Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
Satanic sounds from the jungle
Life, John Clewley, Published on 02/07/2024
» In the 1960s in Peru, a funky popular style emerged in the oil-boom cities of the Amazon. It was largely based on Colombian cumbia and Andean tropical music but using the pentatonic scale of Andean music. Additional ingredients include highland huayno, Cuban percussion, psych and surf rock (especially twangy guitars, with as many as three playing together) and plenty of spacey keyboards.
World's in a spin
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/04/2024
» Record Store Day has been part of the music scene for 20 years now, held twice a year in April and "Black Friday" in November. The day-long event is held to celebrate independent record stores around the globe, bringing together musicians, producers, media, DJs and retailers to enjoy new and reissued vinyl gems.
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.
And ya don't stop!
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/08/2023
» On Aug 11, New York City celebrated the 50th anniversary the birth of hip-hop with exhibitions, concerts and street art across the five boroughs.
Forest folk
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/04/2023
» As part of an attempt to keep fit and enjoy what little green space we have in Bangkok, I have been a regular visitor to Benjakitti Park and its recently added section known as Benjakitti Forest Park. The new site, situated on land formerly occupied by the state tobacco company, has been transformed into a green space with different forest types such as mangrove, lowland forest swamp and so on.
Zamrock shines decades later
Life, John Clewley, Published on 27/04/2021
» Zambian rock and popular music, often dubbed as Zamrock, has featured several times in the column over recent years.
Goodbye reggae legend
Life, John Clewley, Published on 15/09/2020
» Toots Hibbert, the soulful leader of the legendary ska/reggae band Toots and the Maytals, died last week in Kingston, Jamaica, at the age of 77 from complications related to the Covid-19 pandemic. His death, following the recent release of Got To Be Tough, his first studio album for 10 years, shocked the global music community.
Dance, love, sing, live
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/02/2020
» Father Joseph Maier, an Irish American priest who has dedicated his life to helping marginalised and abused children in Klong Toey, Bangkok, will be well-known to long-time readers of the Bangkok Post. His short stories on these children and their struggles are, in my view, among the best written in the Bangkok Post. They present some of the saddest yet most uplifting tales you'll read about. Father Joe’s stories pull at the heart strings and make you take notice.
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.