Showing 1 - 10 of 49
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.
Remembering the King of Zydeco
Life, John Clewley, Published on 01/07/2025
» Music fans celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, late last month. Chenier (June 25, 1925 -- December 12, 1987) was a pioneering musician from Opelousas, Southwest Louisiana who helped create zydeco music, a genre sung in French creole (his first language) that came out of the Creole traditions of the region, spliced with blues, R&B and Cajun music.
Timbuktu calling
Life, John Clewley, Published on 20/05/2025
» Mali and West Africa dominate the Transglobal World Music Chart for May 2025, with the "desert blues" rockers Songhoy Blues leading the way in top spot with their new album Héritage.
The jazzman of Bangkok
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/04/2025
» The Bamboo Bar at the famous Oriental Hotel was set up in 1953 during a period when the hotel had several owners, including pioneering photographer and social activist Germaine Krull, and the art collector and silk king Jim Thompson. It quickly became one of the Bangkok's top nightclubs, known for its live jazz sessions.
Remembering soul' s ' Sultans of Sweat '
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/01/2025
» For twenty years, between 1961 and 1981, the hugely popular US soul and R&B act Sam & Dave, thrilled audiences with their all-action, stompin' soul music. Both singers were brought up singing in gospel choirs at church and they took their 'pleading preacher' call-and-response gospel style to secular audiences.
Fresh new sounds
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/12/2024
» Justin Adams and Mauro Durante's second album Sweet Release (Ponderosa Records) tops the Transglobal World Music Chart for December. This fusion album carries on the collaboration from the success of their debut Still Moving, in 2021.
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.
Remembering the 'King of the Talking Song'
Life, John Clewley, Published on 13/08/2024
» National Artist and luk thung icon Phloen Phromdaen passed away on Aug 3, aged 85. He was one of the titans of the luk thung world, garnering the nickname Raja Phleng Phut (King of the Talking Song) for the spoken passages in the middle of his songs.
Farewell to a maestro
Life, John Clewley, Published on 10/04/2024
» The world of molam has been in mourning since news emerged that Thailand's greatest phin player Thongsai Thap Thanon passed away on March 20 at his home in Warin Chamrap district, Ubon Ratchathani, at the age of 77. The phin is a two- or three-stringed Isan Lao lute that is part of the trinity of molam instruments, along with the iconic khaen (free reed bamboo mouth organ) and the sor (fiddle).