Around the World – Week beginning 22 January 2023 - Preview
The featured country is Australia and there's music from Peru, Denmark, Finland, Croatia, Haiti, Korea, Germany, Spain and Turkey.
As we approach Australia Day on 26 January, most of part 2 this week is music from Down Under. I don’t really play enough music from there considering the breadth and variety. There are indie and blues and rock bands from the big cities, traditional sounds from indigenous peoples. We’ll find Australian Reggae from Northern Queensland, along with funk and R&B from young emerging musicians.
And a tip of the Akubra (and I have a very excellent Akubra Bronco to tip with) to two people who have been suggesting Australian tunes in recent times. Thanks to Chryss Carr Byron Bay, New South Wales, and Veronica Weir from Holywood.
Here’s the full line-up:
Archie Roach, Baker Boy, Branko Mataja, Camp Cope, Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek, Emily Wurramara, Enkel, Frank Yamma, Garrangali Garrangali & Garrangali Band, Gaye Su Akyol, Gurrumul, Henriette Flach, Jabula, Jambina, João Selva, Julian Bel-Bachir, Kaumaakonga, King Stingray, Liraz, Los Invasores de Progreso, Midnight Oil, Miiesha, Niño de Elche & Raül Refree, Rachele Andriol, Seaman Dan, The Teskey Brothers, Thelma Plum, Vilian Pride and Wesli.
Featured Album - Wantok Musik Vol. 3
We extend from Australia into Oceania to find music from Pacific Islands, too. “The Wantok Musik Foundation is a not-for-profit Music Label that records, releases and promotes culturally infused music from First Nation Australia, Melanesia and Oceania. Wantok Musik raises the local and international profile of First Nations and world music groups based in the region, and provides greater economic opportunity for artists and long-term career sustainability.”
You can buy it on Bandcamp. And hear it in advance here.
Of course, not everyone likes or supports Australia Day. good example is “26 January” by indigenous rappers Briggs and record producer Trials. A.B. Original stands for Always Black, Original. The song expresses strong opposition to the very idea of Australia day. It’s a track I’d love to play - it’s a cracker. But the opinion is expressed so strongly – in language which so … shall we say “rich” that pearls would be clutched, and a radio station could loose its licence to broadcast. So I’ll leave a 2017 Buzzfeed article to explain it all. You can see the video there, too.
Hear last week’s programme on davysims.com
Part 1 is here on Mixcloud
Part 2 is here on Mixcloud
Hear the show on the web on Sundays at 10:00 pm to midnight:
Slice Audio,
Ferry FM,
Radio Larne, and
Armagh City Radio .
On Tuesdays at 7:00 pm on the radio and web
Bangor FM 107.9 (Radio Garden)
Lisburn’s 98FM (Radio Garden)
FM105 Down Community Radio (Radio Garden)
Wednesdays Radio Skye at 10:00 pm to midnight (Radio Garden).
I don’t usually include videos with just a still image, but this time I’ll make an exception for Tebi Majko Misli Lete from Over Fields and Mountains by Branko Mataja.
I have been entranced by that music – I was going to say since I first heard it – maybe I should be saying since I heard it last month. Because it seems so familiar, from a long time ago. There is something nostalgic about it that I just can’t place.
Branko Mataja is a guitarist with an incredible story. He was born In 1923 in Dalmatia – which is now part of Croatia. His parents moved to Belgrade in Serbia where a 10 year old Branko built his first guitar.
During the second world war as a teenager he was arrested by Italian occupying forces for not carrying his official papers and as a punishment was sent to a concentration camp in Germany as a slave labourer. When the camp was liberated he started to play guitar in clubs, and when the war ended, he applied to emigrate to America but his application was turned down.
He and his wife ended up in Yorkshire. They became British citizens, and emigrated to Canada in the 1950s. In 1963 the family entered the United States, migrating first to Detroit, then Salt Lake City, to Las Vegas, and finally to Los Angeles in 1964.
He continued to play and made some recordings. He also continued to build guitars – clients included Johnny Cash and Geddy Lee from Rush. In died in 2000.
That’s just touching the surface.
Here’s an article from the record company that released the album and another from The Guardian.
If you liked that track - Tebi Majko Misli Lete – then you will love Over Fields and Mountains – Branko Mataja. It was released March last year and I’ve only discovered ir recently.
Tebi Majko Misli Lete - Branko Mataja
Miiesha is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, Queensland. She was the recipient of New Talent of the Year at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2020 [Wikipedia]
Miiesha - Made For Silence (Official Music Video)
Camp Cope [their website] are an Australian alternative rock trio formed in 2015 in Melbourne, Victoria. The group consists of lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Georgia "Georgia Maq" McDonald, bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, and drummer Sarah "Thomo" Thompson. [Wikipedia]
Camp Cope - "Running With The Hurricane" (Official Music Video)
And my all-time favourite Australian song …
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
Where next?
In a month or two I’ll feature another country. I have a few ideas, but I’m open to suggestions.
Have a great weekend.