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59 Articles

Picking a favourite

Next year is set to be a momentous one for Songlines. Not only will it mark 25 years since this humble magazine began but it will also herald our 200th issue. So, expect much celebration and some very special features. As part of my prep, I’ve been looking at past issues and have put together a tally of the artists who have featured most on our covers since we began. With this issue’s cover story, Angélique Kidjo is now in joint second-place, much deserved I’m sure you’ll agree. But there are two names above her. We’ll share full details next year, but for now let’s just say that one is a Portuguese singer and the other is apparently a French-Spanish musician (though two nationalities somehow doesn’t seem enough). He’s been…

Picking a favourite

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE

Jane Cornwell Jane is a Songlines contributing editor, a writer on music, arts and travel and a compère at festivals including WOMAD. This issue she finds Anoushka Shankar feeling at peace with herself (p36) Liam Izod Liam has contributed to Songlines since 2015; he also writes for The Vinyl Factory, Londonist and Jazzwise. Hugely passionate about Korean music, he was the perfect candidate to speak to Jung Jae-il (p86) Anne Girard Esposito A musician, radio producer and writer, Anne lives in France. She dedicates her work to traditional music, especially from Europe. She was the first to tell us about Ladaniva and speaks to the duo on p20 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…

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE

TOP OF THE WORLD

TOP OF THE WORLD PLAYLIST TRACKS 01 Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin ‘Ntima’ From Ya Mizolé on Jarring Effects Bantu body-melter given an intergalactic deep-fry via lullabies and catchy chorus, with Les Mamans’ soaring vocals and Rrobin’s edgy electronics. See p53 02 Lalalar ‘Hem Evimsin Hem Cehennemim’ From En Kötü Iyi Olur on Les Disques Bongo Joe Translating as ‘Both My Home and My Hell’, this track takes its clashing conflict to the extreme, mashing swirling Anatolian folk with a pumping club tempo. See p74 03 No-No Boy ‘Mekong Baby’ From Empire Electric on Smithsonian Folkways A poignant, artistic exploration of Vietnamese heritage, war, loss and recovery, with found sounds, scintillating strings, hand-clapping and Thai Hien’s ethereal vocal contributions. See p59 04 Onipa ‘Marching Over (feat Dele Sosimi)’ From Off the Grid on Real World Records Sosimi’s gruff vocal croak combines with skittering Afrobeat rhythms…

TOP OF THE WORLD

Rebuilding Maui

George Kahumoku Jr had to cancel his slack key guitar showcase on August 9, after 20 years of weekly Wednesdays at the Napili Kai Beach Resort on Maui. The day before, wildfires had scourged Lahaina, the largest city on the island’s leeward shore, seven miles south of Napili. “We could see the fires from our place,” says Kahumoku, speaking from the farm where he lives with wife and hula dancer Nancy Kahumoku, 20 miles to the northeast. TV news reports showed the devastation of Lahaina town, the historical centre of the city, but it took several days for the Kahumokus to get word about long-time musical collaborators living in Lahaina, including several Napili regulars. Guitarist Sterling Seaton “had his house burn down, his girlfriend’s car burned and he lost his cat.…

Rebuilding Maui

THE GLOBE AT A GLANCE

AUSTRALIA: Arnhem Land metal band Wildfire Manwurrk won two awards at the National Indigenous Music Awards. The group is made up of members of the Rostron family who sing in the endangered Kune language… BRAZIL: Noize Record Club have released Canto Coral Afrobrasileiro, a long-lost album from the remarkable gospel-pop trio Os Tinçõas… DRC: The body of revered guitarist Lokassa ya Mbongo, who died in March this year, is still awaiting burial, with Mbongo’s sons appealing on TV for the government to help fund the funeral arrangements… IRAN: pop singer MehdiYarrahi was arrested on August 28 after releasing ‘Roosarito’, a song urging Iranian women to remove their headscarves. On the same day, the government’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister stated that “anyone who has removed their hijab will not be…

THE GLOBE AT A GLANCE

Brothers John Tian Qi Wardle and Charlie Tian Yi Wardle, who record as Tian Qiyi, come from an impressive musical heritage. Their mother, Zi Lan Liao, is an internationally renowned virtuoso of the guzheng (Chinese harp) and director of Liverpool’s Pagoda Arts – home to the Chinese Youth Orchestra. Their grandfather, Mr Li, established that arts centre in 1982, and their father, John Wardle, better known as Jah Wobble, is a bass player of mercurial talent and a pioneering artist of world fusion music. With parents who have worked variously with Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno and Baaba Maal, it seemed inevitable that John and Charlie would become professional musicians. “I think it was, yes,” agrees John, who specialises in percussion, “when we were younger, we both went off and did sport…

IT’S HAPPENING

This year’s BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (October 4-15) features many music-oriented projects, including I Opus, a documentary exploring the work of the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto… RAGAS LIVE FESTIVAL (October 14-15) will be lifting souls in New York and online, with 24 hours of raga music from the likes of Ramakrishnan Murth & The Akkarai Sisters as well as Amir ElSaffar… Brazilian folk legend JOYCE MORENO (October 20 – November 5) has announced a much-awaited European tour… Liverpool’s INDIKA FESTIVAL (November 1-12) is a 12-day celebration of Indian culture, featuring music, discussions, poetry, dance and more, with renowned percussionist/producer Talvin Singh the headline act… 40 years after its last appearance, the DUBLIN FOLK FESTIVAL (November 7-12) is being revived. The line-up so far includes Daoirí Farrell, Gemma Hayes and Ralph…

