Showing 1 - 10 of 11
African voodoo vibes are resurrected on Antoine Dougbe Et L'Orchestre Poly-Rythmo
Life, John Clewley, Published on 14/03/2026
» Benin is little known for its influence on African popular music. It is better known as the home of vodun, an ancient religion native to West Africa and the root of the syncretic religion voodoo found in Haiti and New Orleans.
Exile songs resurface
Life, John Clewley, Published on 27/09/2025
» From the early 1970s to the 80s, Mogadishu boasted one of the Horn of Africa's liveliest night scenes with groups from this "Golden Era" like Dur Dur Band entertaining at clubs and hotels across the city. A coup in 1991 and subsequent civil war put a stop to the music and musicians had to go underground or migrate. Those who went by the latter route took their music and culture across the Somali diaspora (one of Africa's largest).
The voice of Zimbabwe
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/05/2024
» Thomas Mapfumo, the Zimbabwean singer, bandleader and songwriter, is one of Africa's most respected musicians known not only for his hypnotic chimerenga music but also for his steadfast support for human rights, political dignity and social justice. Chimerenga is the Shona -- Mapfumo's ethnic group -- word for liberation and is based on the sacred and iconic instrument, the mbira (thumb piano or sanza), which is at the heart of Mapfumo's music.
A joyous sound
Life, John Clewley, Published on 07/11/2023
» In 2001, the legendary US Gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama released an album on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label. It was a hugely popular album which garnered the band a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. It included their version of Tom Wait's song Way Down In The Hole, which was the theme song for the TV miniseries The Wire. Their version is better than Waits' in my view.
Top tunes this June
Life, John Clewley, Published on 20/06/2023
» Veteran kora master Toumani Diabaté and Kayhan Kalhor soar to the top spot on the June edition of the Transglobal World Music Chart with a new release on Real World, The Sky Is The Same Colour Everywhere. Diabaté is well-known for his cross-cultural collaborations, from his early days with Ketama, a flamenco, jazz, West Africa fusion, to later work with the London Symphony Orchestra (Korolen), while Kalhor is an award-winning Kurdish-Iranian master of the kamancheh (fiddle) and setar (lute).
Return of Doumbia
Life, John Clewley, Published on 20/07/2021
» Over the past half-century, the land-locked West African nation Mali has produced some terrific singers and bands.
Riding the clog dancing wave
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/05/2021
» People have been wearing wooden footwear for centuries.
Protest songs make comeback
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/06/2020
» Street protests against racial injustice and police brutality that erupted across US towns and cities in the past few weeks have gone global as similar protests have been held in cities in many countries.
A whole different sonic vibe
Life, John Clewley, Published on 09/06/2020
» Sega is the traditional and popular music of the island of Mauritius, which sits in the vast Indian Ocean; some call sega the blues of the Indian Ocean but I think of it as the soundtrack to the sea.
Farewell to a punk pioneer
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/12/2018
» Manchester in the mid- to late-1970s was dark and moody. The International Monetary Fund bailed out the UK economy with a £3.5 billion loan in 1976 as the pound sunk to record lows. There was bitter infighting in the Labour-led government and strikes were in the news headlines.