World Music

Sufi Pop Rocks the Asia Society (VIDEO)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 05.19.2012

Read More: Sufi Music, World Music, COKE Sessions, Alif Allah Chambey Di Booty, Asia Society, Live Performance, Punjabi Music, Doris Duke Foundation, Chimta, Arif Lohar, Asia Society New York, New York Asia Society, NY Arts, NY Around Town, Arts News

Arif Lohar brought his electrified Sufi music to the Asia Society and pretty much tore the place apart. Lohar wooed the audience, and the audience responded in spades.

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A New Ethiopian Sound via Teddy Afro

Samuel Getachew | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: World Music, Teddy Afro, Ethiopia, Entertainment News

A noted blogger was once asked to describe music by a certain Ethiopian musician after hearing it for the first time. He explained his first reaction ...

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Thank You for the Music

Katharine Quarmby | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Glenn Gould, Mbira, Scapegoating, World Music, Music, Country Music, Hugh Masekela, Arts News

I was sent two rather lovely, seasonal gifts of music this week -- one by Pete Lawrence, the British ambient music promoter and producer (among other ...

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Irish Fiddler Preserves and Evolves the Tradition

Marty Lipp | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Martin Hayes, Traditional Music, Celtic Music, Irish Music, Chieftains, Instrumental Music, Lunasa, Folk Music, Ireland, Solas, Doveman, World Music, Video, Arts News

Martin Hayes is a traditional Irish fiddler and the son of a traditional Irish fiddler, so he is well aware that traditional music is a constantly evolving form. Hayes is a masterful fiddler who is known for his soulful playing as well as his ability to fly through a brisk improvisational melody.

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Playing From the Old Heart of Flamenco

Marty Lipp | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Camaron De La Isla, Roma, World Music, Gypsy, Gypsy Kinds, Andalucia, Spain, Flamenco, Jazz, Jazz Guitar, Paco De LucíA, Guitar, Video, Arts News

It's been more than fifty years since Paco de Lucía taught himself guitar and stunned the world of flamenco as a child prodigy, then went on to develop peerless technique and controversially reshape the boundaries of the genre.

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(Almost) Samba-free Albums From Brazil

Marty Lipp | Posted 05.27.2012

Read More: World Music, Talking Heads, Caetano Veloso, Brazilian Music, Brazil, David Byrne, Caetano Veloso Music, David Byrne Caetano Veloso, Video, Arts News

On O Que Voce Quer Saber de Verdade, Monte shows that she is a master of surrounding her gorgeous voice with gorgeous music.

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East Meets Lower East Side: Shanren Play Mountain Music at Pianos (VIDEO)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Live Performance, World Music, Abigail Washburn, Chinese Folkdance, Beijing Music Scene, Pianos Bar, Chinese Music, Industrial Revolution, Shanren, Video, Arts News

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Playing For Change: Building Schools, One Soulful Note at a Time

Kristi York Wooten | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: Entertainment News, Playing for Change, Mark Johnson, Grandpa Elliott, World Music, Playing for Change Music, Playing for Change Foundation, World Music Tour, Video, Impact News

Hyped since its 2004 launch and now in the midst of an expansive international tour, Playing For Change is proving to be so much more than a cover band with multinational cred.

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M.I.A Defies Death In "Bad Girls" Video

Posted 02.03.2012

Read More: Vice Magazine, Mia-Bad-Girls, Video, Morrocco, World Music, Romain Gavras, Music Video, Bmw, M.I.A., Vikki Leekx, Danja, Noisey, Car Stunts, Arts News

Fresh off the heels of releasing her latest single from her forthcoming album, Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has premiered the video for "...

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The Beatles, Madonna And Elvis In One

Farah Jassat | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Nationalism, Egyptian Protests, World Music, Egypt, Egyptian Revolution, Video, Umm Kulthum, Umm Kulthum Funeral, Culture News

Bundle the Beatles, Madonna and Elvis into a cultural exchange time-travelling cabinet. Open its door in Egypt and out will step Umm Kulthum. No, it's not an exaggeration. That was how much she meant to the Arab world. That is still how much she means.

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Zaz at GlobalFest: "Je Saute Partout" (Video)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Adele, Piaf, Chanson, World Music, Live Performance, Apap, Globalfest, Je Saute Partout, Chanteuse, Zaz, Arts News

What this all makes for is a creative, relaxed musician who comfortably mixes it up with her first-rate backup band and whose voice takes her anywhere she wants to go. Where that is, only Zaz knows.

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Sarabah: A Female Rapper Wrestles With A Taboo Subject

Michal Shapiro | Posted 03.12.2012

Read More: World Music, Yerosha Productions, Hip Hop, Tales From the Flipside of Paradise, Link TV, Women Make Movies, Fgc, Fatou Mandiang Diata, Documentary, Sister Fa, Piranha Records, Sarabah, Impact News

Fatou is a driven woman. She was driven to rise to being one of the most recognized rappers in her homeland of Senegal, and now she is driven to stop the practice of female genital cutting.

