OPNO ENW !
Purchase our Top of the World albums, guest playlist selections and featured artist CDs from each issue. Delivered worldwide with free P&P for all UK orders
SONGLINES CD SHOP EXCLUSIVE! Susheela Raman’s new album Queen Between is a culmination of several years work in India and Pakistan. It’s been described as ‘London post-rock psychedelia scorched by the deserts of Rajasthan and the spiritual furnace of Pakistan’s finest Sufi
der Pre-orcopy r you y for toda 9* £10.9&P) (incl P
qawwals.’ Only available in the UK through the Songlines CD Shop – released on May 22 to coincide with Raman’s live performance at Alchemy.
www.songlinescdshop.co.uk or call +44 (0)1634 832232
*Additional postage costs are applicable for overseas orders, please see www.songlinescdshop.co.uk for I S Sdetails UE 98 › SONGLINES 1
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CONTENTS
36 Kronos Quartet
Jay Blakesberg
UPFRONT
FEATURES
REGULARS
REVIEWS
06 Top of the World CD 08 My World interview
28 Songlines Music
54 Beginner’s Guide:
62 66 70 76 83 85 86
11 19 21 22 25 27
36 40 43
89 95 96 98
LOOKING BACK AT 100 ISSUES
Turn to p35 for our special retrospective feature – a celebration of 15 years of world music
S
To mark our 100th issue we remin 15 years of world isce over the last music in a 32-pa ge retrospectiv Nigel Williamson e. takes on the challe nge
‘Songlines is a breath of fresh air and a vital instrument to keep all of our beautiful music alive’ Angélique Kidjo
‘I find it an amazing way to get deep knowledge and tips from a team who really know their stuff’ Justin Adams
‘It’s my regular bible... don’t tell anyone, but I’m a fan!’ Jon Snow ‘It’s so
wonderful that there’s a magazine out there that promotes and supports world cultures’ Anoushka Shankar
‘Songlines has made the exotic
accessible with wit and erudition’ Joe Boyd
‘I love the
magazine – it’s indispensable to those
Madejski; Rokia Traoré
Frank Socha; Peter Gabriel
interested in more than just chart music’ Rokia Traoré
ince our launch in 1999, 99 issues of Songlines. there have been In case somehow missed them, you’ve here’s your chance to get up to speed. We calculate we’ve published 10,910 pages, which is over seven times War & Peace. Without the length of drawing the analogy far, like Tolstoy’s ridiculously novel, Songlines has looked at world through the wider a large number of (musical) characters sometimes in fine detail, sometimes – in broad sweeps. So which characters have made the most regular appearances? On our covers we’ve had Manu times. Also five Chao five times we’ve had the Buena Vista Club, or members Social of the same – Ibrahim Ferrer times) and Rubén (three González (once). ‘Songlines is The original disc released in 1997, a was won a Grammy the following treasure trove was boosted by year and the Wim Wenders’ for film in 1999. There a whole series anyone intereste of World Circuit was albums that came original sessions d out of the and follow-ups in the world and, of course, imitations and countless of music’ archive releases. But the Vista last featured on the time Buena Peter Gabriel cover was #43, back in 2007 (Ibrahim Ferrer with Roberto Fonseca), when we were already talking about the ‘legacy.’ After that, Balkan music to move in and seemed occupy the good-time, party space. Other regular appearances have been made by (four), Youssou Mariza N’Dour (four), Amadou & Mariam (three), Rokia Traoré (three) and Gilberto Toumani, this Gil (also three). issue’s cover star, also appeared 2008, and Tinariwen back in and Salif Keita have both appeared twice showing that Malian music has been a consistent presence throughout our 15 years. No fickle fashions there, but shifting politics. But perhaps more than any other style, this music isn’t only about star names. It is created and by ordinary people driven all around the world. We’ve also introduced new artists on the ‘Speaking as cover – Staff Benda Raghu Dixit and a Bilili, Gurrumul all got their first international professional major coverage in Songlines. musician We’ve given the it’s still the magazin , impossible task of summarising years and a hundred e 15 issues to Nigel you hope your Williamson, who has contributed to every issue work since the beginning. the next 32 pages will be featured Over he looks into our history year in’ finding overriding by year, themes, a Discovery Julie Fowlis random facts of the Year, and and figures. We’ve chosen each year, most of which are available five top CDs from Songlines CD through the new Shop (see p4). Thanks to all our contributors and writers for hard work and their generous contributions over to read about ... and now turn the first 15 years of Songlines. Simon Broughton Justin Adams Bartosz
PS The Best of Songlines Magazine Newsstand app, featuring over 130 pages of original articles from 100 of Songlines, is issues exclusively available on the App Store
Michele Turriani
WIN
30
57
Joyce Moreno Postcard from Hiltons, Virginia Gig Guide Subscribe The Essential Ten: Family Albums Cerys Matthews
Angélique Kidjo Bex Singleton;
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson What’s New & Obits Letters Soapbox Introducing... 9Bach, Jambinai & [su:m] Spotlight on Soumik Datta Quickfire: Viktoria Mullova, Eddie Barcan, Seun Kuti
Awards 2014: The Winners Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté Kronos Quartet Kayhan Kalhor Festival Guide 2014
Africa Americas Europe Fusion Middle East Books Live Reviews
A Shackleton banjo courtesy of The Great British Banjo Company 12 Songlines Music Awards 2014 album 28 Kronos Quartet’s Explorer Series box set 39 Pair of weekend tickets to Larmer Tree Festival 47
COMPETITIONS Send entries, marked clearly with the competition name, your name, address, email and telephone number to the address on p3 or email: comps@songlines.co.uk. Winners will be chosen at random. Only one entry per household. No cash alternatives. If you would prefer not to be sent details of other Songlines products and services, or products from other carefully selected companies, please state clearly on your entry. Closing date June 20 2014 (unless otherwise stated)
ISSUE 100
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BEST ARTIST
Bassekou Kouyaté Jama Ko on Out Here
2014 The Winners
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the sixth annual Songlines Music Awards. From over 600 albums to a shortlist of 16, here are the four outstanding winning artists selected by the Songlines editorial team