HAPPINESS IS…

Gaye Su Akyol ‘Love Buzz’ The Turkish singer shows her love for Nirvana with a cover of Shocking Blue’s ‘Love Buzz’ (which Nirvana covered for their debut single) that is perfectly suited to the Anatolian pysch treatment. Old Spot ‘Green Grows the Laurel’ Rowan Piggott & Joe Danks follow up their debut album with a beautiful handmade 7” double single. Their version of this Irish ballad, made famous by Sandy Denny, is devastating. Madalitso Band ‘Gule Wakwathu’ Currently partway through their first-ever US tour after mesmerising Europe, Malawi’s ‘two man musical army’ are all about the good times on this new single, telling everyone to be happy and dance! Syriana ‘Law Inta Kont Hina’ A taster from Syriana’s upcoming album (to be released in 2024, sadly after the death of founding member Nick Page) which tells the…

After the Brass

“Are you ready for action Veszprém? Are you ready?” This was Manu Chao, who was giving a rare acoustic concert during the BALKAN:MOST festival (September 7-9), co-funded by the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture program. Veszprém is a handsome city close to Lake Balaton with a castle and a strong musical culture. The aim of BALKAN:MOST is to highlight ‘the true colours of the Balkans,’ an objective which Manu Chao will have added little to. Manu has a mischievous and anarchistic charm, of course, dressed in a khaki baseball cap with two colleagues, Lucky Salvadori on ukulele and Miguel Rumbao Serrano on bongos – Serrano was ‘King of the Bongos’ when ‘Bongo Bong’ came round. In a packed square in front of the arch-bishop’s palace, Manu played a limited selection…

After the Brass

In Gustavo We Trust

Santaolalla, a composer of numerous film scores and a master of the charango (Andean guitar) will be presented with a special Trustee Award at the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards this November, in Sevilla, Spain. An intuitive musician who does not rely on musical notation and works from scripts rather than visuals, Santaolalla began his career in Argentina in 1967, at the age of 16, with fusion group Arco Iris (Rainbow), playing a pioneering blend of traditional folk and rock. His later band, Soluna, featured future international star Alejandro Lerner. In the late 70s, suffering increasing oppression under the military dictatorship, Santaolalla relocated to Los Angeles. “I just couldn’t take anymore,” he recalls, “I was scared. We had 30,000 people disappear.” During the 90s, Santaolalla began his career as a film…

In Gustavo We Trust

The 4 Corners and Centre of NITIN SAWHNEY’s Universe

Paco de Lucía La Búsqueda (Universal, 2014) It’s a fantastic collection of his work, with one of my favourite tracks from Paco, which is ‘Guajira Flamenca’, but I think that it’s Paco that blows me away more than anything, more than any album. Every time I hear him play, it’s amazing. His technique is ridiculous, because he has this twitch thing with his picado, which is where you use these two fingers to play. And it’s superhuman, it’s not like any other human I’ve ever heard. No one can get that power and speed with two fingers like he could. He took flamenco away from being a folk instrument and brought in the sophistication of jazz harmony, but also the skill and virtuosity of classical. He took flamenco as a form to the…

The 4 Corners and Centre of NITIN SAWHNEY’s Universe

Collaboration Queen

‘Creu gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen/In these stones horizons sing.’ These words, inscribed on the front of Cardiff’s Millennium Centre, are by the inaugural national poet of Wales, Gwyneth Lewis. It’s also the title of a work by Karl Jenkins that was commissioned for the gala opening of the centre in 2004 and performed on harp by one of Wales’ most internationally renowned musicians, Catrin Finch. Just under ten years later, Finch was back at the Millennium Centre, this time for WOMEX, performing alongside the kora player Seckou Keita. Their showcase was part of a newly formed alliance between the host country Wales and Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. Aptly named Horizons, its aim was – and still is – to showcase to the world the richness and variety…

Collaboration Queen

EVERYBODY SING!

In 2021, Karl Sinfield began work on Sing Yonder: Volume 1, a beginner’s guide to ten songs from the Roud Folk Song Index, a database of around a quarter of a million English folk songs. Published in 2022, the book’s aim was to make playing folk music accessible to those who may not be trained, but love the world of folk and would like to participate in it all the same. Sinfield’s project saw him craft a page for each song chosen, complete with a short history, ‘suggestions of further listening’ and simple chords that he compiled through listening to and consolidating various versions. The response to the first volume was such that volumes two and three followed in quick succession. Now, he is releasing a new print edition of Volume…

EVERYBODY SING!

The ‘Land Down Under’ is at a social-political crossroads, as a hotly contested internal debate is taking place concerning its Indigenous population. On October 14 Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to finally recognise the First Peoples of Australia, by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice’. The Voice would be a permanent, independent advisory body that would provide advice to the Australian Parliament and Government on matters that affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. On referendum day, voters will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a single question: ‘A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed…

Q&A Salif Keita

You were recently appointed as a special advisor on cultural affairs in Mali. What do you want to achieve with this position? First of all, in Mali and in West Africa, there’s a revolution going on. And every time there’s a revolution, I am there. I am there to defend the voice of the people. I am advising on the culture section, ’cause it’s my job, it’s my speciality. Artists must be part of the construction of the country. My objectives [are] to give ideas in order to make a better life for all. What are your hopes for Mali in the future? My hope is the well-being of the people, and I believe it will happen, we will progress. To make a better level of living of the people. We thought you were…

