Showing 31 - 40 of 46
Summer's here and the time is right
Life, John Clewley, Published on 07/06/2016
» The European world-music-festival season is in full swing as bands head to stages across the continent, while at the same time, the festival circuits in North America and Japan are also busy as people take advantage of the long days of summer to get out and enjoy some music.
A world-music classic returns
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/05/2016
» The Malian singer Oumou Sangare burst onto the West African music scene when she released her first album, Moussolou, on cassette in 1990. I was living in Tokyo at the time and African friends told me about a new singer rapidly rising to fame on the back of an album that had already sold a quarter of a million copies. A kind soul bought me the cassette from a trip to Mali so that I could review it for the Japanese newspaper I was writing for. I still have the original.
Music that shines
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/03/2016
» Tropical music has been the theme for the past week or so as World Beat prepared for the arrival of DJ Hugo Mendez from the UK. Mendez -- who has successfully run the Republic of Sofrito, a "tropical discotheque", at various venues in London for the past decade or so -- was also the compiler of the album Haitian Music: Haiti Direct – Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978 (Strut, USA), which I reviewed recently.
Around the world
Life, John Clewley, Published on 29/09/2015
» This month's European Broadcast Union World Charts is topped by a reissue of an album -- La Candela Viva -- that was recorded by the legendary Colombian singer and dancer Toto La Momposina in sessions at the Real World Studios in the UK way back in 1991 and 1992. Reissue would be perhaps the wrong word really because the producers of the new release, Tambolero, have gone deep into the original sessions and then added new vocals, some from Toto's granddaughters, and instrumentation, giving the original music more texture.
March of the brass bands
Life, John Clewley, Published on 25/08/2015
» Military marching bands brought Western music to Asia, beginning a process of cultural fusion and interaction that continues to this day. Christian religious music came along at the same time, often in the form of hymns, but I'm not sure that hymns had the same impact as the dramatic, crashing sound of brass instruments played by marching musicians.
For the love of Y/Our Music
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/07/2015
» I went to the cinema at the weekend. This is not something I do very often these days but then the movie I went to see was being screened at Lido in Siam Square, a place I knew well during my days teaching at Chulalongkorn University. Sadly, Lido is slowly being engulfed by vendors and the new Siam Square of Hello Kitty buildings and boutique shopping facilities.
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.
Lush Portuguese sounds
Life, John Clewley, Published on 12/05/2015
» On a business trip to India last week, I had the great fortune to catch several inspirational sets of Portuguese Fado music at the Cidade de Goa resort on the beach in North Goa. It was good to be back in India, and a delight to be in the fascinating cultural melting pot of Goa, although at this time of year it is hot and humid, even perhaps hotter than Bangkok, or at least it felt that way. But India's smallest state is lush and green with some impressive trees, and a strong breeze brought relief from the pre-monsoon heat.
Hucky Eichelmann's Asean adventure
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/04/2015
» Long-time Bangkok resident and master classical guitarist Hucky Eichelmann's latest adventure, Asean Guitar — Fusion Of South East Asian Music (AMI, Thailand), is a musical journey across the 10 Asean countries. The album's release is timed to coincide with the launch of the Asian Economic Community, which is set to commence later this year.
Ali's qawwali continuum
Life, John Clewley, Published on 03/02/2015
» The great Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a key figure in the emergence of qawwali music during the 1980s. Although the Sufi praise song tradition is over 700 years old, it was Khan who not only took the music to international audiences but also collaborated with artists from different musical backgrounds.