of reverb that seems to nod to the days of analogue tape. This is Dasom Baek’s second solo album. It is personal, but it also evokes a contemporary zeitgeist as Baek…

These two companion compilations of vintage recordings from the mid-20th century feature tracks from a crucial period in the evolution of Hawaiian music. Fish & Poi: Hawaiian Independent 78rpm Discs ca. 1945-56 (Canary Records ***) features releases from a time when the population of the Hawaiian archipelago numbered less than 500,000 people. A third were Japanese, a quarter Caucasian, only a sixth (60,000-100,000) were native Hawaiian, and the remainder mostly Chinese, Korean and Filipino. Within that multicultural context, while certain traditional local practices such as the hula and Hawaiian language were restricted by American-influenced authorities, the introduction of the European guitar gave rise to the lap steel picking and male falsetto singing that would become recognised around the world. Representing this new hapa haole (half-foreign) Hawaiian sound, early labels like…

Feb 28 – Mar 3 Gathering Festival of Music & Arts Killarney, Ireland thegathering.ie March 2-3 Indian Spring Colours Durham gemarts.org  March 3 Asian Spring  Birmingham sampad.org.uk  March 1-3 North Texas Irish Festival Dallas, TX, US ntif.org March 7-10 Fingal International Festival of Voices Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, Ireland Inaugural event for a celebration of singing from across cultures. fingalfestivalofvoices.com March 8-11 WOMADelaide  Adelaide, Australia womadelaide.com.au March 8-17 Klezmer Festival Fürth  Fürth, Germany klezmer-festival.de  March 9-10 Pasifika Festival Auckland, New Zealand aucklandnz.com/pasifika March 8-16 SXSW Austin, TX, US sxsw.com  March 13-17 Borealis Bergen, Norway 5 days of experimental music from Norway and Sápmi with a programme curated by Sámi artist Elina Waage Mikalsen. borealisfestival.no/en March 15-18 Kilkenny TradFest Kilkenny, Ireland kilkennytradfest.com March 15-17 WOMAD NZ Taranaki, New Zealand womad.co.nz March 21 Early Music…

01 How Music Works David Byrne (Canongate, 2012) There’s plenty here about Talking Heads and David Byrne’s adventures in world music – but he also talks profoundly about the philosophy of every aspect of music-making in one of the most thoughtful and insightful books ever written by a working musician. Whether you’re a fan of Byrne’s oeuvre or not is beside the point – after reading this you will indeed have a much better idea of the wonderful ways in which “music works.” 02 Princes Amongst Men Garth Cartwright (Serpent’s Tail, 2005) Garth Cartwight has written knowledgeably about east European Gypsy music in the pages of Songlines but he’s at his best when he’s allowed to stretch out as a long-form writer. In this project, he takes a wild ride…