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Blitz the Ambassador at WOMEX:"Akwaaba" Means Welcome

Michal Shapiro | Posted 02.26.2012

Read More: World Music, WOMEX 2011, Blitz the Ambassador, World Music Corner, Blitz the Ambassador Womex, Arts News

The multi-level Koncerthuset was the setting for four nights of world music of every possible shade, from ethnographic to eclectic. Blitz the Ambassador is surely one of the latter, and one of those hard to categorize artists.

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Kiran Ahluwalia Live At DROM, NYC (VIDEO)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 02.09.2012

Read More: World Fusion, World Music, Aam Zameen: Common Ground, Kiran Ahluwalia, South Asian Music, Live Performance, Drom, Najma Akhtar, Rez Abbasi, Qareeb, Arts News

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Season's Blessings From Madagascar (Video)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 01.23.2012

Read More: Sharq Taronalari, Live Preformance, Madagascar, World Music, Malagasy Music, Talika, Kilema, Talilema, Arts News

The song is about not wallowing in your problems. Is it right for the holidays or what?

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Classical Meets World (Video)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 01.16.2012

Read More: Classical Music, World Music, Taraf De Haidouks, Hungarian Music, Romanian Dances, Tanchaz, Dutch Classical Meeting, Womex, Bartok, Arts News

It's fascinating to compare the playing styles of the musicians at the Dutch Classical Meeting and World Music Expo 2011, and to consider that the artists are all interpreting music that comes from the same root.

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Music That Redefines "Mexican-American"

Marty Lipp | Posted 01.11.2012

Read More: Mexico, World Music, Lila Downs, Mexican Music, Video, Arts News

While music styles from the U.S. and Mexico have flirted, rubbed up and exchanged some, uh, seminal elements across their shared border, few artists have the unique perspective of Lila Downs, who was raised amid the heartlands of both countries.

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Iraq and Roll Comes to a Town Near You

Hani Almadhoun | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Pop Music, Iraq, Concerts, Rock, Music, Iraqi Music, World Music, Entertainment News

Even though UTN1 formed in the old Iraq, they have come to give a voice to a whole new generation of Iraqis and Arabs.

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Grandfather, Grandson, Grandmasters (Video)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 01.02.2012

Read More: Sharq Taronalari, Jivan Gasparyan, World Music, Live Performance, Armenian Music, Samarkand, Duduk, Registan, Arts News

The name of Jivan Gasparyan (Sr.) has been synonymous with Armenian duduk for over 60 years. Now in his eighties, he had the pleasure of being in the audience during his grandson's award-winning performance.

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Music To Travel To: 10 Music Styles From Around The Globe

The Huffington Post | Rebecca Dolan | Posted 12.19.2011

Read More: Video, Music Videos, World Music, Music, Gotta See This, Destinations, Culture, Travel News

Music can be as fundamental to a place as a certain food or type of architecture. As cultures developed, so too did the melodies and rhythms that help...

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A Precursor to the Violin: the Polish Suka

Michal Shapiro | Posted 11.23.2011

Read More: Sharq Taronalari, Classical Music, Polish Music, Sarangi, Yo-Yo Ma, World Music, Live Performance, Origins of the Violin, Samarkand, Suka, Pomianowska, Arts News

I heard Maria Pomianowska jamming out on the terrace of the Afrasiyob hotel, and immediately knew that I wanted to get her and that unusual instrument of hers alone for a solo videotaping.

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Restoring the Myth of French Romanticism Through Music

Marty Lipp | Posted 11.02.2011

Read More: France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Chanson, World Music, Musette, French, Jazz, Stacey Kent, Swing, Rupa and the April Fishes, French Jazz, Arts News

For those who want to bask in the idealized France where l'amour permeates the air, there has been a small revival of music at the intersection of French popular music and jazz.

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The Black Earth Boys at Lincoln Center (Video)

Michal Shapiro | Posted 10.17.2011

Read More: Ben Mandelson, Live Performance, World Music, Justin Adams, Robert Plant, Juldeh Camara, Folk Music, Les Triaboliques, The Carter Family, Arts News

The repertoire was primarily a melding of American folk and blues with Juldeh Camara bringing the West African flavor.

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Pistolera: Taking Life by the Teeth

Michal Shapiro | Posted 10.12.2011

Read More: Live Performance, Immigration, World Music, El Desierto Y La Ciudad, Mexican American Music, Vieja, Pistolera, Arts News

Pistolera's leader and main composer Sandra Velasquez has created a melange culled from her musical memories growing up in San Diego and her singer-songwriter sensibilities.

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Play It Again Sameer: At Festival de Casablanca

Derek Beres | Posted 09.19.2011

Read More: Casablanca, Tumi and the Volume, Morocco, 50 Cent, World Music, Oum, Groundation, Entertainment News

Hearing flow in Arabic is immensely interesting, and while singer Barry may be rapping about his pet cat doing cartwheels or, hopefully, something intriguingly political and social, he's got the musicality down.

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