Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Modernising Mexican groove
Life, John Clewley, Published on 28/03/2026
» The Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS), founded in 2004 by Mexico City-based DJ and record producer Camilo Lara, is a project to bring together fusions of folk and traditional music with digital production and electronica. MIS started as a side project, based on Lara's own remixing of popular tracks.
When two worlds collide
Life, John Clewley, Published on 14/03/2023
» In 1978, Lebanese band Ferkat Al Ard released their debut album Oghneya in Beirut. It was a groundbreaking release that brought together Lebanese folk music, Arabic strings, Brazilian bossanova and jazz (mainly fusion) into a gloriously lush sound that requires the listener to reconsider Lebanese music. Brazil in Beirut? How did that happen?
Remember the Raja
Life, John Clewley, Published on 26/10/2021
» Pornsak Songsaeng, the 'Raja of Molam' from Isan, died of a heart attack in Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Oct 17. He was 60 years old. Pornsak was one of the most famous Isan music stars, and his funeral was attended by many of his fans as well as many of the big names in the entertainment industry.
Forging his own path
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/06/2021
» When Ethiopian music maestro Hailu Mergia toured the US with the Ethio jazz and funk Walias Band in the early 1980s, he had no idea he would become a taxi driver in his adopted country.
A smoother blue from North Mississippi Allstars
Life, John Clewley, Published on 13/04/2021
» In 2014, I wrote a review about the unique sound of blues rockers North Mississippi Allstars (NMA), whose music is rooted in the "fife and drum" culture of North Mississippi. Unlike in the Mississippi delta, which has a distinctive brand of guitar-driven blues, North Mississippi African-American hill country musicians use fifes (a small shrill flute used in 19th-century military bands), fiddles, banjos, tambourines, snare drums and a huge bass drum to create their local sound.
Ambuya!'s back baby!
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/03/2021
» Piranha Records, a Berlin-based independent record label, was founded in 1987 to produce and distribute mainly African, Gypsy and Jewish music. The label expanded its roster to include various projects by 3 Mustaphas 3 bass player and crooner Colin Bass. His work with Sundanese (West Javan) musicians, under his Asian moniker Sabah Habas Mustapha, produced several excellent albums and one much-covered popular love song, Denpasar Moon.
Old classics revived with high-tech edge
Life, John Clewley, Published on 02/02/2021
» The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music released in 1991, edited by Donald Clarke, has more than 3,000 entries on rock, rock'n'roll, folk, soul, R&B, gospel, country and swing, and a whole host of lesser-known genres. Musicians, songwriters and producers are all in this tome.
Rediscovering forgotten grooves
Life, John Clewley, Published on 05/01/2021
» Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia and the country's most populous city has a long history as an important Indian Ocean port connecting traders. As we saw with my recent review of the first international release of popular Djibouti music, The Dancing Devils Of Djibouti by Groupe RTD on the Ostinato label, ports at the western edge of the Indian Ocean region played a crucial role in developing popular genres of music.
Blurring the boundaries
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/07/2020
» The summer festival season has been cancelled as have many major sporting events. Under the current Covid-19 measures, some events like the Notting Hill Carnival in London, which is usually held at the end of August each year, have gone online. Sound systems and steel bands will still perform live but revellers will only be able to enjoy them online.