In this part of the world the summer is long past and we are hard into the autumn. While Around the World has been on air each week (perhaps you could call it the “express” version), your conducteur du voyage has been stepping out into the real world with trips to Slovenia and Burgundy. Neither were music connected, although I did manage to miss Laibach play … again.1
Over the summer, I had time to spend in search of music for the show and discovered that while I have played hundreds of different songs already this year, there are many that I have over-looked, under-played or completly missed". During the rest of this year I plan to rectify that with a feature in each show highlighting the songs and albums that I missed or didn’t pay enough attention to.
One of the things I have enjoyed most during the summer shows was playing several tracks in succession with no interruption (from me) and I plan to extend that with a “mixtape” within the show and available seperatly in Mixcloud. Not every week, just from time to time. There’s one this week with memories of a tropical summer moving to a Celtic celebration of autumn’s arrival.
The featured album remains, of course.
I hope you will continue to join me either as the shows are broadcast or catching up on Mixcloud.
Here are the details.
Hear the show on the web on Sundays at 10:00 pm to midnight:
Slice Audio,
Ferry FM,
Radio Larne, and
Armagh City Radio .
And on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm on the radio and web
Bangor FM 107.9: http://radio.garden/listen/bangor-fm-107-9/IycUhUbT
Lisburn’s 98FM: http://radio.garden/listen/facebook/ASeqAEl8
FM105 Down Community Radio: http://radio.garden/listen/fm-105-down-community-radio/K8lBDGFf
Featured Album
Uvjamuohta / Powder Snow - Solju
Unfortunately there are no new videos to support the album, above is one giving the flavour of this mother and daughter duo.
“In the most northerly part of Finland, nipped between Sweden, Norway and Russia is a small almost desolate village Utsjoki (69.91°N 27.03°E, 71m asl). Barely more than 1100 people live there. Search on your favourite mapping software and zoom in.
Utsjoki is the most northerly municipality in Finland. It is the home of mother and daughter music duo Solju; Ulla Pirttijärvi (who has more dots and umlauts in her name than I am used to seeing at any time) and her daughter Hildá Länsman. And both perform with other combos. Ulla is a member of the trio Áššu with Harald Skullerud (Percussion, Calimba, Calabas, Harmonium) and Olav Torget (Baryton guitar, Oilcan guitar, African Konting). Hilda is also with accordionist Viivi Maria Saarenkylä in Vildá .
Their music is based on a traditional joik or yoik a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europe. Joik shares some of the qualities of some Native American cultures and (I suppose more logically) of Siberia. Solju takes some of those rhythms of nature and over lays electronica, other electronic strings, modernistic understanding of the bass phrasing with a line in from modern European rock and roll rhythms.” Read my full review here on my blog.
The plan is to play 5 tracks to show the diversity of music the album contains.
Other tracks to listen out for
Antonis Antoniou - Throisma
This is an outstanding album, as was his previous and first solo release Kkismettin from April 2021. The music is much harder edged and experimental than that of Monsieur Doumani, the trio he has been playing with for many years. His influences come from present day east and west but also from the past. More from this album in coming weeks.
Liraz - Roya
Once again, Liraz has worked with musicians from Israel and Iran. Her first album Naz was released in 2018 followed by Zan in 2020 - the Best Artist Award Winner in Songlines 2021 Awards. Roya, her third, continues to enjoy influences from Persia and combines the character and experience from that region and Israel where she comes from.
Al-Qasar - Awal
Thomas Attar Bellier is a French-American producer in his mid-thirties whose musical identity was shaped in Los Angeles, Lisbon, New York, Paris. His band Al-Qasar has no defined line up. He pulls together musicians for projects and for this his second Al-Qasar album includes people from France, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and the United States.
The first album, Miraj was released a couple of years ago and this second album Who Are We is again hard edged, guitar driven and exactly the sort of music that wakes me up – That track Awal features Sonic Youths Lee Ranaldo). Another guest on the album is Dead Kennedy’s Jello Biafra.
Belier has also worked with one of my favourite Egyptian singers Dina El Wedidi . and the Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi.
You can get Who Are We and much of Thomas Attar Bellier’s earlier works on Bandcamp.
Also on the show this week
Afro Celt Sound System, Ak Dan Gwang Chil (AKG7), Alessia Tondo, Alina Pash, Barbora Xu, Clare Sands & Liam Ó Maonlaí, David Bowie, Fania All-Stars, Jesse Cook, Julian Bel-Bachir & Zion Train, Khiyo, Khoomei Beat, Mafikizolo, Michael Nesmith, Montparnasse Musique, Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee, and Steely Dan
Overlooked and Underplayed this week includes Brother Moves On and Nanna Barslev.
In recent years I’ve missed Laibach play in Ljubljana, Škofja Loka, Ljubljana (a second time), London, Glasgow, and Zagreb. It was even worse to discover (way too late) they played Bled as part of the town’s classical music festival during the summer. But that’s all a bit of a tangent - hence the footnote.