Showing 1 - 8 of 8
The sound of the Balkans
Life, John Clewley, Published on 28/02/2023
» One of the Balkan's best-known bands is Mostar Sevdah Reunion, whose 12th studio album Lady Sings The Balkan Blues (Snail Records, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is currently riding high on the World Music charts. The band is something of a Bosnian institution, carrying the torch for updated versions of folk music, in this case, sevdalinka music of Bosnian Muslims.
Festive farewell
Life, John Clewley, Published on 17/08/2021
» The closing ceremony of the recent Tokyo Olympics was a surprise for many people. The organisers, recognising that many athletes were unable to explore Tokyo due to restrictions, transformed the Olympic stadium into a massive public park. The park featured typical Japanese leisure activities like yoga and rope skipping and a short film that showed the athletes what Japanese festival music and dancing is like, with clips from the Ainu in Hokkaido, Eisa dancing from Okinawa and Gujo Odori from Gifu, which led to live Bon Odori dancing in the stadium, driven by a booming taiko drum.
Of khaen and men
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/02/2021
» Thai Country Living, a short film documentary released in 2020, is a delightful sojourn into the rural life of khaen maker Suman "Chang Bour" Tapkham, his family and village in the peaceful backwaters of the Isan region.
Rumba in the jungle
Life, John Clewley, Published on 30/10/2018
» Everyone knows about the famous "Rumble in the Jungle", the epic heavyweight boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali held in Kinshasa, then Zaire, in 1974. The fight was immortalised in the Academy Award-winning film documentary When We Were Kings.
Remembering Kak Channthy
Life, John Clewley, Published on 03/04/2018
» The news last week that the lead singer of the Cambodian Space Project, Kak Channthy, had died in a car crash in Phnom Penh has shocked her fans in Cambodia and across the globe. She was 38 years old.
Song Of Lahore shows how Pakistani musical traditions can thrive
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/02/2017
» Last week the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand began its new Monday night documentary film series with a fascinating new documentary, Song Of Lahore, on a group of classical musicians and their struggle to survive in Pakistan. The film was directed by award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chony and filmmaker Andy Shocken and was released in 2015 and although it has had a limited release, it has featured prominently at several film festivals such as Tribeca and Cannes.
The wedding singer
Life, John Clewley, Published on 05/07/2016
» One of the most unusual success stories in electronic music of recent times has to be that of Syrian farmer and wedding singer Omar Souleyman, who hails from northeast Syria. Before he left Syria in 2011 due to the civil war, he had been a prolific wedding singer, with hundreds of live cassettes and CDs to his name.
A spicy Indian ragu
Life, John Clewley, Published on 17/03/2015
» The Indian singer-songwriter and guitarist Raghu Dixit was in town with his band the Raghu Dixit Project last week at CentralWorld, as part of the ongoing Festival of India. The Bangalore-based musician is also a well-known producer and film score composer. He was voted "Best Newcomer" in the 2011 Songline magazine music awards.