This Week
Music From: Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Czechia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Ireland, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, São Tomé & Principe, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, and the USA.
Music By: Alice in WonderBand, Almir Meskovic and Daniel Lazar, Altin Gün, Atàndá, Atse Tewodros Project & Gabriella Ghermandi, Buzz' Ayaz, Catriona Gribben, Church Street Shuffle, Circus Brothers, Crimi, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, Dina and Mel, Dobet Gnahoré, Dobranotch, King Stingray, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Mahsa Vahdat, Neha!, Olamide, Os Úntués, Puuluup, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Ry Cooder, and Vincent Peirani.
I’m just back from one of the most fantastic music festivals I’ve ever attended; Brno Music Marathon [Maraton hudby Brno]. The live music events included European Baroque, Estonian Folk, Korean Jazz and traditional Irish. I also found, Balkan, Rock, Alternate, Children’s, Pop covers, Chamber, Iranian Classical, and French Accordion.
The Accordion was the predominant instrument of the feastival as the extraordinary master of the instrument Vincent Peirani was the Artist in Residence. He held workshops with young musicians, performed in three concerts - with his Jokers lineup with guitarist Federico Casagrande and drummer Ziv Ravitz.
His Les Égarés lineup with Ballaké Sissoko (kora), and Vincent Segal (cello), and Émile Parisien (sax).
There was also a unique musical performance of young accordionists in the Brno Water Tanks - the historic water reservoir for the city. There was a different musician with a different acoustic in each of the 3 tanks. They were built in 1874, 1894, and 1917.
You can hear a special report from that event here on Download or here on Mixcloud
Liigutage Vastu - Puuluup (27th September 2023 - Gurugram)
The best way to listen to Puuluup is to hear them live, when all of the music, the dances, the jokes all come together. I’ve seen them twice in concert and in a workshop during the Marathon. This video gives you some idea. Marco is probably off stage dancing with the audience.
Brno Music Marathon is an annual event. Puuluup will play again next year and the artist in residence will be legendary Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, whose virtuoso fusion of traditional Indian music with jazz and world music has enchanted audiences around the world. The energetic Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv, which combines rhythmic Balkan music with lyrics against social injustice and corruption, will return to the Brno stage. I saw them at Balkan Most earlier this year and they were loud, fast, and fabulous.
There’s more on Maraton hudby Brno below.
Featured Album this week: Chicken Skin Music - Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder & Chicken Skin Music: 1977 Concert Old Grey Whistle Test
This and last week extended an opportunity for me to pick up on a couple of classic albums to feature on the show as this is a quiet(ish) time of the year for releases.
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Brett Hartenbach said: "Even more than usual, Cooder refuses to recognize borders – geographical or musical – presenting "Stand By Me" as a gospel song with a norteño arrangement, or giving the Jim Reeves country-pop classic, "He'll Have to Go," a bolero rhythm, featuring the interplay of Flaco Jimenez's accordion and Pat Rizzo's alto sax. [...] This is not merely eclecticism for its own sake. Chicken Skin Music is probably Ry Cooder's most eccentric record since his first, but it's also one of his most entertaining." [Wikipedia]
Bookended by a couple of Leadbelly compositions, Chicken Skin Music sports a collection of songs ranging from the aforementioned tracks to the charming old minstrel/medicine show number "I Got Mine" and the syncopated R&B of "Smack Dab in the Middle." Also included is Appalachian songwriter Blind Alfred Reed's "Always Lift Him Up," complete with a Hawaiian gospel tune, "Kanaka Wai Wai," woven into the instrumental section. As he explains in the album's liner notes, Cooder understands the connection between these seemingly disparate styles. This is not merely eclecticism for its own sake. Chicken Skin Music is probably Ry Cooder's most eccentric record since his first, but it's also one of his most entertaining. [www.analogueseduction.net]
Maraton hudby Brno – A Reflection
With music spanning centuries, styles, genres, and levels of experience, Maraton hudby Brno is probably one of the world’s most inclusive city festivals.