Q&A Salif Keita

In September 2020, Jaklin Baghdasaryan and Louis Thomas, a singer and a trumpeter, both based in France, posted on YouTube ‘Kef Chilini’, a song in Armenian infused with pop and a strong Balkan groove. To their surprise, the video reached 27 million views. Below a more recent clip, one comment sums up the unifying qualities of the duo, who call themselves Ladaniva: ‘I am from Azerbaijan. I love Ladaniva’s music… Music has no language, religion or race.’ Ladaniva’s music is what could be called ‘world music’ in a literal sense: two young musicians crossing their paths, with neither boundaries nor cultural or aesthetic claims. Bollywood pop and Balkan brass flavours accompany French lyrics of love (‘Je Voulais’) and electro samples mix with traditional flutes and anti-war messages in Armenian (‘Oror’). It’s…

Back in 1800s Korea, a certain Mr Lee took the stage name Nal-chi. It means ‘flying fish’, an apposite moniker given that he was a celebrated Jultagi performer (tightrope walker). Lee Nal-chi went on to become a master singer in the pansori tradition, the theatrical storytelling form unique to Korea. He ended up as one of the eight acknowledged pansori masters of the era, famed for projecting his voice at such volumes that it could apparently be heard for miles. For all this acclaim, he could never have dreamed that, 131 years after his death, his adopted name would be better known than it was in his lifetime. Not for his own music, no recordings of which exist, but for that of the band named after him. Leenalchi — the band —…

SPOTLIGHT Chief Adjuah

I’m talking with New Orleans native Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah as he makes his way to the Lincoln Center to play his horn and introduce audiences to his new instrument, a double-sided electric harp he calls the Bow (a blend of West African ngoni and kora) that’s all across his new album Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning. For the first time in Chief Adjuah’s career – and this is his 14th album – on this record, he does not pick up his trumpet. We’re recalling his set at the 2016 Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, where he took to the stage with his customised horn, bespoke stage clothes blending show with ceremony, and music from his just-released Stretch Music album. Playing the festival would have a lasting impact. “We…

SPOTLIGHT Chief Adjuah

Music is used for praise and worship in faiths all over the world. There’s something about the physical vibrations of music that affects our bodies and how we feel, even without the spiritual meaning of the words. The range of music for Christian worship is vast – from spirituals, gospel songs, chorales and hymns to the cantatas of JS Bach and countless other pieces of church music which are enjoyed by believers and non-believers alike. In Islam, Sufi music is a transportive way of praising God and even going into trance. It’s also enjoyed by many who don’t necessarily follow the faith but appreciate the uplifting music. In India, and elsewhere, Hindu gods are praised in song, dance and instrumental music. And so it goes for faiths across the world. September…

December 2023 (#193) On sale November 10 We find out about the life and unreleased songs of the late Ethiopian musician and nun, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou; we celebrate 75 years since Folkway Records began, discussing the label’s iconic records; we chat to Manchester duo The Breath (pictured) about their new album, dive into Senegalese rituals with Ndox Électrique and speak to Soema Montenegro, who is giving Argentina’s landscape a voice. Ghanaian highlife/Afrobeat tour-de-force Ebo Taylor gets the Beginner’s Guide treatment, journalist Anthony Sattin shares his My World, there’ll be a Dispatch from Ukraine, and still space for Dubioza Kolektiva, John Francis Flynn, Huun-Huur Tu, Billy Strings and Sofia Kourtesis.…

Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you! Write to: Email: letters@songlines.co.uk Songlines, Mark Allen Group, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road London, SE24 0PB, UK We reserve the right to edit correspondence WEBSITE songlines.co.uk GIG GUIDE songlines.co.uk/gig-guide X @SonglinesMag FACEBOOK facebook.com/songlines INSTAGRAM @SonglinesMag Cogitating Categories Further to Russ’ editorial [last issue] and the intractable question of the use of ‘World Music’ or ‘Global Music’, (and a possible new title) – there ain’t no easy answers! In June 1987 record companies, producers, broadcasters and music journalists (including Charlie Gillett, Joe Boyd, Ian A Anderson of Rogue Records/editor of fRoots magazine, 11 record companies including Amanda Jones of Real World Records and Roger Armstrong of Ace Records) met in London to agree on a generic term to describe the burgeoning number of album and CD releases of music then predominantly from Africa and South America –…

Charlie Ndiaye (1948-2023)

Charlie Ndiaye was responsible for the swinging, cultured basslines that underpinned all of Orchestra Baobab’s greatest recordings, from their initial success in the 1970s as Senegal’s finest dance band to their joyous 21st-century reformation. Born in Karabane, an island village in the mouth of the Casamance River in south-west Senegal, Ndiaye joined the line-up in 1974, taking over from Cheikh Sidath Ly who had played bass in the orchestra’s early years as the house band at Dakar’s Club Baobab. Starting out as a double bass player, he taught himself to play by listening to records, “mainly… Cuban music and soul,” he recalled. After cutting his musical teeth performing in all-night dance halls with an orchestra that would play for up to ten hours at a stretch, on joining Baobab he switched to…

Charlie Ndiaye (1948-2023)

Erkin Koray (1941-2023)

