Showing 41 - 46 of 46
The Karnatik Story should be heard by all
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/09/2014
» I was recently in Bangalore in Southern India on a business trip. It was my first visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the city. It was, first of all, delightful to be in a big city which has lots of tree-lined boulevards and roads, although like Bangkok they always seem to be bumper to bumper with all kinds of vehicles. The food was terrific, the tea delicious and people everywhere were very friendly.
Fiddling with tradition
Life, John Clewley, Published on 05/02/2013
» The Carolina Chocolate Drops emerged from the almost-forgotten tradition of African-American Piedmont fiddling a couple of years ago with an album, Genuine Negro Jig, that deftly blended jigs, reels, string band and 19th century African-American music, blues, country and Americana. The band won a Grammy for the album that sounded both traditional and modern.
Tradition and innovation in Isan
Life, John Clewley, Published on 08/01/2013
» The idyllic rural setting of Jim Thompson's Farm in Pak Thong Chai in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima was the venue for a battle of the bands on Dec 23. The Sud Sanan Dan Isan contest featured 12 molam teams from secondary schools and colleges across Isan, all vying for glory.
The Grace of spiritual music
Life, John Clewley, Published on 26/06/2012
» One of the main reasons I went to the recent Penang World Music festival was to see the Filipina singer Grace Nono and her band perform, which I wrote about in my review of the event. I also had the chance to chat with her about her remarkable career and work.
The sounds of Isan
Life, John Clewley, Published on 15/05/2012
» There are two broad fiddle traditions in northeastern music, one from molam, the music of ethnic Laotians and one from kantrum, the music of ethnic Khmers. The division is also neatly delineated geographically into molam in the upper and central parts of the Northeast and kantrum in the lower part, near the Cambodian border. As the late great kantrum singer Darkie noted in his anthem to northeastern music, Isan Samakhee (Northeast Unity): "Isan nua me molam, Isan tai me kantrum."
Cool Colombian compilation
Life, John Clewley, Published on 01/05/2012
» Colombia has produced some memorable music and musicians over the past hundred years; it is certainly one of Latin music's powerhouses. Blessed with a unique geography _ Atlantic coast, savannah, Andean mountains and the lush Pacific coast _ and a mixed population of native Indians, Spanish, Africans and Caribbean immigrants, the country has a vast array of different musical styles from bambuco on the Atlantic coast to the savannah-based harp music llanera to the Afro-Colombian sounds of champeta and currulao from the Pacific coast to salsa and all kinds of Spanish-language pop.