With all eyes on the weekend and fingers crossed for slightly warmer weather, here’s a preview of Around the World. Thanks for subscribing to the newsletter. There will be an update on Wednesday. (I forgot to send last week’s update so it is part of this edition.)
Around the World is on Ferry FM and Slice Audio on Sundays at 10:00 pm to midnight and on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm on Bangor FM, Lisburn’s 98FM and FM105 Down Community Radio.
Last week’s show is on Mixcloud - the first hour here and the second hour here.
New and worth listening out for: The music that made me stop in my tracks this week was on an album from Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble. Min He Mon Égbé (The One Who Sees Today) sung in the Goun language of the singer Noël Saïzonou’s home country Benin.
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble are from Finland, Benin and Tanzania. The self-title album has just been released and the moment I heard that track, I put it on this week’s running order with expectations of more tracks in the future.
We’ve never had Corsican music on the show before and a new release from L’Alba - À Principiu – gets an airing this week (Here’s more information on L’Alba)
Merry Hell are a multi award winning folk-rock band from the north-west of England (Folking.com: Best Live Act 2020 & 2018, FATEA Award: Best Group/Duo 2015, Folking.com: Best Band 2018 & 2019, FolkWords Award: Best Album 2016: 'Bloodlines', FATEA Award: Best Single/EP 2017). Their album Emergency Lullabies has been on my longlist for a while. This week makes the running order.
Dan Gharibian Trio plays Gypsy, Armenian, Greek, and Russian songs and ballads. Led by Dan Gharibian, founder of the legendary Bratsch group, spearhead of Gypsy and Eastern music since the 1980s. The Trios album Da Svidaniya Madame is just out and I’ll be playing a track.
This is just a selection of the music. Tune in or log in to hear the lot.
Local and hereabouts: Way back when I started in radio in 1978, one of the people I met for the first time was the great folk singer and musician Tommy Sands. We still talk from time to time. Tommy is the voice reading at the beginning of Clare Sands new single Abair Liom Do Rúin. Clare is Tommy’s niece (or perhaps great niece?) Anyway, they are extended family). Also on the single is Steve Cooney the Melbourne man who has played with more Irish bands than most other Irish musicians (Chieftains, Clannad, Altan, Andy Irvine, Sinéad O'Connor as well as Little River Band, Antonio Breschi).
Reevah has a new single. The “Derry based Indie-pop artist Reevah grew up surrounded by music & art her mother is an artist & her father is a musician. Reevah’s music is immersive allowing the listener a chance to escape the speed of life. But it’s her voice, pure, understated & fearless, that stays in the heart & the mind long after the music is over.” Find her on Bandcamp https://reevah.bandcamp.com/merch
And the show starts the weekly world tour in Derry, too with the wonderfully noisy Cherm.
Album of the Week: Yol from the Amsterdam based Anatolian psychedelic rockers Altın Gün has been around for a few months and figured strongly in the World Music Chart Europe (WMCE*) since its release. It is the bands third album and follow up to their Grammy nominated Gece. This is what they say about the album.
Yol is not just a record that reframes traditional sounds for a contemporary audience. The album, which often presents a strongly international, poppy sound, also signals a very different approach in making and recording for the band. Singer Merve Dasdemir takes up the story: “We were basically stuck at home for three months making home demos, with everybody adding their parts. The transnational feeling maybe comes from that process of swapping demos over the internet, some of the music we did in the studio, but lockdown meant we had to follow a different approach.” “
Here’s a review from Pitchfork https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/altin-gun-yol/
Find them on Bandcamp, too.
*WMCE is published monthly. There are some 40 radio producers and presenters on the nominating panel, and I am very happy to say that I have been invited to contribute. https://www.wmce.de/
Links:
What music should I be listening to? Send me a message about your music suggestions via my blog.
The Around the World archive on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/davysims/
Slice Audio: https://www.slice.audio/
Ferry FM: https://ferryfm.com/
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
Artist Track Album
Arema Arega _ Born74 feat. Regis Molina That Cuban Rhythm Single
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Orfeo Meridiana
Anansy Cissé Tiawo Anansy Cissé: Anoura
Eléonor & Maíra Freitas Despreocupados (Acoustic Remix) Single
Harps Over The Oslava River, Pt. 5 (feat. Seckou Keita, Edmar Castañeda & Catrin Finch) Struny nad Oslavou Harps Over The Oslava River
Monsieur Periné Bailar Contigo Bailar Contigo - Single
Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga Nyama Choma Song and Dance
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Pizzica Bhangra (feat. Red Baraat) Meridiana
TRU County Down No Fixed Abode Warsaw Village Band Uwodzenie (feat. Marcin Swietlicki) Uwodzenie
Dobet Gnahoré Désert Couleur Monte Panza
Part 2
Lakou Mizik & Joseph Ray Ogou (Pran Ka Mwen) Ogou (Pran Ka Mwen)
Wck Bouyon Soca Anthems Collection
Auld Gods Red Lines Single
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Ninnarella Meridiana
Carola Ortiz Corro Per la Nit Pecata Beata
Héctor Valentín Me Quité Me Quité The Dhol Foundation Thunder Drum
Albaluna Lauranitza Heptad
Angelique Kidjo, Mr Eazi & Salif Keita Africa, One Of A Kind Mother Nature
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Tie e Tac (feat. Enzo Avitabile) Meridiana
Kady Diarra Ta A Wignoun Burkina Hakili
Balkan Taksim Meram Ekspresi Disko Telegraf
Nai Barghouti Raj'een Raj'een - Single