Around the World – Week beginning 21 May 2023 - Preview
The World and All That It Holds
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The featured album this week is one I have been eagerly looking forward to hearing - The World and All That It Holds is the new work from Damir Imamović - one of my musical heroes. I first came to hear Damir before starting Around the World. In the autumn and winter of 2018 and 2019 I was making my way around the Mediterranean coast in search of music. (It’s important to understand, I didn’t leave the house at any time the “journey”. This was an imaginary road trip fuelled by Google Maps, Wikipedia and Spotify.) (You can start the journey here.)
In January 2018 I wrote “Two current favourites are Božo Vrećo … and Damir Imamović Sevdah Takht”
The intro to the newsletter is different this week. And here’s why.
I found Damir’s music because of that “road trip”. The question that primed the project, which also led directly to Around the World was “Who is this country’s Horslips?”
You probably know Horslips were, and still are, an Irish band. They blend traditional Irish folk music with rock music.
I grew up with Horslips. Their career is woven into my life. Their music was, for many years, the soundtrack to my every-day.
They released their first single 50 years ago last year. There was a party in Dublin last spring - 16 March - to mark that, and to launch a new archive project “More Than You Can Chew”.
I was honoured to be at that party. The only member of the band who couldn’t attend because of poor health was Johnny Fean.
Just at the end of April Johnny died.
In their announcement Horslips said “Johnny wasn’t only one of the greatest guitar players ever, he was the sweetest man in rock’n’roll”
His death was two days short of the 50th anniversary of the release of the song with one of his most famous riffs …
In Loving Memory of JOHNNY FEAN (1951-2023)
Music this week by (in addition to Horslips and Damir): Adriana Calcanhotto, Aino & Miihkali, Ali Doğan Gönültaş, Altin Gün, Antonis Antoniou, Brighde Chaimbeul, Dimitris Mystakidis, Dobrila&Dorian, Duo Driss, El Maloumi, islandman, Julio Montoro y Alma Latina, Karkum Project, Lankum Les Abranis Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee, Rumbaristas, Samaïa, Son Rompe Pera, Suarasama, Susana Baca, and Tinariwen.
Music from: Algeria, Bosnia, Brazil, Cuba, Cyprus, Eastern Anatolia, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, North Karelia, North Macedonia, Peru, Portugal, Skye, Sumatra, Turkey and beyond.
Find out where and when to listen to the show further down.
Featured Album
The World and All That It Holds - Damir Imamović
The World and All That It Holds is Damir Imamovic’s 4th solo album and the second produced by Joe Boyd & Andrea Goertler. If you listen to Around the World enough, you will have heard me play Damir. If you don’t know the name, he is a musician who plays Bosnian Sevdah music. But that is barely a glimpse of his work.
He and his family have been steeped in Bosnian music for generations.
His father Nedžad Imamović was a bass player, producer, singer and author, and Nedžad’s father was Zaim Imamović - a legendary musician and traditional Bosnian folk singer.
Zaim Imamović - Malenim sokakom ne prolazim više
There can be few people as absorbed in Sevdah as Damir. Beyond performance and recording he teaches, researches the history of sevdah and in 2015, he curated a multimedia exhibition “Sevdah, the art of freedom” at the National Gallery of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But in this new album, released 19 May 2023 Damir goes beyond Sevdah. The Balkans was and still is a bridge (most) where many different cultures from West and East meet, mingle and merge.
Ladino songs feature. Ladno is the language of the Sephardic Jews in the Balkans. The album’s narratives include flight from war, same sex love, enforced migration and longing for home and the liner notes are a 48-page booklet in Bosnian and English of the story of the album and songs.
Damir Imamović - "Bejturan (Wormwood)" (Official Audio)
There’s no performance video to support the album, yet.
Also, of the same name The World and All That It Holds is a recently published book by Aleksandar Hemon.
“The major new novel from Bosnian-American author Aleksandar Hemon: a grand, tender and sweeping story spanning decades and continents. The World and All That It Holds is heartbreaking, philosophical, blackly funny in places; sensuous in others. It is deeply immersive, gripping and moving.”
He’ll be playing London the Barbican on 21 May, Brighton Festival on 22 May and the Hay Festival, 27 May, in a cross-collaboration of words and music with Bosnian American novelist Aleksandar Hemon and the music and songs of Damir Imamović
And there’s More
Suarasama "Untukmu yang Berperang" (Official Live Performance)
I don’t think I have ever played music from the Indonesian island, Sumatra. Suarasama was formed sometime in the middle of 1995, by two musicians at the University of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Between 1998 and 2013 they released 4 albums. Now the Chicago label Dragcity has re-released Timeline on the10 anniversary of its original release.
“After Drag City release, Suarasama album was considered to be one of the 5 best World Music album of the year by San Francisco Chronicle; one of the 10 best World Music album Of the Year by UnCut Magazine London and one of the 10 Best Album of October 2008 by Global Rhythm Magazine, USA. The fourth album “Timeline” was included in Uncut Magazines 38th and 45th playlist in 2014 and listed as one of Uncut Magazines Best Album (thus far…) and Best Album Halfway. Five songs of Suarasama have appeared in a film “Un-common Sound: Song of Peace and Reconciliation” which has been broadcast on ABC News in USA in Nov 2014. The album has been reviewed by more than 35 magazines, both printed and webzines, in America and Europe, due to Suarasama’s “World Music” approach that was considered “new” by several of the World’s music critics.”
It’s available on Bandcamp
I’ll be playing a track from the new islandman Direct-to-Disc Sessions featuring Okay Temiz & Muhlis Berberoğlu. There are no videos supporting this album (yet?) but here’s something from a couple of years ago that will give you an idea of what to expect from the recording.
Islandman x Muhlis Berberoğlu | Across
Recorded in Amsterdam for Night Dreamer’s ground-breaking Direct-To-Disc series, the session captures the innovative brilliance of the great Okay Temiz in full flow over Islandman’s trademark balearic-tinged production, alongside the modern Anadolu folk sound of Berberoğlu’s saz.
Hear the show on the web and radio
Sundays at 7:00 pm to 9:00pm
Bangor FM 107.9 (Radio Garden)
Sundays at 10:00 pm to midnight:
Slice Audio,
Ferry FM,
Radio Larne, and
Armagh City Radio .
Monday at 6:00 to 8:00 (UK time)
U Radio Sri Lanka
Tuesdays at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Lisburn’s 98FM (Radio Garden)
FM105 Down Community Radio (Radio Garden)
Wednesdays at 10:00 pm to midnight
Radio Skye (Radio Garden).
Saturdays at midnight to 02:00 am
Essential Radio
And there’s more.
Tune in to find out. The running order will be on my website from Sunday along with a Spotify and iTunes playlist. All the music - no interruption from me.
Until next time …