Around the World – Week beginning 6 August 2023 - Preview
Featured album this week is Soul & Science by Nickodemus
Last week
This week
Music by: African Head Charge & King Ayisoba, Blick Bassy, Chung Yufeng & David Chen, Crimi, DakhaBrakha, Damir Imamovic, Domenico Lancellotti, Fatoumata Diawara, Keturah, La Marisoul & Los Texmaniacs, Mari Kalkun, Mehmet Polat, Meritxell Gené, Mokoomba, Morgan Heritage, Shaggy & Beenie Man, Noga Ritter, Nusantara Beat, Oratnitza, Otyken, Raúl Rodríguez, Son Rompe Pera, Teun Creemers, Yaraka, and Zeyn'el.
Music from: Brazil, Cameroon Catalonia, Ecuador, England, Estonia, France, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Netherlands, New Mexico, New York, Sarajevo, Seville, Siberia, Taranto, Türkiye, and Zimbabwe
Featured Album: Nickodemus - Soul & Science.
I hadn’t expected it. Years ago, when I started on this global search for great music, I wasn’t expecting to find Disco, New York club music, on the journey. Yet here it is, and it is as much World Music as any other. In this specific case. The specific case being Nickodemus.
Nickodemus & The Illustrious Blacks - Plastic (A Bigger Name) [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]
Even though Nickodemus has been DJ/producer since the late 1990s, I only heard about him very recently as one of the re-mixers on Antonis Antoniou’s Throisma Remixed (featured album June 2023)
Not only does Nickodemus tour the world as a DJ, he collects from the world. He is a native New Yorker and the early influences on his music came from the many cultures of his home in the Bronx.
“… rooted in the many cultures of New York City, Nickodemus mixes influences from the Latin, African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean diasporas, blending them with homegrown sounds like House, Disco, and Hip-Hop with style and finesse. This new album is no different in its genre and influence fluidity, taking listeners on a journey of self-discovery through Nico’s eyes, exploring the relationship between humanity and technology in a rapidly changing world, weaving together a vibrant tapestry of musical genres from his time spend criss-crossing the globe as an artist the last two decades.”
Throughout his career, he has sampled music from around the planet and merged it into his “disco” style. On Soul & Science, Nickodemus invites vocal contributors and instrumentalists from Sudan (Alsarah), Cameroon (Pat Kalla), the Caribbean (Hector "Tempo" Alomar) and Cuba (Quantic). [*]. And The Illustrious Blacks (Manchildblack, Monstah Black)? They are from entirely different planets.
Is this Disco? It’s definitely Dance - from Siberia
OTYKEN - GENESIS (Official Music Video)
Otyken (Russian: Отукен, OH-too-kyen) is a Siberian indigenous music group that mixes elements of modern pop with local folk music, incorporating traditional instruments, lyrics, and languages. 'Otyken' is a Chulym word for a sacred land where warriors would lay down their arms and talk. The band was formed in 2015 by Andrey Medonos, and their debut album was released in 2018. As of January 2023, the group has over two million followers on Tiktok, over one hundred and twenty thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, and three hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube. The band members are of Siberian ethnicities and live in tiny villages along the Chulym river in the taiga of Krasnoyarsk Krai. [Wikipedia]
It’s a hat-tip and grateful thanks to Louis Edmundson for suggesting Otyken. Any other suggestions for music from anyone are always welcome. Leave a note here or anywhere on the blog.
DakhaBrakha - Lado (Live on KEXP)
It has been a long time since I’ve played my favourite Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha. They are currently in North America on tour. Today, 4 August 2023 they play The Ford in Los Angeles, and 5 & 6 August, they are in Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California. Shortly they head back to Europe for tour dates in September and October before returning to the USA and Canada later in the year. There’s more dates and information here.
The name DakhaBrakha is original, outstanding and authentic at the same time. It means «give/take» in the old Ukrainian language.
DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art «DAKH» by the avant-garde theatre director — Vladyslav Troitskyi. Theatre work has left its mark on the band performances — their shows have never been staged without the scenic effects. [*]
Hear the show on the web and radio
Sunday:
Bangor FM 107.9 (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time BST (8:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 10:00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
Ferry FM 10:00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
Radio Larne 10:00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
Armagh City Radio 10:00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
Monday:
KNC Radio St Lucia 6:00 am local time (11:00 am BST 12:00 noon CET)
Akaroa World Radio 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am BST, 12:00 noon CET)
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am BST, 12:00 noon CET)
U Radio Sri Lanka 7:30 pm local time SLT (3:00 pm BST, 4:00 pm CET)
Tuesday:
Lisburn’s 98FM (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time BST (8:00 pm CET)
FM105 Down Community Radio (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time BST (8:00 pm CET)
Wednesday:
World FM 4:00 am local New Zealand Time (5:00 pm Tuesday BST, 6:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 4:00 am local time BST (5:00 am CET)
Radio Skye (Radio Garden) 10:00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
Friday:
Akaroa World Radio 2:00 pm local New Zealand Time (3:00 am BST 4:00 am CET)
Saturdays
Essential Radio 10.00 pm local time BST (11:00 pm CET)
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am BST, 12:00 noon CET)