Leave a comment Posted on Eastern Europe, Europe, Music, World Music

Moldova~Flows

Looks like Italy, smells like Romania .. it’s Moldova!  A small, sparsely populated nation with a history of artistic censorship, but as usual there are musical delights that shine through the ages.  This week’s Moldovan soundscape features underground rock from the Soviet era, father-daughter folk & pop, Balkan-punk, hip hop, and amore.

Moldova: Yes, we've got castles

Moldova: “We’ve got big castles”

Here’s a sneak peak that comes with an odd slice of trivia.. the youngest pop star ever, Cleopatra Stratan:

I’m not even ashamed to say it; that’s a seriously catchy tune.

Hear the Moldovan Special HERE (part1) and HERE (part 2).

And also from this week’s broadcast, one of the most sublime re-issues of the year – 70s Zamrock band Salty Dog, hitherto unheard outside of Africa:

Leave a comment Posted on Best-Of, Music

too thousand thirteen

wacky world

This week is our annual best-of episode: a rich sampling of some of the most exciting music unleashed on this planet over the past year.  As is the custom on this show, the focus is on undiscovered gems from near and far — artists you probably won’t see on other year-end lists.

Long live sonic liberation and cultural cross-pollination!

Stream part 1 here.      Stream part 2 here.

Below is the program’s playlist, loosely divided by theme and starting right here at home in Vancouver…

Canadiana:

The History of Gunpowder – Time’s Teeth

Blocktreat – Lint Trap

Indigo Kids ft. Ashleigh Eymann – False Prophets

Zoo Owl – Twin Mirror

A Tribe Called Red ft. Sheldon Sundon – PBC

Shad – Progress

Boogat – Ramados

Sublime & Unclassifiable:

Jupiter & Okwess International – Congo  (DR Congo)

Nana – Pequenas Margaridas  (Brazil)

Chico Mann – Magic Touch  (USA)

John Wizards – Lusaka by Night  (South Africa)

Dom La Nena – Anjo Gabriel  (Brazil)

La Yegros ft. El Gato Muñoz – Illuminada (Argentina)

2nd Hour

90s Cover Tunes:

Chicha Libre – Danza de los Simpsons  (USA)

Quantic & Anita Tijoux – Doo Wop [that thing]  (Colombia/France)

Setenta – Smells Like Teen Spirit  (France)

Hip Hop:

Lomepal – Les Battements (France)

Sons of Yusuf – Bank of Amreeka (Kuwait)

Matias Aguayo – El Sucu Tucu  (Chile/Germany)

La Esencia Rítmica Vital – A dónde van las luces cuando las hojas se caen?  (Ecuador)

Psych/Prog Rock:

Boogarins – Erre  (Brazil)

Shugo Tokumaru – Katachi  (Japan)

Pinkunoizu – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch  (Denmark)

Metal:

Darkestrah – Manas the Avenger  (Kyrgyzstan/Germany)

Freak/Folk:

Courtney Barrett – Avant Gardener  (Australia)

The Garifuna Collective – Ayó  (Bélize)

Leave a comment Posted on Africa, East Africa, Music

Harmonic Soulstice

As people in the northern parts of the planet begin to anticipate the return of the sun, here is a wacky and wonderful animated video from Ethiopia (middle-earth) that will warm even the farthest polar-dwellers:

Happy Solstice to all!  It has become easy to forget that Christmas and many other religious celebrations began as a way of deepening our connection with the natural world and its rhythmic cycles; remember this to stay grounded during the mad festival of consumption that we still call holy-days.  Let us sync back into the planet’s rhythms and swim in the harmonies.

Leave a comment Posted on Carribean, Music, World Music

islands}} {{soundclash

sugar mill barbados

Barbados was created by 2 islands smashing together in the year 43,262,684 B.C.  But that’s fairly old news.  This just in: the easternmost Caribbean nation is a buzzing power plant of music.  This is largely owing to a stable economy (tourists!), and a proliferation of recording studios since independence from the British nearly 50 years ago.  Still, considering the island’s population is barely a quarter million, there’s something mysterious about the sheer number of funkin’ bands making interesting songs.  But Barbados also benefits from strong siblings that speak their language; Jamaican ska and Trinidadian calypso were wildly popular in the region, and by the 1960s Barbadians had melded these with local Creole (Bajan) to create a style called spouge music.  It’s heavy on the cowbell:

Another great element of Bajan music is the constant stream of whimsical lyrics, which is true to the spirit of calypso.  In Barbados, the juxtaposition of African ancestry with British customs makes for endless zanity.  In this track, calypso legend Mighty Gabby (he has been Calypso Monarch of Barbados 7 times, spanning 42 years!) sings about his futile attempt to impress a girl in a game of cricket:

Hear these sounds and other Bajan delights on {DE BARBADOS SPECTACULAR}

And also, the weekly SOUNDSPLASH.  Sweet-fuh-days..

Leave a comment Posted on Asia, Central Asia

Music of the 40 Tribes

We will rock you

Tengir-Too will rock you

Beautiful music is always right around the corner– or hiding in the remote foothills of Central Asia.  This week we travel to Kyrgyzstan and discover a surprisingly rich feast of sounds.  Virtuosic vocals, komuz shredding, jaw harp harmonies, folkloric metal, dark hip hop, bebop, and mucho more! Listen and ye shall agree: Kyrgyz got soul power!

Hear the sounds of Kyrgyzstan HERE