Of all the great heroes of Turkish rock, Erkin Koray is both the most mysterious and arguably the most important. A totemic figure, unrivalled pioneer and fearless innovator, he’s widely credited with a handful of landmark achievements: the first to play rock’n’roll in Turkey; the first to open a rock club in Istanbul; the first to sport long hair and openly embrace Western counterculture; the first rocker to critically reappraise the legacy of Arabesque music. Put simply, without Koray, there might never have been Turkish rock as we know it. Aged just 16, Koray played his first gig in 1957, fronting teen combo Ritimcileri – a galvanising event considered Turkey’s first rock‘n’roll concert. By the early 1960s, he’d devoted himself to the electric guitar, releasing the single ‘Bir Eylül Akşami’ in…

Erkin Koray (1941-2023)

And farewell to…

TERESA ‘TETÉ’ GARCÍA CATURLA (1937-2023): Cuban singer who joined the all-female Orquesta Anacaona in 1958, following in the footsteps of Celia Cruz and Omara Portuondo. She then joined Portuondo in another female vocal group, Cuarteto d’Aida, in 1963 and eventually became the group’s leader. She later performed with Estrellas de Areito and Afro Cuban All Stars. After Buena Vista Social Club ignited Cuban music fever in the 90s, she found opportunities to tour worldwide, and released her only solo album, Llegó Teté, in 2003; it featured Ibrahim Ferrer, Portuondo and Pío Leyva… KALENGA ‘VIVI’ NZAZI (1953-2023): singer and one of the founding members of DRC band Les Mangelepa, who formed in 1976 in Nairobi, Kenya. Nzazi composed one of the group’s biggest hits, ‘Embakasi’, and was still active with the…

There are many who refer to her as the ‘New Mama Africa,’ and certainly there is no artist more deserving of inheriting Miriam Makeba’s legacy than Beninese powerhouse Angélique Kidjo. During her lifetime, Makeba spread a message of peace and became an embodied symbol of the anti-apartheid movement, and Kidjo continues very much in the same spirit. A fierce and ever-evolving performer, Kidjo is also an outspoken voice for justice and an advocate for the younger generation. But even as the five-time Grammy winner readies herself for a grand celebration of her impressive 40-year career at the Royal Albert Hall in November, Kidjo is modest, refusing to accept the mantle that’s been passed down to her. “I just wish [Makeba] was still here. I don’t want to be carrying on her…

SONGLiNES Presents… THE MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

£9.99 FREE P&P • 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.…

SONGLiNES Presents… THE MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

SPIRIT RISING: CLASSIC KIDJO

Logozo (Island Records, 1991) If 1990’s Parakou introduced Kidjo to the world, then Logozo confirmed her reputation as one of the great singers of Africa. It included her stunning take on ‘Malaïka’, a Swahili song made famous by Miriam Makeba, and a fine collaboration with Togo’s Bella Bellow. Fifa (Island, 1996) This ambitious album saw Kidjo embrace electronic dance and funk rhythms alongside Beninese songs. The big hit was ‘Naima’, with Carlos Santana’s guest guitar appearance, though it’s the rest of the album which sounds the freshest now, full of jubilant melodies and punchy grooves. Oyaya! (Columbia Records, 2004) Kidjo’s explorations into the African roots of Latin and Caribbean styles – the final instalment of her momentous diaspora trilogy – yield an audacious mix of Afro-salsa, Colombian porro, bolero, son, mambo, zouk and even a nod to Gloria…

SPIRIT RISING: CLASSIC KIDJO

Anoushka Shankar has always told stories with her music. So, it is fitting, really, that Forever, For Now, her new release, is billed as the first ‘chapter’ in a trilogy of mini albums, with chapters two and three to follow. What binds them is the joy of creating music and connections – and that beautifully unhurried, deftly wielded sitar. “I’m trying to distil the things I love the most about making music, including the magic that comes through connecting with other humans,” says Shankar, 42, Zooming in from California, where she grew up, the daughter of Sukanya Ranjan and Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, and where she’s taking her summer holidays. “I wanted to make it as fluent and simple and not overthought as possible.” Each Chapter is helmed by a different…

The Best TICKET in TOWN

Ladies and gentlemen, an amazing group: Irakere.” So said Ronnie Scott as he introduced the Cuban band at his club in October 1987. This was praise indeed coming from the usually dry musician and owner of probably the most famous jazz venue in London. But ‘amazing’ was no exaggeration; many who saw the band that night (and during their residency at the club) could not find the words to express this explosion of Latin jazz. The breathtaking Cuban cross-rhythms, soaring melodies and chops blended with sheer joy was hitherto unheard of. Tim Garland, saxophonist with the late Chick Corea, remembers: “During my mid-20s I led the support band at Ronnie’s for Irakere several times, so I got to hear them six nights in a row each time! Chucho [Valdés] brought the…

The Best TICKET in TOWN

Q&A Carlos del Puerto

How did Irakere come to life? Was it your intention to create something different, something new? Irakere started as a trio (Chucho Valdés, Oscar Valdés and I) which was the group that recorded Jazz Batá in 1973. On that album we started to experiment with a style of drums made up of Afro-Cuban tambores [hand drums] and other instruments like the chekerés. One of the songs was called ‘Irakere’ and this word we used afterwards as the name for the group. With this trio we played every afternoon for tourists on one of the playas del este [a set of beaches east of Havana] and in these performances we played with this same set of Afro-Cuban percussion. For this reason, when the group started to bring in other musicians the songs always…