“I am apolitical,” Bassekou told Songlines in #89. But this, his last album, became political because it was recorded during the Malian coup in March 2012 that overthrew president Amadou Toumani Touré. The title-track urges people to come together and unite, while another song, ‘Sinaly’, is about Sinaly Diarra opposing forced Islamisation in the 19th century. The apolitical Bassekou ended up making an album that became very political. The urgency and integrity of the message makes the music strong and the quality is audible even to those of us who don’t understand the words. The music of Jama Ko is full of glorious instrumental virtuosity and vocal prowess (thanks to Bassekou’s wife, Amy Sacko) – all traits that make Mali stand out as a musical powerhouse. Bassekou has long been the man to call when you need a shit-hot ngoni solo, but it was Africa Express in 2006 and his 2007 album Segu Blue, with his pioneering group Ngoni ba, that first put him on the map. He’s now a regal figure, but not a political one, on stages around the world. SB
WIN! We have three copies of our Songlines Music Awards 2014 compilation album to give away. To enter, answer: Who won the Songlines Newcomer award in 2013? See p5 for Songlines competition rules and address. Competition closes on June 20 2014
ALBUM Featuring tracks from all 16 nominees, the Songlines Music Awards 2014 compilation album is available on CD exclusively from Amazon.co.uk PODCAST Hear music from each of the winning artists’ albums on this issue’s podcast
www.songlines.co.uk/youtube
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BEST group
CROSS-CULTURAL COLLABORATION
newcomer
Tamikrest
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita
Family Atlantica
Chatma on Glitterbeat
Clychau Dibon on Astar Artes
Family Atlantica on Soundway Records
There are two artists from Mali amongst this year’s award winners – and it’s perhaps fitting that one is from the Bamana culture of the south and one from the Touareg culture of the north. Tamikrest are currently living outside Mali in southern Algeria and their most recent album, Chatma, which means ‘Sisters’ in Tamashek, is about the women who suffer during war – see our feature in #96. Led by frontman Ousmane Ag Mossa, Tamikrest are from Kidal, also home to Tinariwen. They formed in 2006, but became internationally known after meeting the indie band Dirtmusic at the Festival in the Desert and recording on their 2010 album BKO and releasing their debut album Adagh, produced by Dirtmusic’s Chris Eckman. Chatma, their powerful third album featuring female vocalist Wonou Walet Sidati, was a Top of the World, with Nigel Williamson praising their psych-guitar effects and Pink Floyd-style sonic montage: ‘All credit, then, to Tamikrest – who are a generation younger than the original Touareg war vets – for taking the sound in brave and brilliant new directions.’ SB
There’s something deeply gratifying about this whole collaboration – the pairing of the West African kora with the Welsh harp. There’s the actual physical object: a CD bound like a chunky book, replete with insightful notes and its beautiful front cover image. Then there’s the intriguing story behind how the two came together to record this album – a series of initially unfortunate circumstances, which turned into this most serendipitous meeting of musical talents – you can read more about this in #102. The first impression is what an unlikely combination of two completely different cultures this is. But when you hear the inextricably cascading notes, you realise that there are fascinating similarities that connect these two instruments. This accolade isn’t their first – the album won fRoots 2013 Album of the Year and was nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. And on evidence of the interest they piqued at their extraordinary showcase at WOMEX – so jammed-packed most people could only see the very tips of the instruments – I wager there will be many more plaudits to come. JF
It was four years in the making, but the debut by London’s Family Atlantica was well worth the wait. A band that could only have formed in the multicultural mecca of London, Family Atlantica are fronted by the Venezuelan vocal powerhouse Luzmira Zerpa, London-born percussionist Jack Yglesias, and Nigerian/Ghanaian percussionist Kwame Crentsil. Together, their fusion explores the wealth of music on either side of the Atlantic. Zerpa’s rich and expressive voice, underpinned by intoxicating rhythms, delves into stories from Africa and the Americas with unparalleled joy and enthusiasm, uniting the music of the African diaspora. Succinctly summarising their ethos, Yglesias told Songlines, ‘music unites people, it builds a bridge between individuals across the Atlantic.’ And that is exactly what Family Atlantica have managed to do, creating an album of passionate, joyous music that is thoroughly enlightened by a rich history of peoples, but at the same time, very much a contemporary sound. AP
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channel
Bassekou Kouyaté Jens Schwarz; Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita Andy Morgan; Family Atlantica Alex Harvey-Brown
Watch live footage from each of this year’s winners on the Songlines
16/04/2014 18:45
To mark our 100th issue we reminisce over the last 15 years of world music in a 32-page retrospective. Nigel Williamson takes on the challenge ‘I find it an amazing way to get deep knowledge and tips from a team who really know their stuff ’ Justin Adams ‘Songlines is a breath of fresh air and a vital instrument to keep all of our beautiful music alive’ Angélique Kidjo
SL_suppo_opening spread.indd 1
‘It’s my regular bible... don’t tell anyone, but I’m a fan!’ Jon Snow ‘It’s so wonderful that there’s a magazine out there that promotes and supports world cultures’ Anoushka Shankar
16/04/2014 16:41
S ‘Songlines is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the world of music’ Peter Gabriel ‘Songlines has made the exotic accessible with wit and erudition’ Joe Boyd
SL_suppo_opening spread.indd 2
PS The Best of Songlines Magazine Newsstand app, featuring over 130 pages of original articles from 100 issues of Songlines, is exclusively available on the App Store
Angélique Kidjo Bex Singleton; Justin Adams Bartosz Madejski; Rokia Traoré Frank Socha; Peter Gabriel Michele Turriani
‘I love the magazine – it’s indispensable to those interested in more than just chart music’ Rokia Traoré
‘Speaking as a professional musician, it’s still the magazine you hope your work will be featured in’ Julie Fowlis
