There are few but well preserved mysteries in the musical world. One of them will be unfolded at Southbank Centre during 2015’s edition of Meltdown Festival curated by David Byrne. Next to a stimulating show, “Atomic Bomb! The Music of William Onyeabor” is also an attempt to explain who William Onyeabor is and...
Articles
Articles
At the age of sixty-six, Kassé Mady Diabaté is one of the living greats of Malian music. His nickname Kassé derives from the Bambara word Kassi, which means to weep, as his beautiful voice is said to make people cry with joy. What an honour it was then to have a short interview...
Like most minorites, Garifuna people hardly ever make the news. The Garifuna people are six-hundred thousand souls who inhabit a the fringes of the Caribbean Sea coast between Belize, Honduras and Guatemala, plus a few scattered islands of the Basin. But there is one aspect of that population that distinguishes...
EVENT – 17/08/2015 – London, Southbank Centre, Meltdown – Estrella Morente Estrella Morente Carbonell is little more than 30, but she’s already a polestar for the flamenco scene in and outside her native Andalusia. However, if you are the daughter of the celebrated artist Enrique Morente and the graceful dancer...
From South Sudan, the world’s newest country, came Acholi Machon – and what a remarkable story they had to tell! It’s a wonder the two members ever made it to the UK considering the nightmarish problems they faced just to get visas, with expensive treks to the Kenyan embassy via...
In few days time, The Nest Collective and Southbank Centre will bring a touch of hot and spicy tropical summer on the The Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden. For the second appointment with the unplugged music series called Folk with Altitude, they have indeed in store one of the most...
Dr. Funkenstein is back in town and you’d be pretty sure that he has packed in his luggage some jazzy suits and overwhelming rhythms. George Clinton, frontman of the legendary bands Parliament and Funkadelic, needs no introduction: he has made the history of funk and it won’t be exaggerated to...
Rhythm Passport was delighted to be offered an interview with Mauritanian singer and ardin player Noura Mint Seymali after her set – warmly received despite the pouring rain. Her stepmother was the wonderfully charismatic singer Dimi Mint Abba, and Noura is certainly following in her footsteps, acting as Mauritania’s musical ambassador. We talked...
If contemporary Brazil had a voice, it would be Criolo’s. The São Paulo MC/songwriter brought not just the sound of his city but also the music of an entire nation to the Open Air Stage of WOMAD. We talked with him after his performance and tried to understand his musical...
On the last day of its 2015 edition WOMAD UK raised the curtain to present some hugely talented women artists and big bands. The closing day of the festival showcased some inspiring female singers, songwriters and interpreters, and there was a multitude of energetic ensembles playing on the main Charlton...