DUNDALK & DISORDERLY

“OUR FATHER TAUGHT HIMSELF. THAT’S THE WAY WE WERE EXPOSED TO MUSIC… YOU JUST START PLAYING” When asked if he and his brother are still blocked on Twitter by RTÉ, Charles Hendy explains that their hip-hop account, TPM, remains persona non grata, but their Irish folk expression, The Mary Wallopers, has been given the OK. “They don’t have a leg to stand on. Fuck RTÉ,” he smiles, inadvertently quoting the song title that got TPM blocked in the first place. “It’s funny because we’ve never not said ‘fuck RTÉ,’” then, with a faux haughtiness and a raised eyebrow, “but they can’t deny what a good thing we [The Mary Wallopers] are. That’s why they have to have us on.” This ironic sense of self is one of the many draws of…

DUNDALK & DISORDERLY

KHMERCIAL SUCCESS

Wander a little past the temples and fish massage salons of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville or Siem Reap and you will find a Cambodia returning once again to its true creative spirit; this is despite Pol Pot’s massacres, which saw the country’s artists, intellectuals and educators systematically murdered. In the shadow of Phnom Penh’s Silver Pagoda, yet away from tourist eyes, pensioners and teenagers gather to joust in competitions of rat-a-tat Khmer rap. And inside glossy Chinese casinos in Sihanoukville, labels like Galaxy Navatra host music nights where scat singers Galaxy Boy, TSM and K-La mix hip-hop and jungle with khim dulcimers and gorgeous gamelan-like pinpeat gongs. We’ve all seen pictures of the carvings at Angkor: their mystical beauty shaped by dazzling craftsmanship. So, it’s no surprise that the Khmer are the great…

KHMERCIAL SUCCESS

REVIVAL REPUBLIC

Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, has become a hotspot for modern architecture, with the late Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Centre taking pride of place, with its flowing surfaces and strategically placed ‘I love Baku’ sign. Also much photographed are the three Flame Towers on the hill behind the old town and the intriguing International Mugham Centre, said to be modelled on a tar, the lute-like instrument with a figure-of-eight-shaped body, associated with mugham music (though it does seem to be a tar with a broken neck). Both the Heydar Aliyev Centre and the International Mugham Centre were venues in the recent Space of Mugham festival which, over eight days in June, featured Azeri mugham music in the broader context of similar traditions across the Middle East. Mugham is Azerbaijan’s ‘classical’ music, featuring a male…

REVIVAL REPUBLIC

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Songlines digital subscribers can download the Top of the World & Bonus tracks every issue. For more details visit songlines.co.uk/subs Free album download CLICK HERE Aunty Rayzor Viral Wreckage Hakuna Kulala Bisola Olungbenga has all the makings of a new Nigerian star. Trading under the memorable name of Aunty Rayzor, she has released a debut set that justifies the effort involved – the producers and collaborators on different tracks are from Nigeria, Congo, Uganda and Kenya, as well as Japan, Brazil and France. I confess that I approached Viral Wreckage with a little trepidation: lyrics are obviously crucial in hip-hop, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t know what to make of a lady famous in Lagos for her rapid-fire Yoruba rapping. I’d still like to understand the words of the non-English sections (she constantly…

Americas REVIEWS

Baiana Baiana Absolute Label Services Liverpudlian Laura Doyle certainly fooled this particular Anglophone. Hearing the opening ‘Samba Mortal’, upbeat carnival music sung convincingly in Portuguese, followed by ‘The Birds and the Bees’, summery fluff sung seemingly less naturally in English, I believed that Baiana was Brazilian. But no. It’s the name this multi-dimensional Scouser has assumed to deliver a passion for Brazilian music cemented during time in Rio with the Italian diplomatic service. She has also served time as a clown, a stand-up comedian, cabaret performer, translator, Premier League player-manager and now Head of Women’s Football with an international sports agency! As Baiana, she has won friends at festivals, clubs and Jazz FM. Now, a team of fine musicians allied to legendary British percussionist Snowboy’s production have helped her realise a slick, competent debut.…

Americas REVIEWS

Q&A Ana Carla Maza

What drove you to cover Latin American music in such a broad fashion on this album? Growing up in Cuba, I was immersed in a rich cultural tapestry… This environment instilled in me a deep sense of pride in my Latina heritage. Cuba itself is a melting pot of African, Spanish and Indigenous influences, which have left an indelible mark on our music and culture. It’s impossible to grow up in such a place and not feel a strong connection to the broader Latin American world. Studying music for hours on end allowed me to explore and appreciate the nuances of different Latin American genres. I realised that each style had its own unique story to tell and I wanted to capture those stories. Some of the tracks on Caribe are ones…

Q&A Ana Carla Maza

While I wouldn’t consider the tracks on the compilation Sonhos Secretos (Org Music ***) essential parts of a Brazilian discography, there is much to be admired about the care and love that the compiler, Tee Cardici, has put into restoring these intriguing private press tracks and hunting down the performers and musicians, otherwise we would certainly never get the chance to hear them. The idea that these songs reflect the final years of the dictatorship is a bit of a stretch; if anything, that was reflected in the emerging BRock scene in Brasília, but there is fine playing and some wonderful arrangements, particularly on the swooning MPB of ‘Espantalho’ by Renato Faver and the sweet vocal harmonies of ‘Donos da Noite’ by Quintais, reminiscent of MPB4. Wilson das Neves died two…

