 Yma Sumac
The extraordinary Peruvian singer Yma Sumac has died on Saturday 1 November, she was 86 years old. She will be buried in Hollywood where she lived for many years. Said to be the direct descendant of the last Inca emperor Atahualpa, her incredible vocal range of four and a half octaves was a rare gift that became legendary. Released in 1950, her debut album Voice of the Xtabay was an immediate bestseller and she rose to international fame. Born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo in Ichocan, Peru in 1922, Yma Sumac's adopted stage name was part of a public persona which reveled in the exotic. Performing in the US from the 1940s, her glamourous costumes were perfect for the Technicolor roles she would play in several Mexican and Hollywood movies, including the "The Secret of the Inca," alongside Charlton Heston in 1953. Over her singing career she combined highly stylized interpretations of Peruvian folk traditions with American popular music, and on later recordings, jazz, salsa and rock n roll. In her heyday Yma Sumac toured Latin America, the US, Europe and Japan, including opera appearances in Italy and with symphony orchestras in North America. Still attracting cult attention in the late 1990s, the Coen Brothers featured her song Ataypura in the film The Big Lebowski and in 2003 Black Eyed Peas used a sample of Bo Mambo in Hands Up. In 2006 Yma Sumac was awarded 'The Order of The Sun' in Peru, and remains the only Peruvian on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. A fitting tribute to a phenomenal diva.
publication date : 11/07/2008
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DJ Cal Jader
DJ Cal Jader of Movimientos selects the best new Latin music he got his ears around at WOMEX Seville.
publication date : 11/07/2008
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Interview Bongo Maffin
Thandiswa and Stoan describe what first brought them to kwaito, this unique type of bubblegum music that came out of South Africa’s townships in the early Nineties. The two singers explain the Bongo Maffin music laboratory, and its eclectic approach. There is also a southern African approach thanks to the Zimbabwe heritage Appleseed brings to the group.
Setting: Bongo Maffin were one of several groups invited to participate in a special weeklong programme on urban South African music organised by Paris’ prestigious Cité de la Musique. Thandiswa and fellow-singer Stoan took time off from rehearsals to discuss the latest evolutions of one of South Africa’s most popular kwaito bands. This exchange was first broadcast by the weekly programme World Tracks for Radio France International.
Daniel Brown, December 2007.
publication date : 12/04/2007
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Womex 2007
The 14th edition of the World Music Expo. Mondomix brings you the highlights of the showcases and workshops that marked this gathering of world music specialists and retailers.
Watch the report
publication date : 11/16/2007
Andy Palacio | Belize
Balkan Beat Box | United States
Ensemble Badila | France, India, Iran
Mamani Keïta | Mali
Vieux Farka Touré | Mali
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Sakifo Musik Festival 2007
The fourth edition of the Sakifo festival highlighted the rich vein of local music from the Reunion Island, and brought together some outstanding artists from around the world.
Watch the report
publication date : 07/27/2007
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Top Ivorian artist Fadal Dey attacked
This is the tumified face of one of West Africa’s most popular reggae artists. On May 31st, Fadal Dey and several of his fellow musicians were attacked by bootleggers in his country’s economic capital, Abidjan. He was part of a group of Ivorian musicians who had decided to confront hawkers selling counterfeit cassettes and CDs in the city’s business quarter, called La Sorbonne. They were hoping their act – which they categorised as “taking the bull by the horns” – would finally galvanise the authorities into action against what they call “a scourge on all artists”.
The result of their act of bravado was a not exactly what they had hoped for. Witnesses say that police stood by idly as the artists were set upon by a large group of hawkers and men armed with rocks and sticks. Dey and fellow-musician Gbazza Figaro were knocked unconscious by bricks. Dey needed over a dozen stitches, and was close to losing an eye. He has since left hospital and is in a stable condition.
The issue of music piracy has been a longstanding on in this beleaguered African nation. Like most of its neighbours, bootlegged copies of popular albums are sold for 30-40% less than the price of official albums, and are devastating the music industry. The IFPI recording industry watchdogs estimated that the trade of pirate discs worldwide was worth US $ 4.5 billion in 2005. It says that “more than one in three of all music discs purchased around the world is thought to be an illegal copy”. The consequences in Africa have been catastrophic for musicians, most of whom are forced to find other work to supplement their passion.
The worst culprit in domestic music piracy is said to be Morocco (almost 100 %!), followed by Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe (between 25 and 50%). What irks the artists most, however, is the climate of impunity for the pirates who operate openly in the streets of the major cities. Governments continue to ignore the most brazen copyright infringements and seem reticent to tackle intellectual property crime. “Music piracy in Africa,” claimed Youssou N’Dour, in an interview to IFPI, “constitutes today the biggest obstacle to the development of the cultural institutions linked to music.
“Piracy,” N’Dour continued, “is a systematic theft carried out against the heritage of the creators and professionals who work in music.” Dey and Figaro recently discovered the harsh realities of the jungle in the streets of Abidjan, unprotected by the authorities. They are struggling to overcome an ingrained practice there, along with hundreds of fellow-musicians and performers united in the National Union of Artists from Côte d’Ivoire. Despite his injuries, Dey has vowed to continue to fight a scourge that shows no signs of slowing down.
June 2007
publication date : 06/20/2007
Fadal Dey | Côte D'ivoire
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Womex 2006 preview feature
Setting: On the eve of WOMEX 2006 the weekly radio programme World Tracks discussed the impact of this four-day gathering in Spain on “world music”. It gave a taste of the eclectic and frenetic atmosphere of WOMEX by returning to the previous year’s edition, held in Gateshead, England.
The 12th edition of the World Music Expo, or WOMEX opened in the Spanish city of Sevilla with hopes it will build on the success of its 2005 edition in Gateshead, England. WOMEX communications director Gerald Seligman describes the highlights and novelties his organisation have developed over the year, for an edition where a record number of participants are expected to participate.
To better understand why over 2,500 “world music” professionals congregated for this four-day event we return to the 11th edition. This was held in the state-of-the-art Sage venue on the Tyne river in northeast England. There, artists like Vusi Mahlasela, Hermeto Pascual, Thandiswa Maswai and Robert Plant described the aspirations that drew them to such a meeting.
November 2006
publication date : 10/25/2006
Aynur | Turkey
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Womex 2006
Watch the report
publication date : 10/25/2006
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Fez Festival of World Sacred Music 2006
Morocco’s richest music gathering continues to grow and diversify. The 12th edition of the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music has added a new free stage at the large racing fround in Fez’s new town to showcase traditional Moroccan orchestras and bands.
Watch the report
publication date : 06/23/2006
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United Against Malaria
On October 8th 2005, the United Nations marked its 60th birthday in Geneva with a multi-star concert called “United against malaria”. Youssou N’Dour led a glittering array of stars in this appeal to end one of the world’s worst pandemics. These included Gilberto Gil, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Peter Gabriel, Neneh Cherry, Rokia Traore, Anggun and Manu Katche. The Radio France International music programme World Tracks was there to cover the two-hour exchange and produced a forty-minute, two part special for the occasion.
November 2005
publication date : 11/16/2005
Youssou N'Dour | Senegal
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Africa
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