Showing 1 - 9 of 9
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.
Keep on rockin' in a lockdown
Life, John Clewley, Published on 14/04/2020
» The sonic landscape of my life in central Bangkok has changed dramatically over the past few weeks of social distancing. Gone are the sounds of construction drills, booming pile drivers, honking horns, unmuffled motorcyles and throbbing tuk-tuks. I can hear birdsong of all kinds in the mornings and, at dusk, the whirring and squeaking of different bat species as they zoom around hunting for insects.
Trombone's place in modern music
Life, John Clewley, Published on 17/03/2020
» The funky sound of Fred Wesley's trombone landed on the World Beat desk this week courtesy of an album he released in 1974, with his band, Fred Wesley & the New JB's, called Breakin' Bread (originally released on Polydor, re-released 2015). Wesley was James Brown's musical director at the time, and Brown produced the album and co-wrote most of the songs with Wesley.
Cumbia comes to Bangkok
Life, John Clewley, Published on 05/11/2019
» Amaru Tribe, a Latin cumbia band based in Melbourne, Australia, made their full-band debut in Bangkok on Oct 23 at Studio Lam. The six-member outfit come from Australia, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, but all have been resident in Australia for many years.
Revolutionary's road
Life, John Clewley, Published on 02/04/2019
» Poet, novelist, piano player. And that was before Gil Scott-Heron had reached 20. He wrote and recorded his best known song, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, in 1971, and from then on produced a unique and polemical body of prose, poetry and music that led him to be dubbed the "Father of Political Rap", the originator of "nu soul" and many more titles. He preferred being called a "bluesologist".
Twenty-five years of musical magic
Life, John Clewley, Published on 19/03/2019
» This year is the 25th anniversary of the World Beat column. It began all the way back in February 1994. That's right, in the last century. We survived the millennium and have forged ahead into the 21st century.
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.
All aboard for some big fun
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/06/2016
» One of my favourite times of the year is when the dry season ends and the countryside is transformed into a sea of green. And nowhere is it more fun to be at this time of year than in Isan. I have happy memories of rainy seasons in Buri Ram, where as soon as the rains arrived the village teenagers would take me out at night with a miner's light fixed on my forehead to hunt for tiny frogs.
Filipinos and all that jazz
Life, John Clewley, Published on 26/05/2015
» There's a famous photograph of HM the King playing jazz with a band of enthusiastic musicians. It is from 1963 when His Majesty held regular jam sessions with locally-based and visiting musicians. Perhaps the most famous jazz photo is the one that features Benny Goodman, the clarinet-playing American bandleader, but in the 1963 photo, His Majesty is playing with two Filipino jazz musicians: Angel Pena on upright bass and Bert del Rosario on piano.