ince our launch in 1999, there have been 99 issues of Songlines. In case somehow you’ve missed them, here’s your chance to get up to speed. We calculate we’ve published 10,910 pages, which is over seven times the length of War & Peace. Without drawing the analogy ridiculously far, like Tolstoy’s novel, Songlines has looked at the wider world through a large number of (musical) characters – sometimes in fine detail, sometimes in broad sweeps. So which characters have made the most regular appearances? On our covers we’ve had Manu Chao five times. Also five times we’ve had the Buena Vista Social Club, or members of the same – Ibrahim Ferrer (three times) and Rubén González (once). The original disc was released in 1997, won a Grammy the following year and was boosted by the Wim Wenders’ film in 1999. There was a whole series of World Circuit albums that came out of the original sessions and follow-ups and, of course, countless imitations and archive releases. But the last time Buena Vista featured on the cover was #43, back in 2007 (Ibrahim Ferrer with Roberto Fonseca), when we were already talking about the ‘legacy.’ After that, Balkan music seemed to move in and occupy the good-time, party space. Other regular appearances have been made by Mariza (four), Youssou N’Dour (four), Amadou & Mariam (three), Rokia Traoré (three) and Gilberto Gil (also three). Toumani, this issue’s cover star, also appeared back in 2008, and Tinariwen and Salif Keita have both appeared twice showing that Malian music has been a consistent presence throughout our 15 years. No fickle fashions there, but shifting politics. But perhaps more than any other style, this music isn’t only about star names. It is created and driven by ordinary people all around the world. We’ve also introduced new artists on the cover – Staff Benda Bilili, Raghu Dixit and Gurrumul all got their first major international coverage in Songlines. We’ve given the impossible task of summarising 15 years and a hundred issues to Nigel Williamson, who has contributed to every issue since the beginning. Over the next 32 pages he looks into our history year by year, finding overriding themes, a Discovery of the Year, and random facts and figures. We’ve chosen five top CDs from each year, most of which are available through the new Songlines CD Shop (see p4). Thanks to all our contributors and writers for their hard work and generous contributions... and now turn over to read about the first 15 years of Songlines. Simon Broughton
16/04/2014 16:42
2003 KEYS FOR KABUL Songlines donates an electronic keyboard to Afghan Radio but draws the line at the request for a drum machine.
‘Forlorn lines of Palestinians trudge past tooled-up Israeli soldiers… when life itself is little more than one long struggle, maybe there’s nothing more radical than music nor more revolutionary than joy’ Andy Morgan on the harassment of Palestinian musicians in Jerusalem
AWARD WINNERS The winners at the second BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music are Orchestra Baobab (below); Mahwash & Ensemble Kaboul; Los de Abajo; Mariza; Samira Said; Gotan Project and Ellika & Solo.
NO SHOW Youssou N’Dour cancels his US tour in protest of the war in Iraq.
DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR
JARA TRIBUTE
JIM MORAY
The national stadium in Santiago, Chile, is renamed after Víctor Jara, who died there during Pinochet’s coup in 1973.
JAIL FOR WEMBA Papa Wemba is imprisoned in France for people smuggling.
GIL MP The tropicália star Gilberto Gil becomes the Brazilian minister of culture.
2003
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The English folk singer turns heads with his debut Sweet England, full of modern versions of traditional tunes.
LOST IN ACTION
Our first Top 50 list... Magazines have always loved lists and Songlines’ first such venture – 50 World Music Albums You Must Own – still seems pretty essential more than a decade on. For the record, Salif Keita’s Soro pipped Buena Vista Social Club for the number one slot, with Franco, Khaled, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Manu Chao, Cesaria Evora, Orchestra Baobab and Celia Cruz making up the top ten. The war in Iraq meant Baghdad was off the itinerary, even for our intrepid columnist Andy Kershaw, who instead filed columns from northern Mali and Addis Ababa. Other roving reporters were dispatched to Cairo to
meet Samira Said; to Cuba to drink rum with Ibrahim Ferrer; to Tashkent to chat with Sevara Nazarkhan and to Guinea Bissau to hang out with Manecas Costa. We also interviewed Mariza, Oumou Sangaré, Oi Va Voi, Lo’Jo, Asian Dub Foundation and Susheela Raman, and covered festivals as far apart as Jerusalem and Arnhem Land. We celebrated the Klezmatics appearing in Sex and the City (where they were asked to play a trad tune so that the TV company didn’t have to pay royalties) and admired the chutzpah of Turkey’s Mercan Dede who told us, ‘DJing is no different than being a maestro who conducts Sufi meditation.’
Compay Segundo 1907-2003 Celia Cruz 1924-2003 Momo Wandel Soumah 1926-2003 Rubén González 1919-2003 Hukwe Zawose 1938-2003
TOP FIVE CDs Souad Massi Deb Electric Gypsyland Electric Gypsyland Abyssinia Infinite Zion Roots Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán Mambo Sinuendo Oi Va Voi Laughter Through Tears
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2004 AWARD WINNERS The winners of 2004’s awards are Ojos de Brujo, Think of One, Ibrahim Ferrer, Warsaw Village Band, Daara J, Kazem Al Sahir, DJ Dolores, Rokia Traoré and Sevara Nazarkhan.
DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR
Star ratings shock, horror!
‘I don’t need to discover my roots! Americans discover their roots... I’m interested in my own individual music!’ Manu Dibango
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Controversy of various kinds hit in 2004. Our examination of the banned narcocorrido drug ballads chronicling – and often gloryifyng – the murderous deeds of Mexico’s traffickers entered morally ambivalent waters. On a more parochial level, the decision to introduce star ratings divided our contributors in a furious row that involved threats of resignation on both sides. In the end, nobody walked and when readers picked up issue #23, they found a new-style review section, which ranged from five-star acclaim (Bonga and Lhasa) to single-star disdain (Clannad and Skilda). We also indulged in more lists. Khaled, Youssou N’Dour and Cesaria Evora headed our 50 Essential African Albums feature. In a more lighthearted vein, we invited nominations for world music’s sexiest tracks. Damon Albarn went for Fela Kuti’s ‘Zombie’ (‘one climax after another’), World Circuit’s Nick Gold nominated Pérez Prado’s ‘Mambo No 5’ (‘a huge finely tuned engine’) and Andy Kershaw revealed that he likes to get it on to Khaled’s ‘Hada Raykoum’.