Mari Boine & Bugge Wesseltoft Amame By Norse It’s nearly 35 years since Sámi singer Boine recorded Gula Gula, the album which brought the world’s attention to her and her Indigenous Sámi people. There was something compelling about her voice, her language and her passion for humanity, standing up for injustice. Over the decades she’s captivated audiences with songs and stories, selling out major venues around the world with her band. Now she teams up with another of the key figures for many years on the Norwegian scene, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, rekindling their partnership from the 2002 album Eight Seasons. This is an exquisite, intimate collection of songs, Boine’s voice losing none of its power in its quietness, Wesseltoft’s piano embroidering each song with arabesque-like motifs and gently shifting harmonies. There’s a fragility, a vulnerability…

BRITISH & IRISH FOLK

The debut album from Welsh folk music stars Angharad Jenkins & Patrick Rimes is a cause for much excitement. Founder members of the group Calan, and with Jenkins the scion of a Welsh folk dynasty (she also plays with her mother, harpist Delyth Jenkins), the pair bring great musicianship and an intuitive musical partnership to amrwd (Tŷ Cerdd Records ****), meaning ‘raw’ in Welsh. Jenkins plays fiddle and sings while Rimes plays viola, piano and foot percussion. The album is a mix of traditional and self-penned tracks, revealing the same respectful yet adventurous attitude so long exemplified by Calan. Rimes also makes an appearance on the latest album from harpist, Gwenan Gibbard. Hailing from the wild Llŷn Peninsula in the far northwest of Wales, Gibbard is a leading practitioner of cerdd…

BRITISH & IRISH FOLK

Q&A Ali Doğan Gönültaş

You undertook ten years of field research before making Kiği. What can you tell us about this research? The search for the meaning of my experiences has become a fundamental element in my artistic perspective. My childhood universe, the political and sociological atmosphere in the country I live in, my family and the environment I live in… These have a strong influence on my musical subconscious. Over time, I started to think about the meaning of what they were saying and I realised that what is valuable is one’s own story. I tried to find meaning directly in my own life by doing my own musical archaeology. Over ten years I collected a lot of narrative material: songs, tales, stories, prayers, etc. This was mostly unwritten information carried from ancient…

Q&A Ali Doğan Gönültaş

Middle East REVIEWS

Ramy Essam Metgharabiin (Outsiders) Rev House Productions Ramy Essam is known for his appearances on Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, regularly in front of millions of people. His song ‘Irhal’ became an anthem of the revolution. In 2018 he released ‘Balaha’, a song about oppression and corruption in Egypt. The song’s lyricist, poet Galal El-Behairy, was arrested shortly afterwards and remains in prison despite serving his three-year sentence. Essam himelf has been in exile since 2014. He specialises in well-produced alternative rock with clear messages that could still get people in trouble. For this album, recorded in Stockholm, Essam composed music for poems by Ahmed Douma, who has just been released after being jailed for ten years, and the aforementioned Galal El-Behairy. He also uses a text by the legendary satirist…

Middle East REVIEWS

Q&A Ali Güçlü Şimşek (Lalalar)

How is the underground music scene in Istanbul right now? It’s definitely lively, [with] many bands and exhibitions going on despite the sour political atmosphere in the country. How has growing up under Erdoğan as president affected you as artists? It has sharpened my pen and my thoughts. At the same time, it urged me to find indirect and colourful ways to express my feelings, which has shaped me well, I think. How has it affected the scene in general? I feel like almost all artists are not happy with the current situation, but I can’t say that the majority of them are reflecting this in their art. Do you have hope that there will be change? As history proves, change is inevitable. The real deal is how and how long you can stand with what you…

Q&A Ali Güçlü Şimşek (Lalalar)

Kojun Kokuba The Water Garden EM Records Okinawa-born Kojun Kokuba’s The Water Garden was first released in 1993, and proved immensely popular, hence this vinyl reissue, complete with sticker. The early 1990s was when many world music mixes disguised the sounds they sampled as they argued for universal tolerance and world peace. The Water Garden evokes both a past and a present, sometimes focused on the Ryukyu Islands of which Okinawa is part, but often casting wider – to Indonesian gamelan (gong orchestras on the opening track and bamboo suling on ‘A Trip to the Bamboo Forest’) and to filmscapes of Thai islands where waves crash onto sandy beaches (‘Ravine’). Okinawan folk songs meet rock (‘Parade’) and Latin percussion fuses with Japan (‘Gate of Market’). There are hints of characteristic Asian modes and…

Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids Afro Futuristic Dreams Strut Records Ever since the Strut label resurrected their career, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids have produced some of the most compelling spiritual world jazz (to coin a label) this side of Pharoah Sanders. Indeed, ‘Re-Memory’ and other passages bear faint echoes of ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’. Judging by his muscular tenor forays, the septuagenarian saxophonist is in fine fettle, while his band retains their signature sound built around chanted vocals, Bobby Cobb’s sometimes brutal guitar, Margaux Simmons’ flute and Sandra Poindexter’s violin. On the nine long tracks of this sumptuous double LP, they are given ample opportunity to stretch out – less in classic solos, more in the way that the instrumentalists move in and out of Heliocentric Malcolm Catto’s exemplary mix.…

