Showing 1 - 10 of 29
Rhythms of the Northeast
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/02/2026
» The first Maha Morlum Festival, a showcase soft power event, was held in Maha Sarakham from Feb 13-14 and World Beat travelled to the Isan province to enjoy the two-day, one-night immersive experience promised by the event's organisers.
A Mediterranean union
Life, John Clewley, Published on 08/11/2025
» In 1993, multi-instrumentalists Fain Sanchez Duenas and Vincent Molino from Spain formed Radio Tarifa with singer/songwriter Benjamin Escoriza and released Rumba Argelina, an album that blended Flamenco, Arab-Andalusian, Arabic, Moorish and Mahgrebi music with that from the Renaissance, Mediterranean and even the Caribbean.
Jewish classic revisited
Life, John Clewley, Published on 25/10/2025
» Good news fans of klezmer music. The groundbreaking, award-winning klezmer outfit The Klezmatics have reissued their classic album Rhythm + Jews: Revisited (Piranha, Germany), which was recorded in 1990 and released in 1991. The reissue is part of the band's 40th anniversary celebrations.
Isan sound goes global
Life, John Clewley, Published on 13/09/2025
» Last month, World Beat was invited to join a government sponsored event to promote molam music from Isan on the international stage. The event was held on Aug 12 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok as part of the National Science and Technology Fair 2025.
Echoes of Persia
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/10/2024
» The santur is an ancient stringed instrument, a dulcimer, with 72 strings that can be dated to 500 BC. Assyrian and Babylonian stone carvings show the instrument back in 669 BC. The instrument spread widely in the Middle East and later further afield where it morphed into the hammered dulcimer, the qanun, cimbalom, Indian santoor and even the Thai classical instrument, the kim.
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.
Say it loud
Life, John Clewley, Published on 27/08/2024
» On Oct 30, 1974, US boxer George Foreman, then the undisputed heavyweight champion, and challenger Muhammad Ali entered a ring in a stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) to fight for the title.
Genre-bending greats
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/07/2024
» Swamp Dogg (real name Jerry Williams Jr) is a well-known black American singer, songwriter, producer and Williams Jr's alter ego. A few years back, I wrote about Blame It On The Dogg: The Swamp Dogg Anthology 1968-1978, which features some of his hit R&B songs (put out under his real name and alter ego), such as She's A Heartbreaker by Gene Pitney and Stop Knocking by Ruth Brown.
Bridging cultures
Life, John Clewley, Published on 18/06/2024
» In 2011, Iraqi musician, actor and writer Ahmed Moneka was working as an artist and actor. He studied at Baghdad's Institute of Fine Art and, according to Canada's The Globe And Mail, he was the first black TV presenter in the country. His father, also a well-known comedy actor, was the pioneer. Moneka went into the "family business".
Kurdish artist tops World Music Chart
Life, John Clewley, Published on 07/05/2024
» The top spot on the Transglobal World Music Chart for May 2024 is held by Turkish-born Kurdish singer, composer and instrumentalist Aynur Dogan. She infuses Kurdish folk music with mainly Western music, and has collaborated Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble among others.