For the Audience: Too often the phrase “something for everyone” is used even if the “something” is paltry or perfunctorily. in the Music Marathon, the richness of musical diversity is a celebration on all levels, and “something for everyone and every taste”, is a self-evident truth that requires no proof beyond the list of musicians performing.
I found the choice of music performance plentiful. There were performers whose music I know well (Puuluup, Vincent Peirani, Mahsa Vahdat, Almir Meskovic and Daniel Lazar, Dina e Mel, Alice in WonderBand, Naked, and Mónika Lakatos). There were also musicians I’m unlikely to see at home and therefore collectively, they are a good reason for me to travel from Belfast Northern Ireland to Brno (almost 1500 km).
In addition, this event gave me an opportunity to discover music I had not experienced live before. I enjoy classical music as well as world music (and folk and rock), but I’ve never been to a Baroque concert. And not only a performance of Baroque music – but in such a beautiful setting - the historical halls of the Old Town Hall Stará radnice.
With such a large festival, the audience easily experiences music that is new to them and samples new ideas and artists.
For the Performers: Clearly, I’m not a performer. But I can see from the audience’s perspective, the quality of the performance areas and stages. The immense professionalism brought to bear to enhance each performance was obvious. From the street performers settings around the city, to the big and small stages, there was great care taken to ensure the audio – both for the audience and the monitoring – was to the highest professional standard.
The venues were interesting and creative. So much of the historic city was used imaginatively, introducing both the performers and the audience to a captivating place and places that they might have not seen otherwise. Some music demands large audiences – the full Puuluup concert needs a big audience to engage enthusiastically. But intimacy is demanded of some music, and some performances are enhanced by musician and listener in close proximity. Mahsa Vahdat’s concert was perfectly located for both performers and audiences to enjoy a powerful aesthetic
And, as audiences were introduced to music and performers they had not been familiar with, performers were introduced to new audiences.
For the Visitor/Tourist: It was almost inevitable that a visit to Brno would be my first experience of Czechia. I’ve not had much interest in visiting Prague for a very long time. (“Everyone goes to Prague; I’d rather go somewhere else.”) Brno did not disappoint. It rose far beyond my expectations. Bright, spacious, attractive public areas, fantastic public transport, and friendly engaging people working in bars, restaurants and shops.
Thanks: When in Brno, not only did I experience wonderful music, but I benefited from excellent and warm hospitality. I want to thank Jana for her help setting up my visit, David for his hospitality, and Milan for his continuous support before and during the event.
How to hear the show
Friday:
Akaroa World Radio 2:00 pm local New Zealand Time (3:00 am GMT 4:00 am CET)
NAR-GROUP Germany – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
Mosel Radio – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
NAR-Alf – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m (CET)
Saturday:
RCFM (Radio City FM) Duisburg, Germany 3:00 – 5:00 pm CET
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Essential Radio Midnight to 2:00 am GMT (1:00 am CET)
Sunday:
West Coast FM Namibia 10:00 pm to 12:00 noon Central Africa Time (2:00 to 4:00 GMT)
NFRS Osaka Japan: 12:00 noon local time (3:00 am UK time 4:00 am CET)
973FM in Singapore and 11:00 pm local time (3:00 pm/15:00 hours UTC – Universal Time).
Slice Audio 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Ferry FM 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Armagh City Radio 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Monday:
SparkFlame Radio: 00:00 am GMT (01:00 CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 8:00 pm GMT (21:00 CET)
KNC Radio St Lucia 6:00 am local time (10:00 am GMT 11:00 am CET)
BR2 Pure Gold Radio – Costa Blanca, Spain 10:00 pm local time (CET)
Akaroa World Radio 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Wednesday:
World FM 4:00 am local New Zealand Time (5:00 pm Tuesday GMT, 6:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 4:00 am local time GMT (5:00 am CET)
Radio Skye (Radio Garden) 10:00 pm GMT (11:00 pm CET)
Stirling Community Radio 10:00 pm GMT (11:00 pm CET)
Around the World - Preview