Showing 1-10 of 91 results
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In praise of dangdut royalty
Life, John Clewley, Published on 20/03/2012
» Travel anywhere in Indonesia and pretty soon you'll hear the catchy rhythms of dangdut music, which is popular right across the country. Current dangdut stars like Inul Daratista sell millions of CDs, cassettes and VCDs and perform glitzy shows in front of huge crowds.
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Relentless rhythms
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/07/2012
» The reissue of "golden oldies" from West and Central Africa has brought long-forgotten bands from the 1960s and 1970s back to life. The first wave of reissues was based on West African music from former French colonies, featuring songs from countries such as Mali, Senegal, Burkino Faso, Guinea and Gambia. Shortly after that, compilations from West African countries that were former British colonies, such as Ghana and Nigeria, started to appear with groove-laden styles like afrobeat, highlife, afro-soul and afro-funk.
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Howlings of a haunted Wolf
Life, John Clewley, Published on 09/10/2012
» Howlin' Wolf was one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. His music influenced rock 'n' roll and the development of modern popular music; his stage act, in which he dropped to all fours, crawling and howlin', inspired countless imitators, as did his deep, rich baritone voice. But unless you were, to paraphrase a line from one of Willie Dixon's songs (expressly written for the Wolf), over 300lbs (135kg) and wore size 14 shoes, you would be hard-pressed to measure up to one of the USA's great musical icons.
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Night Tripper steps up
Life, John Clewley, Published on 19/02/2013
» At 72, Dr John is one of the grandees of New Orleans music. Since he returned to a healthier, drug-free lifestyle some years ago, he has released an album every few years, either in a stripped down "voodoo" funk style as on albums like Television (1992) or on New Orleans' musical heritage on albums like Goin' Back To New Orleans (1992).
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A whole lotta soul
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/05/2013
» James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul", would have been 80 this year. Perhaps being the "hardest working man in show business" finally caught up with him _ in 2006, at the age of 73, one of the greatest popular music icons of the 20th century passed away.
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Kenya Special is a holy trinity of East African sounds
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/09/2013
» One of the best compilations of African popular music I've come across in a long time, Kenya Special _ Selected East African Recordings From The 1970s & 1980s (Soundway, UK, 2013), found its way on to the World Beat desk recently. The 3-LP vinyl set is part of Soundway's African Special series which has so far produced gems on Ghanaian and Nigerian music.
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Funk and disorderly
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/10/2013
» I was early for an appointment so I thought I'd drop into one of those shrinking CD stores that you can find in shopping malls and department stores. Sometimes you can find a gem or two hidden away in the racks.
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Farewelling the prince of luk thung
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/01/2014
» Hundreds of country music fans turned out to celebrate the life and music of luk thung star Sayan Sanya at his funeral on Dec 19, at Wat Pa Lay Lie in Suphan Buri. The singer _ one of Thailand's most respected and popular _ had passed away on Sept 11 aged 60 and had lain at rest in Chonburi at Wat Rai King for a mourning period of 100 days.
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Obits to African giants
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/02/2014
» Two giants of African popular music passed away recently: Congolese bandleader and singer Tabu Ley Rochereau and legendary producer Ibrahima Sylla. Both of these musical icons helped to popularise African music not only within the continent but beyond it and on to the international stage.
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No pigeonholes for Ry Cooder
Life, John Clewley, Published on 11/03/2014
» In the early part of his career, during the 1960s, master guitarist Ry Cooder could walk down any street in the US and not be recognised. Born in Santa Monica, as a young guitar prodigy he played rhythm guitar as Ryland Cooder for Taj Mahal’s blues band. After this he played with Captain Beefheart and his slide guitar work attracted the attention of many big stars during the 1960s; he played on the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed albums and Van Morrison and Van Dyke Parks also used his services.
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