Augustus Pablo’s sounds reverberate through time. Over two decades since his death, and 50 years since he founded the Rockers record label, Roots, Rockers & Dub (Nature Sounds ****) celebrates the legacy of this seminal producer, multi-instrumentalist and melodica maestro. The 22 remastered tracks on this hefty collection span Pablo’s career, leaning into the raw, moody, depths of his early dub studio work: heavy basslines and hypnotising drums, spacey delays, phasers and drawn-out reverb. Pablo’s trademark melodica weaves warbling melodic lines, and rich, off-kilter harmonic textures. Here, classic dubs meet rarer tracks, and in this deceptively simple music, new discoveries await each listen. Ariwa Sounds: The Early Sessions (Melodies International *****) offers another deep, honeyed dip back in time: to the late 70s, and London’s lovers rock scene. Produced by dub…

Classical & Jazz REVIEWS

Classical Brought to you by Carolyn Sampson & Matthew Wadsworth You Did Not Want For Joy Deux-Elles This is a delight of an album. Short and slight – pared back to the essentials of both texture and repertoire – it’s a lunchtime recital rather than a full evening’s commitment, something to send you back to your day lighter and livelier than before. ‘Nature, love and the human condition’ may sound like a baggy, catch-all sort of theme, but here – just like the 17th-century Tree of Life tapestry on the cover – it holds teeming worlds in ordered pattern. Soprano Carolyn Sampson and lutenist and theorbo player Matthew Wadsworth place traditional folk songs and broadside ballads alongside artful counterparts by Britten, Dowland, Campion and Purcell, all framed by a matching pair of musical bookends. Hildegard of…

Classical & Jazz REVIEWS

GRAMOPHONE PRESENTS… MY CLASSICAL MUSIC

NOW AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS In partnership with In this limited edition special collaboration with Classic FM, we draw together nearly 100 of our most fascinating My Music interviews. Find out which composers, works and artists have enriched the lives of some of today’s most famous celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Christopher Lee, Joanna Lumley, Armando Iannucci, Sting, Paul Simon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and many more. Order your copy today for just £9.99 Go to magsubscriptions.com/my-classical-music Call: 0800 137201 (UK) or +44 (0)1722 716997 (Overseas) P&P is free for UK addresses. An additional charge will be added for shipping overseas.…

GRAMOPHONE PRESENTS… MY CLASSICAL MUSIC

Newen Afrobeat The Jazz Cafe, London August 24 Newen Afrobeat constitute a truly global blend of influences. Taking primary inspiration from Fela Kuti, the father of Nigerian Afrobeat, their music is also deeply influenced by the sounds and rhythms from their homeland Chile. Performing as an 11-piece ensemble at The Jazz Cafe, Newen were fronted by two charismatic female vocalists accompanied by bass, electric guitar, drums and two percussionists. The four-piece horn section provided vibrant melodic lines and electrifying jazz-infused solos. Alongside funky covers of Kuti classics such as ‘Zombie’ and ‘Opposite People’, Newen’s setlist mostly comprised high-energy original compositions from their two albums. The syncopated rhythms of ‘Santiago’, the rich harmonies of ‘Chaltumay’ and the catchy vocal riff of ‘Somos el Presente’ were particularly memorable moments. Staying true to the political roots…

MY WORLD Jung Jae-il

You may not know the man, but you will have heard his music. After the triumph of Parasite in 2020 and the release of Netflix’s Squid Game in 2021, the work of South Korean composer Jung Jae-il, who scored both, was unavoidable. Such ubiquity is unusual in a musician who counts ancient Korean court music, Balkan brass and thrash metal among his influences. He has deployed these styles and more in compositions for stage, screen and the pop charts. He even composed and performed for the historic 2018 summit between North and South Korea, making him one of few who can count Kim Jong Un among their audience. How did a self-taught musician from a non-musical family reach the pinnacle of his profession? “Listening was the greatest study,” explains Jae-il. It…

MY WORLD Jung Jae-il

If João Gilberto (1931-2019) was still alive today, João probably would not exist. At least, Bebel Gilberto reckons, there is a good chance she would not have recorded an album dedicated to her father’s music in the same way. “I think I would have been afraid of his opinion,” she tells Songlines. “Even if I did everything the same, I would not feel as comfortable because I’d fear his criticism. He was always very critical of my music. Of course, when he liked it, he would not spare his energy and enthusiasm; but when he didn’t like it, well, he wouldn’t spare it either.” Born in Juazeiro, a small town in Bahia, João Gilberto fathered – along with Tom Jobim – Brazilian bossa nova not long after moving to Rio de…

Stan Getz & João Gilberto Getz/Gilberto (Verve Records, 1964) As the US was discovering bossa nova, jazz sax player Stan Getz teamed up with Gilberto for eight tunes penned mostly by Jobim (who plays piano on the album). ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ and ‘Desafinado’ became classics. João Gilberto João Gilberto (Polydor, 1973) João Gilberto’s ‘White Album’ was recorded at a time when he travelled regularly to Mexico to sing in Spanish. This stripped-down album is all about Brazil and bossa nova, with songs by Ary Barroso and Caetano Veloso, as well as his own ‘Undiú’. João Gilberto Amoroso (Warner Bros Records, 1977) Just as Tom Jobim had a grand album with Sinatra, on Amoroso João let his voice and guitar levitate with the orchestral arrangements of Claus Ogerman. Includes songs written by Jobim and Gilberto’s superb takes on Gershwin’s ‘’S Wonderful’…