TINARIWEN
A privileged few had already seen Tinariwen at the Festival in the Desert; but it is their second album Amassakoul and a stunning WOMAD debut that really puts them on the map.
LOST IN ACTION Vilayat Khan 1928-2004 Bob Copper 1915-2004 Brenda Fassie 1964-2004 Coxsone Dodd 1932-2004 Tau Moe 1908-2004
TOP FIVE CDs Gipsy Kings Roots Mory Kanté Sabou Youssou N’Dour Egypt Kaushiki Chakrabarty Pure Lhasa The Living Road
ITUNES launches in Europe, but it’s slow to catch on to world music – only four of our top 20 African albums are available.
TOP O’ THE WORLD We launch our Top of the World CD (from #25), and the first disc features tracks by Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo and Bebo & Cigala.
SAGE ON THE TYNE The Sage Gateshead opens as the north’s premier world music venue.
FELA FEST The Barbican stages Black President, a festival of film, art and music celebrating Afrobeat star Fela Kuti.
16/04/2014 16:01
2009 OBAMAMANIA Barack takes office and Obamamania hits Kenya, where local reggae artist Makadem tops the charts with ‘Obama Be Thy Name’.
AR RAHMAN The Indian composer wins a brace of Oscars for the score to Slumdog Millionaire and the song ‘Jai Ho’.
YOUSSOU N’DOUR I Bring What I Love, a Youssou documentary directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, is released.
STERN’S CLOSES The record shop, a mecca for London’s African music lovers since 1983, closes its doors and moves online.
2009
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The winds of change After eight years of George Bush, the election of Barack Obama seemed like a beacon of light – and the new president’s interest in cultural diversity and world music was immediately evident when he nominated Toumani Diabaté & Taj Mahal’s Kulanjan as a beautiful a favourite album, describing it as ‘a melding of traditional blues and music from Mali by two great masters.’.’ It also transpired that as a senator he had intervened to sort out a visa problem for Seun Kuti and his band Egypt 80, and had then turned up to see their show in Chicago. The expectations of Obama’s presidency were perhaps impossibly high; but having a guy in the White House who knew where Mali was and who danced to the rhythms of Afrobeat seemed a huge advance in itself. The winds of change – political and cultural – became a theme over the course of the year. We looked at the musical
scene in every one of the outposts of Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’ with reports from Iran, Korea and Iraq. We spotlighted the 10 Songs that Shook the World with examples from Australia, Argentina, Algeria and beyond of how music could rock not only butts but the body politic. We marked the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution with a brilliant analysis by the late Jan Fairley of the island’s musical evolution in the Castro era. We also had one of the most stark and striking cover images to date – the face of the blind Australian Aboriginal singer, Gurrumul. But all these serious issues didn’t mean that Songlines had forgotten how to dance as our cover stories over the year celebrated the power of artists such as Staff Benda Bilili, Youssou N’Dour, Osibisa Osibisa, Hugh Masekela and Baaba Maal to move our feet as well as our heads and hearts.
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DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR STAFF BENDA BILILI
Their warm and earthy debut Très Très Fort is funkily coated in the grime of Kinshasa’s streets and delivered with astonishing joie de vivre from their motorised wheelchairs.
LOST IN ACTION Mercedes Sosa 1935-2009 The queen of Argentinian folk, with her rich voice and moral gravitas, was an inspiration during the dictatorships across Latin America. Tiahoun Gessesse 1940-2009 One of the kings of the golden age of Ethio-jazz and part of the acclaimed Éthiopiques series. Ali Akbar Khan 1922-2009 Indian sarod maestro, described by Yehudi Menuhin as ‘perhaps the greatest musician in the world.’ Mike Seeger 1933-2009 Half-brother of Pete and a founding member of The New Lost City Ramblers.
AWARD WINNERS The winners of the very first Songlines Music Awards are: Amadou & Mariam (Best Group), Rokia Traoré (Best Artist), Kiran Ahluwalia (Newcomer) and Jah Wobble & The Chinese Dub Orchestra (Cross-Cultural Collaboration, pictured above with editor Jo Frost).
‘A drummer has two arms and two legs and if he’s any good, they’re all playing different things’ Tony Allen on the secret behind those Afrobeat rhythms
Cachaíto López 1933-2009 The BVSC bass supremo.
TOP FIVE CDs Khaled Liberté Oumou Sangaré Seya Spiro Lightbox Stelios Petrakis Orion Kronos Quartet Floodplain SONGLINES 100TH
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30 s o n g l i n e s
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Reviving Ancient Strings
TOUMANI & SIDIKI
Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté are modern griots, revisiting the ancient sounds of the Malian kora. Lucy Durán talks to father and son about carrying on their family line
L
ast November, in a large studio room
Sidiki is Toumani’s eldest son, born in 1990,
I’m a hip-hop artist, but I love and respect my
in North London, father and son sit on
a musical genius with a formidable technique
roots as a kora player, I want to know more. It’s my
low stools facing each other, each one
and a distinctive style. He has a huge following
chance to learn directly from my father.”
holding a kora, the 21-string harp of
among the Malian youth as part of a duo with
This is not an idle statement. I have brought
West Africa, their heritage as Mande griots. It’s their
local hip-hop star Iba One. Sidiki is a 21st-century
to the studio the kora that Toumani used for his
first day in the studio and they’re warming up for a
kora player, but he has grown up listening to his
debut album, Kaira, which I produced back in
new album. They have played together before, but
father’s and grandfather’s music, and knows the
1987; it’s not been used much since then. Sidiki
not as a duo. The atmosphere is charged. There’s
Mande griot tradition well. He studies at the only
picks it up with admiration, and although the
a lot at stake, and the son has to live up to his
music conservatoire in Mali, where he learned
strings are old and mute, somehow he brings
illustrious grandfather, after whom he’s named –
music theory and how to sing, though he ran
them to life. He plays his father’s ‘Alla L’aa Ke’
one of the greatest kora players of all time.
