Bordered by five countries, Ivory Coast has no shortage of neighboring influences, or languages come to that (over 75 are listed in the former French…
The Pan-African Diva
Author: Tony Hillier
Tony Hillier is an Australia-based freelance music writer, broadcaster, musician, MC and band leader. He writes album and concert reviews and feature articles for The Australian (the country’s only bona fide national newspaper) and Rhythms (Australia’s only dedicated national roots music magazine) and prepares/presents weekly programs for the national broadcaster (ABC) and community radio. He is also a member of the Transglobal World Music Chart (TWMC) panel.
The Pogues: 40 Years On
Any conversation concerning the Pogues will inexorably gravitate towards one Shane MacGowan, the tomb-toothed enfant terrible of Irish (and English) folk-rock. The band’s frontman is…
Some Serious Skankin’ Ska
It started with a half-baked plan to set some kind of world record, for the most horn players performing the skank in a ska song.…
The Ethiopian Experience
Ethiopian flavored music has certainly taken root down under. The Black Jesus Experience, one of a handful of excellent Australian bands exhibiting the influence, boasts…
Aaron Choulai’s Cross-Cultural Curiosity
Unique is an oft-misused adjective in this modern world, but in the case of the musical collaboration involving piano prodigy and composer Aaron Choulai, a…
Cuban Pianistic Prodigy
While his name might only be familiar to a American jazz aficionados, Fabian Almazan, at 27, is already being compared with some of the finest…
Wu Man Has the World on a String
Wu Man, ‘the princess of pipa’, has single-handedly established her instrument on the world stage in recent years via solo performances and a series of…
The Australasian World Music Expo 2011
The world comes to Australia this month, rather than vice versa. Thanks to an enterprising local entrepreneur and radio presenter, the country now has its…
The Original Afro Rockers
They weren’t aware of it at the time of course, but when Osibisa burst onto the British rock scene in the early ‘70s brandishing their…
Kronos Quartet’s Space Odyssey
Scheduled to make its timely entrance on the Australian national festival scene in late October, Adelaide’s Earth Station http://www.earthstationfestival.com.au could not have selected a more…