My interest in international music was piqued early in life. Growing up in St. Louis, MO I was blessed to have access to an excellent community radio station, KDHX. Aside from focusing its efforts on local DJs, local music, and local arts -- KDHX shined in its ability to connect its listeners in St. Louis to the international musical traditions that bore themselves into the local musical landscape.
From Celtic music, to the music of Eastern Europe's hills , to the plains of Africa, and the mountains of the Middle East and India KDHX literally offered my impressionable ears a world of listening opportunity. Such joy for the diversity of the world's music I have not heard on any other radio station.
As a high school student in STL I was content on merely listening to what KDHX had to offer. It wasn't till I was a DJ in college at WERS 889.FM Boston, that I had an opportunity to become articulate in the international language of music.
At the time WERS featured an excellent world music program, the Gyroscope (now defunct). As a host of the Jazz Oasis (now defunct) I brought Boston the best jazz from 10am to 2pm, when the Gyroscope would air. During the shift changes I was able to develop a new understanding of Fela Kuti, the mbira, the Samba, and the koto.
Working with world musician (and percussionist extraordinaire) Shawn Hennessey on our Overnight Experimental Show (now defunct) I developed a hands on understanding of the sounds from around the globe. During our 2am to 6am time slot, we featured live performances on a variety of instruments and often interspersed and punctuated the live performances with the Gyrscope's catalog.
On any given Overnight Experimental Show it wasn't uncommon for us to blend Steven Reich's Six Maribmas with traditional mbira music from the Shona people -- or to counterpoint a live jazzy piano performance with sitar / tabla record and Gorecki choir. Sure it may have been a little precious, a little pretentious, but it was also really exciting. Aside from creating music for the first time in my life -- the juxtapositions we often stumbled upon helped me to develop an understanding of where music came from, historically, and to what degree the world's musical heritage shades music being made today.
After leaving Boston for Washington, DC (via Nashville) I landed a gig as a 'web broadcaster' at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, otherwise known as the Kennedy Center. Working four days a week as a broadcaster meant telecasting the KC's nightly free-performance series over the Internet. The Millennium Stage is an excellent resource for anyone who is poor and thirsty for more culture.
During my first six months at the Millennium Stage I had the great pleasure of broadcasting a seemingly unending stream of musical performances from Africa, Indonesia, India, and South America. Unlike the abstract appreciation for world music I developed at WERS, working at the Millennium stage allowed me to understand the very literal progression of music from its roots to its modern incarnation.
Following this path brought me to Ali Farka Toure. A Malian guitarist who achieved an international renown prior to dying in 2006 -- Toure has recieved a fair amount of coverage in the States with the release of his last two albums.
The song that I have chosen to include in the SoKT, 'Kala', is an excellent melding of the western guitar and the kora. I find this tune to be incredible because of its warmth -- its optimism showers me in sunglight -- and because its playfulness always makes me smile.
I followed 'Kala' up with a song that I recorded and produced as a school project. It features the aforementioned Shawn Hennessey on all instruments and vocals. Called 'Sabey Wanna Ey' (I never knew how to spell it), this song is Shawn's adaptation of a song from Ghana's highlands.
To hear what Shawn is up to now, visit Leana Song.
No comments:
Post a Comment