Showing 1 - 10 of 115
A new oud masterpiece
Life, John Clewley, Published on 30/08/2025
» This month's Transglobal World Music Chart has plenty of interesting new albums, with many released to coincide with the summer festival season in Europe and North America.
The sounds of Kinshasa
Life, John Clewley, Published on 18/02/2025
» Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of Africa's centres for music. With a population estimated at 17 million, the city is a melting pot of ethnicities and cultures.
Kafka and the khaen
Life, Published on 30/10/2024
» Ten years ago, Jitti Chompee, founder of 18 Monkeys Dance Theater, brought into being the first Unfolding Kafka Festival, a world-class performing arts platform. Now, he is composing its spectacular end -- a celebration of the centennial anniversary of Franz Kafka's death and the festival's own 10-year anniversary.
The King of Qawwali returns
Life, John Clewley, Published on 10/09/2024
» The great Pakistani qawwali singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, dubbed the "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali" (the King of the Kings of Qawwali) died in 1997 at the young age of 48. He was right at the peak of his powers.
Groove to world-class DJs on Koh Phangan
Life, Published on 10/06/2024
» Every two weeks, Halfmoon Festival brings world-class DJs from the house, trance and techno spectrum to Koh Phangan's Magical Forest in Surat Thani.
Chaabi grooves
Life, John Clewley, Published on 04/06/2024
» Morocco and southern Spain were favourite destinations when I was a student in Manchester in the 1970s. We could get a cheap package tour flight to Alicante, ditch the package holiday, jump on a bus to Malaga and then onto Algeciras to take a ferry to Tangiers. We left behind the (more often than not) rainy skies of Manchester for the piercing azure of Morocco's open vistas.
Cambodian rock via LA
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/11/2023
» Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever has released a new studio album, Ting Mong (Tuk Tuk Records, USA), their first for eight years. The release marks the Cambodian-US band's 20th anniversary since their acclaimed self-titled debut in 2003.
Music for the soul
Life, John Clewley, Published on 29/08/2023
» Highlife was one of the first popular styles to emerge in post World War II sub-Saharan Africa. It came out of Ghana's clubs and bars in the 1950s, where big swing bands, pioneered by the "King of Highlife" ET Mensah, whipped up one of West Africa's best loved urban dance genres.
Harry shows Bangkok some Styles
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/03/2023
» The accessory du jour was the fluffy pink boa. The colour scheme was hot pink -- pink pants, pink boots, pink cowboy hats, pink eyeshadow, pink hijabs. Or if not pink, then anything in the tooth-aching shades of the rainbow. It was a lively, joyous sight on Saturday night, a show of hot-hue aesthetics in a defiant contrast to the brutalist concrete skeleton of Rajamangala Stadium. How I wish concrete-mad Bangkok could look like this every day!
Harry takes Bangkok in Styles
Kong Rithdee, Published on 13/03/2023
» The accessory du jour was the fluffy pink boa. The color scheme was hot pink - pink pants, pink boots, pink cowboy hats, pink eye-shadow, pink hijabs. Or if not pink, then anything in the tooth-aching shades of the rainbow. It was a lively, joyous sight on Saturday night, a show of hot-colored aesthetics in a defiant contrast to the brutalist concrete skeleton of Rajamangala Stadium. How I wish concrete-mad Bangkok could look like this every day!