circles around his kora teachers.
exactly as it was on the album, note for note, run
I’m sitting behind the mixing console, along
Sidiki is named after his grandfather – the late
for run. Clearly he’s listened to it over and over
with co-producer Nick Gold and engineer Jerry
Sidiki Diabaté (1922-1996). Sidiki senior was a
again. He picks out a particular sequence and
Boys, from World Circuit, excited and nervous,
phenomenal virtuoso and musical pioneer, the
says, “you hear this? Now I know why it sounded
as we embark on the third album of kora duets
greatest player of his generation, and if the kora
like that,” and he demonstrates some extreme
ever recorded, all of which have involved this very
has become Africa’s most iconic instrument on the
subtleties of kora technique. He’s thought a lot
family. In front of me, scrawled onto sticky tape on
world stage, a large part of that was due to him.
about the aesthetics of the instrument.
the console, are the names ‘Toumani’ and ‘Sidiki,’
He believed in educating his children, and was a
mapping out faders for the various microphones
brilliant man, with a vast knowledge of oral history.
much alike, are hunched over their koras. They
clustered around the two instruments. These are
It’s a tough act to follow.
live together in Bamako, but they have different
significant names in the annals of kora history.
In the studio, Toumani and his son, looking very
In Mande culture, they say that sons are the
musical influences and lives, as one would expect
rivals of their fathers, and must strive to overpass
of two generations in an urban environment. I can
recognised as the greatest living kora player, the
them. Sidiki senior and his son Toumani had
see them listening with fascination to each other;
person who has taken the instrument further both
a rather distant relationship. Toumani always
the bemused smiles on their faces can be heard in
technically and musically than anyone else. He
stresses that he never had a single kora lesson
the intertwining of the music, as they trade riffs
is a veteran of the world music scene, with many
from his father, who was too busy with his own
and variations. They’re using an identical set of
kora albums, Grammy awards, and collaborations
career. But Toumani and his son treat each other
mics, and yet their individual sound is so different.
with the likes of Ali Farka Touré and Björk. This is
with tenderness and humour, and young Sidiki is
The father is more lyrical, contemplative, majestic;
his first kora album since The Mande Variations in
bursting with pride to be involved in this album.
his sound clear, brilliant and ringing. The son is
2008 (a Top of the World in #51).
“For me to play with my dad is like a dream. Yes
more staccato and fiery, his fingers run up and
Toumani Diabaté, now in his late 40s, is widely
Youri Lenquette
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Brave New Worlds Kronos Quartet’s founder David Harrington talks to Simon Broughton about their latest release marking their 40th anniversary
36 S O N G L I N E S
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JULIE FOWLIS
Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and the 29-yearold Korean-born Sunny Yang (cello). Leaving aside the cutting-edge contemporary music and new works by Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Osvaldo Golijov, Kronos have created extraordinary albums inspired by music around the world: Five Tango Sensations (1991) with Astor Piazzolla; Pieces of Africa (1992); Caravan (2000) including Taraf de Haidouks, Kayhan Kalhor and Zakir Hussain; the Mexican-inspired Nuevo (2002); and Rainbow: Music of Central Asia Vol 8 (2010) featuring the Azeri mugham singer Alim Qasimov and Afghan rubab player Homayun Sakhi. And this isn’t just esoteric stuff – Pieces of Africa sold over 250,000 copies and spent 29 weeks in Billboard’s world music chart; Caravan was 15 weeks in the classical chart. Floodplain (2009) and their latest A Thousand Thoughts, released to mark their 40th anniversary, feature arrangements of music by artists that often have been reviewed in Songlines. A Thousand Thoughts takes its title from ‘Tusen Tankar’, by the Swedish group Triakel who Harrington chose for his Songlines playlist in 2007 (#44): ‘Once in a while you are lucky to hear something that is so exquisitely beautiful... it’s like sunlight seen through little drops of rain.’ The original Triakel recording features a singer (Emma Härdelin), violin and harmonium, and the harmonium sound as re-imagined by Kronos is what gives their arrangement its character. Speaking to Harrington via Skype, he demonstrates how they got that harmonium sound. “Do you know what a practice mute is?” he says picking up a little metal object he puts over the bridge of the violin. “They’re also called ‘hotel mutes.’ It constricts and limits the sound but also gives it a different quality.” For the recording the strings play with practice mutes plus an ‘octave divider’ on the cello, which adds an octave below the played pitch. “The harmonium sound is the key to that track,” says Harrington. “For me it’s always about creating the right sound.” In this case it’s a dark, chordal, pious tone, which hardly sounds like a string quartet at all, but gives this song of unrequited love a religious feeling. Other composers and musicians featured on the new CD include Omar Souleyman (recent Songlines cover artist), Ethiopian saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya, Bollywood composer RD Burman with Asha Bhosle, and the great Ottoman musician Tanburi Cemil Bey. But there’s no point in simply recreating the sound of an already existing track, so what are Kronos trying to do? “Since we started, Kronos has been on a journey,” says Harrington. “We are four classical instruments – two Left to right: John Sherba, Sunny Yang, Hank Dutt, David Harrington
violins, a viola and a cello – but we’ve always wanted to create new sounds and emotions and widen our vision. I feel like I’m a collector of musical experiences and every once in a while I find something I have to add to the collection and I think I can say everyone of these tracks is one of those – an intimate part of our musical experiences.” I wish I’d had Skype set up for the recording of Marika Papagika’s ‘Smyrneiko Minore’, which they recorded into a gramophone horn
M
to evoke the feeling of this rebetika recording from 1918. Harrington, who takes Papagika’s solo line, was up close playing directly into
ost violinists remember the first time they heard Jascha
the recording horn with the other three ranged around the sides.
