Around the World Preview – 13 & 15 February 2022
All the world’s a stage and there’s music everywhere
This week there is a more than usual number of tunes from Ireland from the traditional to the the new sounds of R&B. And some Belfast rock to add to the mix. Plus pop from Peru, dance from France, electronica from Italy, Beautiful Nubia from Nigeria, indie from Madrid, Scottish music from Cape Breton Island and contemporary Breton music, too. And that’s just for starters.
See last week’s running order here (Around the World – 6 & 8 February 2022). You can listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of last week’s show and all previous shows on Mixcloud here
Around the World is on Slice Audio, Ferry FM, and Radio Larne on Sundays at 10:00 pm to midnight. On Tuesdays at 7:00 pm the show is broadcast on Bangor FM, Lisburn’s 98FM and FM105 Down Community Radio.
What happens when a producer from Dublin living in LA meets a singer from Bamako - but never see each other in person? This:
Although I’ll be playing the new single as we eagerly await the release of the whole album BAMANAN. The pair are “The Rose of Bamako” in Mali Rokia Koné and Jacknife Lee who has worked as a producer with (takes deep breath) the Cars, U2, R.E.M., the Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, AFI, the Hives, Weezer, One Direction, Silversun Pickups, Editors, Modest Mouse, and Taylor Swift.
No doubt it will be a featured album when it is released.
Featured album this week will be Romengo & Mónika Lakatos’s Folk Utca (Folk Street). In 2020 Mónika became the first Romani recipient of the WOMEX Artist Award, the most prestigious award in world music. She has been performing gypsy music for two decades with various bands. It wasn’t until 2018 Mónika and her husband Mihály “Mazsi” Rostás founded Romengo, playing original songs rooted in Olah Gypsy musical tradition. This is their third important album and has been received with great praise throughout Europe.
Mónika Lakatos was born in Budapest to an Olah Gypsy family. Most of the members learned this music together with their mother tongues. The band plays traditional gypsy folk songs that they learned from their parents, as well as their own songs rooted in tradition but influenced by a variety musical styles. Mónika and her band have played at India’s Sufi Sutra, an International Festival of Sufi and Traditional music. In Malaysia they performed at the Rainforest World Music Festival. They have appeared in South-Korea the Sori Festival and Mexico the Cervantino Festival as well as at least 25 European festivals. In 2019 the band celebrated its 15th anniversary in South-America with concerts in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.
The album is number 3 in the World Music Chart Europe. There aren’t many Romengo videos, but this will give you an idea of the music and the style:
And R&B from Ireland —— this Shiv is single so good!
And dance from France? A new album from the French Creole band Dowdelin.
The music magazine has given Imarhan’s Aboogi a 5 star review, and deservedly so. I’m very fond of Touareg desert blues music. It is a more gentle album than you might expect, semi-acoustic, even. There’s a lot of the Algerian fire there too. Not an album to be underestimated from a first hearing. I’m listening to the rest of the album as I write and looking forward to playing more.
Rock from Belfast two different flavours of rock. Belfast roots music from The 2:19. They have formed, rehearsed and released an album in quick order. It is Revelator. I’ll be playing another track. Here’s a flavour.
Three musicians from Belfast with a long and impressive track record have formed Auld Gods. Davy McLarnon – otherwise known as Davy Treatment one of the founders of the great Belfast punk band Shock Treatment – once signed to the same record label as Roxy Music. Marty Williamson who in the 70s played with Lovers of Today and then Silent Running – (and they have also revived their career recently). He went on to play with Pleasure and the Beast. Sinead O'Connor, Russell Webb of the Skids and eventually he joined the Psychedelic Furs. Mike Williamson the bassist who started playing with his brother Marty in Lovers of Today. He left Belfast for Manchester where he played for indie and soul bands before moving to London then doing other non music related things.
To record “Older/Wiser?” they worked remotely for over a year building songs from tracks recorded individually at home in sheds and bedrooms. In October they finally got together to mix the album at River Studios in Southampton.
I’ll be playing this timely track.
Hat tip to Mike Philpot for suggesting this. I’ll be playing the full track and while it sounds fantastic, the video really adds to the song and gives you the context missing from the audio only. Thanks, Mike.
All suggestions are welcome - contact me via this newsletter or through the blog.
I’ll end where we will start the show. Milena Warthon is a young singer is currently the most important singer and performer of Andean Pop Music (I’m told). In 2020 her single “Agua de Mar” reached Top #1 on Spotify Charts by going viral on TikTok. She's currently part of EQUAL Program representing her country, Perú. In 2021 she participated in La Voz Perú reaching the final and the established Colombian singer Mike Bahía told her “I think you are the young blood of Peruvian folklore. You immortalize the (musical) culture of Peru”. In 4 years of career, she has released more than 14 singles and this time she brings “LA NENA”, a fierce, happy and energic single, which talks about self-esteem and self-confidence. First single of the year. At the end of 2022 she will release her first LP album.
She’ll be 22 in March and they say she had revolutionised Peruvian popular music and is currently the most important performer of Andean pop. She has already released 14 singles and with her first album out at the end of the year, is on the verge of an international career. But there is no video with the single! So tune in and hear the future of Peruvian pop.
Also on the show: Molo Sayat, Céu, Beautiful Nubia and the Roots Renaissance Band, Cala Vento, Lili Del Sol & Manu Linois, Beòlach, Dorota Barová, Jaffa Road, Pedro Makay, Congadar, The Gloaming, DJ Click & Ittai BInnun, Kandy Guira, Go Dugong, and Brieg Guerveno.
Please join me or go to Mixcloud after the show.
The Around the World archive on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/davysims/
Slice Audio, Ferry FM, Radio Larne,
And on Radio Garden:
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