World Music: A Steady Diet

Welcome to this installment of my blog. I thought to share some world music I have been listening to lately. First, what is "world music?" I believe all music is world music, as in we are all one. But the more common definition can be handy when referring to music from other parts of the world besides the United States. Well, I find inspiration pretty much everywhere, including listening to world music, both familiar & unfamiliar. The dilemma we have here is that we can be somewhat insulated sometimes, while the rest of the world is indeed singing! To that effect, I recently embarked on listening to various sources of world music, both live & prerecorded.

- National Geographic Channel's Nat Geo Music Series: I found by coincidence this world music TV program while keeping company to my recently adopted feral cat (my fourth, but that is another blog altogether, maybe ;-) very late one night. By the way, a little Animal Planet & National Geographic channel TV time has been a great way to get my feral cat, Baraka, used to both animal sounds & sounds you’d find in a home (because of the commercials). Here in New Hampshire where I live we have Comcast, & one of their cable TV channel lineups includes the National Geographic Channel. Basically, it is a series of music videos from around the world, but that you’d probably not see on MTV, or elsewhere. Some of the videos are composites of different world locations, for the ultimate armchair travel experience, that is if you can stay in your chair & not dance. Check your cable or satellite TV listings in your area. In mine the series is on for 3 hours, between 3A.M. to 6A.M., so thank you DVR :-) (Digital Video Recorder, or TiVo, if that is what you use). The whole National Geographic World Music Home webpage is full of free features, videos & audio, as well as the Nat Geo Music TV webpage. Follow this link I also found on the Nat Geo website for a very interesting idea on how to finance your next music or CD project.

- A second source of world music for me lately has been the excellent UK magazine Songlines(click on link to subscribe). Each issue includes a compilation CD with tracks from various different world musicians & CDs. Subscribing to the magazine is like buying the compilation CDs & getting the magazine for free! It is a great way to listen & then decide if/which CDs to independently buy.

And for my favorite, live music:
- The Nashua Public Library has a Bach Lunch Concert Series on Wednesdays at noon, & the Summer Concert on the Plaza Series on Thursday evenings (click here for calendar). Neither focuses exclusively on world music, even though they have plenty of it. Here I was just introduced to the fascinating & beautiful music of 35th Parallel (Mac Ritchey & Gabe Halberg), described by the Nashua Public Library website as: "Take a musical journey through the Middle East, North India, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. Gabe Halberg and Mac Ritchey play instruments ranging from the Middle Eastern oud to the Indian tabla, from tar and jaw harp to bouzouki and didgeridoo." I’d add that they play both original compositions as well as traditional songs, with a strong emphasis on hand percussion. Quite a treat. You can purchase their Green Vine or Crossing Painted Islands albums (CDs here, mp3 downloads here). Make sure you visit their informative website too, at 35th Parallel.


- Lowell Folk Festival: Free, huge, full of ethnic music, food & fun! Do I need to say anything else? ;-) This festival just passed, so mark your calendars for the last full weekend in July of 2009 for the next installment. This year highlights included the Dance Pavillion (highlighting Puerto Plata, 85 years young! & his latin music group), with its various dance music acts, Balla Kouyaté (virtuoso player of an ancient instrument called the balafon, the West African ancestor of the marimba, the xylophone, the vibes, and a host of related instruments), Helder Moutinho (Portuguese fado male singer - a rarity for fado, since most are females), Pilon Batuku (Cape Verdean funana), & many more.

Hope you enjoy a dash of world music in your music diet, to liven things up!

Blessings,

Eduardo