Heifetz,” says David Harrington about the greatest
It conjures up an extraordinary visual picture – the world’s most
violinist of the 20th century. But Kronos Quartet’s leader
futuristic string quartet struggling to recreate the ambience of a pre-
isn’t about to start talking about Tchaikovsky, Brahms or
electrical recording – and a remarkable aural one too.
Beethoven, the composers of whom Heifetz made celebrated recordings.
Harrington describes the first note Papagika sings as his “favourite
Jay Blakesberg
He goes on to talk about Chinese pipa player Wu Man. “Hearing Wu Man
note of all time.” Papagika (1890-1943) left Greece and recorded for
reminded me of Heifetz because of her searing ability and command of
Viktor Records in New York and later opened Marika’s, the first café
the instrument,” he continues. “And what began to happen is we had these
aman in the US. From a spectral background of violin and cimbalom
experiences with musicians from different parts of the world, and we
chords she enters with a plaintive cry, below the note, and takes about
felt our vocabulary was getting larger and the musical colours we could
six seconds to slide up to it. “I think I could write a novel about that
access were getting richer – it felt like becoming a painter.”
first note,” Harrington says. “Why does a human being make the sound
Certainly it’s hard to think of a string quartet whose repertoire has been more colourful and varied than that of Kronos, now comprising
that she made? I started to wonder about her life and the musicians around her. It’s a continuing challenge, as long as I play music, to
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Sympathetic Strings
k ay h a n K a l h o r
What is the role of music when bullets are fired? Kayhan Kalhor talks to Simon Broughton prior to his Songlines Encounters Festival performance
B
ack in June 2009, thousands of people
other like magic. It’s all about the sound. The shah
that’s why I like working with them. It’s like a duo
protested in Tehran at the re-election
kaman feels like it’s really old.”
because we worked on everything together and we
of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an election that
many believed was rigged. The crowds came out
The shah kaman was actually built by the celebrated Australian instrument-maker Peter
created the music together.” Seeing Kalhor in performance with any of
Biffin who also created the tarhu, a combination
these musicians, it’s hard not to see and feel it as
day after day, and there were deaths at the hands
of tanbur and erhu. A normal kamancheh has four
something spiritual and transcendent – artists
of the police and revolutionary guards – including
strings, but the shah kaman has a fifth bass string,
getting lost in the sounds they are creating. One
the young music student Neda Agha-Soltan, who
plus a sympathetic string giving it a fuller, more
phrase inspires another; one mood is transformed
became a symbolic casualty of the protests. “It was
resonant sound. In the recording that Kalhor later
into another; there’s movement; there’s stillness;
a very difficult time,” says Kayhan Kalhor, “and
made, I Will Not Stand Alone, it’s over two and a
there are peaks and troughs. He is particularly
made me question my role in society. What is the
half minutes before the shah kaman enters with a
enthused about working with saz player Erzincan.
role of music when bullets are fired, people are
deep, sonorous melody that inevitably sounds like
Of course, there’s a satisfying contrast between
arrested, tortured and beaten?”
a lament. “There is sadness in the beginning and
the textures of the instruments, bowed and
depth, which turns into hope in the end. There is
plucked, but for Kalhor it’s deeper than that. “It’s
featured in the first issue of Songlines when he
Kamancheh (spike fiddle) player Kalhor was
energy and life goes on,” says Kalhor. “It saved my
the highest level of achievement when we don’t
released his brilliant debut Scattering Stars Like
life and soul as a musician and I think a lot of people
have to think any more. We find each other in our
Dust. Kalhor is hugely admired by fellow musicians
were saved with music. It was like we were together.”
music. It’s like one person playing two instruments
and far more interested in quality and integrity
A few months after the protests, the pair gave
– or maybe two people playing one instrument.
than popular success. He’s been a crucial member
nine sold-out concerts in Vahdat Hall in Tehran,
of groups like the Masters of Persian Music and
and then 21 concerts round the country, before
Silk Road Ensemble, but most of his work has been
making a recording. Since then, Kalhor has stayed
to be on tour in Iran with Brooklyn Rider, but
in duos – with Turkish saz player Erdal Erzincan,
outside Iran and is currently based in the US.
sadly the visas didn’t come through. He has a huge
Kurdish tanbur player Ali Akbar Moradi and Indian
True to the classical Persian tradition they were
That’s the quality I’m looking for.” When I speak to him, Kalhor had been hoping
love of his country and its culture, and would
sitar player Shujaat Khan in the duo Ghazal. He’s
raised in, when Kalhor and Fard perform I Will Not
never want to permanently cut himself off from
received seven Top of the World accolades in our 15
Stand Alone, as they will in June, it is never the same
it. And he’s optimistic about the changes that
years – probably more than anyone else.
twice. He estimates 80-90% is improvised. “We have
are happening under Hassan Rouhani, the new
the same instruments, the same themes and same
president. “Politicians come and go, but the age of
out a musical response. Kalhor picked up an
modes. We take a melody that is perhaps a minute
culture and wisdom is a lot longer than that. People
instrument he’d had made about a year earlier – a
long, but every time you improvise, it’s different.
know Beethoven and Mozart, but ask them who
bass kamancheh called the shah kaman – which
What we have in our mind is like a road map with
were the monarchs and rulers in their time and no
he hadn’t yet come round to. “In that dark period,
landmarks, but what goes between these fixed
one knows. Music and arts are far more important
this deep sound found its place in my life. In those
musical points is always different.” That is inevitably
than politics. It’s the culture that comes out of
days I started to play on it and there was suddenly
what always keeps his music fresh and interesting.
society that people and history remembers.”