“When this started, the musicians decided almost unanimously that they wouldn’t apply to have concerts in official venues anymore. But althoughh those venues are mostly silent, that doesn’t mean the music has stopped,” says Behzad (not his real name), talking about the current music scene in Iran. “Now musicians are doing smaller concerts in clubs, cultural centres, bookshops, without even applying for permission. They might have female singers or political songs and some get shut down. It’s become a kind of cat-and-mouse game.” It was the death of a Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini (Kurdish name: Jina Amini), in September last year that sparked the latest protests in Iran. Amini had been arrested by the morality police for wearing her headscarf improperly, and died in police custody. This sparked widespread protestss across…

Songlines picks… Qawwali Flamenco (Oct 14-15, London + Wales & West) First UK shows since 2015 of singular flamenco-meets-Sufi project Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening (Oct 16-27, On Tour) Northumbrian pipes, fiddles and shadowy fun, inspired by the wilds of nature Hailu Mergia (Oct 19-28, On Tour) Rare opportunity to see the Ethiopian keyboard and accordion luminary. Not to be missed Eliades Ochoa (Oct 29, London) Cuba’s very own ‘Man in Black’ playing intimate songs from his most recent album, 2023’s Guajiro BBC Concert Orchestra & Seckou Keita (Nov 15, Midlands) Seckou to play African Rhapsodies with symphonic guests LONDON Every Tue [all musicians welcome] Balkan Village Band St John on Bethnal Green balkanvillageband.uk; 1 OCT-12 NOV K-Music Korean Music Festival London kccuk.org.uk; 6 OCT Arnab Chakrabarty, Roopa Panesar & Shahbaz Hussain LSO St Luke’s; 7 OCT Marama Café Band Chelsea Arts…

REVIEWS Flow Festival Helsinki, Finland, August 11-13 Steampunky gasometers from the early 1900s dominate the old industrial site where Flow presents rough-edged urban music, along with folk, jazz and ambient. Headliners included Nigerian Afrobeats lover boy Wizkid and Blur, though there are fewer megastars than there have been in Flow’s two-decade history. That’s partly because without gigs in neighbouring Russia, it’s less worthwhile for big acts to cross the Baltic for one-off gigs in Finland. Such business calculations were forgotten at the smaller stages that hosted Flow’s rootsier, experimental and cross-cultural acts. The Other Sound drew full, attentive crowds to a 1909 steam boiler hall for eerie electronic-edged fiddling by Meriheini Luoto; Enya-like loops and modular synths from Arushi Jain, who draws on Hindustani ragas and 70s New Age; and hypnotic Scottish smallpipes by…

WHEN: November 9-12 WHERE: Utrecht, Netherlands What the festival says: ‘Dedicated to boundary-crossing music & culture from all over the world, Le Guess Who? platforms sounds that are rarely heard in other places; sounds that have the power to enrich lives. Across four days Le Guess Who? takes over the entire city center of Utrecht, with over 150 artists performing in pop venues, theaters, churches, warehouses and clubs.’ What we say: It’s possible no one has ever insisted on a less mainstream version of WOMAD but, for over 15 years, that’s exactly what this festival has served up. Its aim: to publicise music that doesn’t get the attention the curators believe it deserves – from the wilfully underground to the ‘huge, but elsewhere.’ Who’s playing? There are too many exciting names to feature, but let’s give it…

Elisa Carthy’s NEWS OF THE WHIRL

Being a lifetime touring musician is weird. I seem to have spent my life seeing tiny moments of glorious places. I once had a photo shoot for The Sydney Morning Herald, in a wetsuit carrying a surfboard (not mine, no idea how to use it) with a Labrador by my side on Copacabana beach. I encountered the memory on Facebook and remarked that I have done many wonderful things, and generally I will get to do them just once. A holiday in miniature, just one day, one lovely dog I never saw again. American summer folk camps? Along with the great UK festivals, they have stayed with me, albeit with a gap between my formative years there (1989-1994) and now (2015-). It has always bothered me that the UK doesn’t seem…

Elisa Carthy’s NEWS OF THE WHIRL

FIRESIDE STORIES

Corinne Bailey Rae is synonymous with early-noughties British pop and folk-soul, especially through the successful debut album that launched her career in 2006. Two decades later and the Leeds-born star has begun a new era in her career. The spark for this change happened almost a decade ago when she saw an image by artist Theaster Gates on a friend’s Pinterest. In the image Gates stood in front of an old ‘Harold’s Chicken’ sign of a chef chasing a chicken with a meat cleaver. Seeing the “grounded confidence of this Black man,” she silently stated, “this is what I make.” She reached out to Gates to meet and learn more about his work with Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago. She describes Gates as a person “who was so many of…

FIRESIDE STORIES

AFRICA’S NEW FEMALE ICONS

01. Muthoni Drummer Queen She (Mouthwatering Records, 2018) A Kenyan rapper, drummer and all-round powerhouse, not only has Muthoni released four studio albums, but she has also founded two wildly popular festivals. On her third studio album, she shone a light on African women, highlighting both their strength (‘Million Voice’) and vulnerabilities (‘Lover’), while asserting that: ‘Whatever shape you may be in, whatever version of reality you find yourself in, you are a Queen.’ 02. Pongo Baia (Jardin Rouge, 2018) Angolan-Portuguese rapper Pongo is a forthright ambassador of kuduro, which blends genres like soca and samba with techno and hip-hop. After rising to fame through collaborating with Buraka Som Sistema, the fiery and varied Baia EP was the first chance for fans to witness her incredible breadth of talent. 03. Lady Donli Enjoy Your Life (Makiyaki Limited, 2019) Also known as…

AFRICA’S NEW FEMALE ICONS

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