Inevitably, those tense days of 2009 brought
a connection. It suddenly sounded right.” He called a santur player who lived nearby – it
“This is why I try to do these collaborations with cultures of improvisation,” explains Kalhor,
was better not to go out too much – and he and
including amongst these the New York string
Ali Bahrami Fard started to experiment. They
quartet Brooklyn Rider with whom he worked on
Todd Rosenberg
decided they also needed a bass santur, so they
Silent City. “Brooklyn Rider understand this, we
commissioned one from an instrument-maker
have been playing together for 15 years now. They
friend. “The two instruments just melted into each
are very open to improvisation and other ideas –
+ DATES Kayhan Kalhor & Ali Bahrami Fard play in York on June 5, Southampton on June 6 and at Kings Place, London on June 7. See p16 and the Gig Guide for ticket details + PODCAST Hear music from I Will Not Stand Alone on this issue’s podcast
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FESTIVAL BEGINNER’S PASS GUIDE
JOYCE MORENO
The singer-songwriter has been one of the strongest feminist voices of Brazilian music since the 1960s. Mark Sampson looks back over her illustrious career
W
here does one begin with the Brazilian artist, now formally known by her married name of Joyce Moreno? That glorious voice? Or the guitar playing, described by Caetano Veloso as “like the best”? Or the 400 or more songs she has penned over a long career? Should we first consider Joyce the pioneering musical
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feminist, or Joyce the journalist, author, teacher and TV presenter? Or work back from the four Latin Grammy nominations and a Brazilian International Press Lifetime Achievement Award? No wonder Antônio Carlos Jobim exclaimed ‘What an amazing woman!’ in his sleeve notes to Joyce’s first of two tributes to the great composer.
It’s been 45 years and over 30 albums since her eponymous debut in 1968, and her infectious good humour no doubt sustains such a productive career. Bombast and pretention appear alien to her nature. Asked whether the name-change in 2009 symbolised a certain artistic maturity, Joyce quips, “I just happened to Google myself and all I could find was a lot of James Joyce before I could find ‘Joyce, Brazilian singer.’ I figured it would be easier if I used my family name.” Any single CD by Joyce rewards you with breezy melodies, delivered with almost casual
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SARAWAK
panache and consummate musicianship. Songs sung in a pitch-perfect voice that makes you feel better about the world. Talking of the early Água e Luz, Joyce describes how “all we wanted was the joy of the music itself, the fun, the creative work. Music was our wage.” Outside Brazil, this authentic global artist has recorded her music in New York, Paris, Rome and Tokyo. London and Cologne have also come to qualify as homes-away-fromhome. But wherever she lays her guitar, her music transports you unfailingly to her birthplace and hometown of Rio de Janeiro. She was born Joyce Silveira Palhano de Jesus on January 31 1948. Raised in Rio’s prosperous Zona Sul, not far from Copacabana beach, she attended school in Ipanema. Her older brother played guitar semi-professionally and the young Joyce grew up listening to “a lot of jazz music, as well as the rising bossa and also traditional samba.” So it seems inevitable that she should one day take up the mantle of her main local influences: Jobim, João Gilberto and Vinicius de Moraes. By the age of 18, having already recorded jingles and composed her first songs, she was teaching guitar and undertaking formal music lessons while studying journalism as a fall-back career. In 1967, her entry for a music competition, ‘Me Disseram’, fuelled controversy with its ‘vulgar and immoral’ supposed ‘feminist posture.’ In fact, Joyce was merely expressing herself in her own voice and gender, as learned from the likes of Billie Holiday. This, though, was the dawn of the repressive military dictatorship, which would drive some of her contemporaries into exile. In some ways, her initial 1968 recording created the template for all that would follow: roughly half her own songs and half her interpretations of others’ – in this case, originals by such emerging talents as Veloso, Paulinho da Viola and Marcos Valle. Over the years, Joyce would release albums dedicated to the work of Jobim, Moraes and Wilson Batista. Astronauta (1998) was a set of songs associated with her friend and illustrious contemporary, Elis Regina. Recorded in New York with Brazilian musicians and American jazz artists like saxophonist Joe Lovane, it earned Joyce her first Latin Grammy nomination. Back in 1977, during a six-month engagement in the same city, Joyce recorded Natureza with another group of celebrated jazz musicians for producer Claus Ogerman.
Although the album would never see the light of day (a fate that might have befallen the exquisite Visions of Dawn, recorded the previous year in Paris with her friends Maurício Maestro and ace percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, had not the UK’s Far Out label resurrected it for posterity in 2009), she met there her lifelong collaborator and partner, drummer Tutty Moreno. Their daughter, Mariana, was born in 1979. The following year, ‘Clareana’, Joyce’s lullaby to her two daughters with ex-husband, composer Nelson Angelo, became her first big commercial hit and one of several standout tracks on her seminal album Feminina. Collaborations – with the likes of Tutty, arranger, composer, guitarist and singer, Dori Caymmi, and more recently keyboard wizard, João Donato – have been another artistic hallmark. Were they, I wondered, more satisfying than her ‘solo’ projects? “Not really,” Joyce replies. “It’s just that I’m a very gregarious person. I love team work. Friendship, companionship, having fun together, that’s what this is about.” Over the last three decades, the gregarious polymath found time between regular album releases for stage collaborations, a book of musical memoirs, a weekly newspaper column, regular tours of Europe and Japan, international music workshops and TV contributions such as Cantos do Rio, an acclaimed series that spotlighted the city’s most celebrated musicians. Now in her mid-60s, Joyce’s multi-faceted diary is still full. Her next extensive European tour is scheduled for 2015. As her voice seems to mature like a fine wine, growing ever more expressive and tonally more subtle, each new release becomes Joyce’s personal favourite. But even if she couldn’t scat like Ella Fitzgerald or play the guitar like João Gilberto, her songs alone would secure her place in the pantheon of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). Actually, the singer prefers her own label of MCB (creative music of Brazil) to MPB – one she considers devalued by overuse. Whatever the label used, Joyce Moreno continues to breathe creative life into a genre that some might dismiss as moribund. Comparisons can be invidious, but Caetano Veloso suggests that “Elis [Regina] is the most musician-like singer who reached stardom in Brazil, and Joyce is the best musician among the women singers who came after.”
Wherever she lays her guitar, her music transports you to her birthplace, Rio
BEST ALBUMS Feminina (Odeon, 1980) Joyce cites the album that really brought her to fame as her most representative. It includes ‘Clareana’, the beautiful ‘Mistérios’ and ‘Aldeia de Ogum’, which would later become a hit on the London music scene and be sampled by The Black Eyed Peas.
Just a Little Bit Crazy (Far Out Recordings, 2004) Joyce received her fourth Latin Grammy nomination for this collaboration with nu-jazz keyboard star, Bugge Wesseltoft. Featuring mainly her own songs, it also includes the most somnolent version imaginable of The Fab Four’s ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Reviewed in #19.
Rio de Janeiro (Far Out Recordings, 2011) The quintessence of Joyce: just voice, acoustic guitar and a diverse collection of songs inspired by her place of birth, Rio, recorded to commemorate a solo concert she’d given the year before on Ipanema beach. Reviewed in #83.
Tudo (Far Out Recordings, 2013) This most recent album from Joyce marks the first of her own compositions in over a decade. It features a classic repertoire and her voice sounds as good as it did on her very early albums. Reviewed in #93.
BEST COMPILATION The Essential Joyce 1970-1996 (Mr Bongo, 1997) Of the various compilations available, try this one, which offers four tracks from Joyce’s seminal album Feminina and a good overview of her early career.
IF YOU LIKE JOYCE MORENO, THEN TRY….
Laura López Castro Inventan el Ser Feliz (Nesola, 2007) Recorded in Berlin with composer and guitarist, Don Philippe, the young German-based Spanish singer acknowledges many of Joyce’s contemporaries and influences. While the bossa-jazz oeuvre is similar, the minor key is predominant. Melancholia has rarely been so delicious.
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the essential
Family Albums There’s a clear familial intimacy in the music of Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté – and other bands of parents, children and siblings. Here’s our selection of top family bands W o r d s S i m o n B r o u g h t o n , J o F r o s t, A l e x a n d r a P e t r o p o u lo s
01 Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson Gift (Topic Records, 2010)
You can’t really talk about English folk music without mentioning Waterson: Carthy – the group comprising Martin Carthy and his wife Norma Waterson together with daughter Eliza. But this album marks the first time Eliza and Norma had recorded just as a duo (a Top of the World in #70). Not to be outdone, there’s a fatherdaughter release coming out in June – The Moral of the Elephant. JF
02 Gipsy Kings Roots (Sony, 2004)
Consisting of the Reyes brothers and their cousins, the Baliardo brothers, the French kings of rumba flamenca are a family band to the max. This release, a Top of the World in #24, saw them return to their cante jondo flamenco roots and leave behind the gimmicky frills of their previous (and subsequent) recordings. AP
03 Joi One and One is One (Real World Records, 1999)
Brothers Haroon and Farook Shamsher were pioneers of the UK’s 90s Asian Underground scene. This, their debut, was swiftly heralded as a classic but sadly Haroon died of a heart attack shortly after its release and just two weeks before the duo were set to play WOMAD. Farook continued and graced the cover of Songlines #8. JF
04 JPP String Tease (Rockadillo, 1998)
The greatest of Finnish fiddle bands – and regulars at the Kaustinen festival. JPP is short for Järvelän Pikkupelimannit (Little Folk Musicians of 96 s o n g l i n e s
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Järvelä), which is both the village they hail from and the family name. The six-piece band includes father Mauno Järvelä, son Arto Järvelä and cousins as guests. This was their sixth album, and it also included Swedish band Väsen on two tracks. SB
05 Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni ba Jama Ko (Out Here, 2012)
Bassekou’s Ngoni ba has always been a family affair, though the line-up has changed ever so slightly with each release. On his last effort, which won the Malian ngoni star one of this year’s Songlines Music Awards (see p28), Bassekou is joined by his two sons Madou and Moustafa, and as always, the powerful voice of his wife Amy Sacko. AP
06 The Savoy Family Band Cajun Album (Arhoolie Records, 2003)
Widely considered as Cajun music royalty, the Savoy family are husband and wife Marc and Ann, joined here by their talented offspring Joel, Wilson and Sarah. If you want to delve into the roots of music from Louisiana, then this album of sweet, melodic waltzes and two-steps is a great place to start. JF
07 Söndörgő Tamburising: Lost Music of the Balkans (World Village, 2011)
Three brothers and a cousin from the Eredics family are included in Söndörgő, along with their unrelated bass player. They play the fiery and virtuoso tambura music of the southern Slav (Serbian and Croatian) communities in Hungary. They’re not just a family band, but the sons of a family band – their father was a founding member of Vujicsics. Tamburising was a Top of the World album in #78. SB
(Rounder, 1989)
08 The Tau Moe Family with Bob Brozman Remembering the Songs of Our Youth
This is a unique disc in which guitar player Bob Brozman joins veteran Hawaiian musicians Tau and Rose Moe in recreating songs they performed from 1927-34 in Madame Riviere’s Hawaiians. It was a period when Hawaiian music, with the acoustic steel guitar and falsetto vocals became hugely popular. When this record was made, Tau and Rose had been performing together for over 60 years. They are joined here by their children Lani and Dorian. SB
09 Trio Chemirani Tchechmeh (Emouvance, 2004)
The name Chemirani has virtually become a synonym for Iranian percussion. Father Djamchid and sons Keyvan and Bijan Chemirani, based in France, are masters of the zarb or tombak, the Persian goblet drum. They are all involved in other projects, but as a trio they come together as a formidable percussive force – not loud, but wonderfully intricate. SB
10 Le Trio Joubran AsFâr
(World Village, 2011)
Brothers Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran have made their name as one of the most innovative groups to have come out of the Middle East. Despite side solo projects, it is here together on AsFâr that the Palestinian brothers best showcase their talents. The impressive emotional range displayed here prove that they are indeed the ultimate masters of the oud ensemble. AP
+ LET US KNOW What’s your favourite?
Write and let us know, letters@songlines.co.uk
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