Brazil’s Graveola Release Camaleao Borboleta
Post-tropicalista Brazilian band Graveola have a new album titled Camaleão Borboleta (Chameleon Butterfly). The new recording features socially conscious lyrics concerning the power of the…
Length & Time: Dengue Dengue Dengue!
I will be writing a column on Length & Time in music, in each presenting an album and its strategies that pertain to addressing Length & Time. Along…
Artist Profiles: Femi Kuti
One of the heirs of the genius of Nigerian Afrobeat superstar Fela Kuti is his son, Femi. Femi’s version of Afrobeat is the exciting new…
Richard Bona Announces American Tour and New Album
Cameroonian bassist and singer-songwriter Richard Bona has a new album titled Heritage, scheduled for release on September 16 in the United States. To promote the…
Brazilian Bands Today at SummerStage in New York City
SummerStage will present several Brazilian today, Saturday, August 6 in Central Park, Manhattan. The artists featured include Monobloco, Cabruêra, Boogarins, and DJ Luiz Santos. Admission…
Artist Profiles: Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, previously Ransome-Kuti, was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938. His family belonged to the Egba branch of the Yoruba tribe. His father, like…
Artist Profiles: Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure
Abdoulaye Alhassane was born in 1963 in Niamey (Niger) to a Sonrai family from Gao (Mali). He is a superb multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer.…
Artist Profiles: Malouma
Malouma Mint Moktar Ould Meidah was born in the 1960s in Mederdra (Traiza), into a family of griots (singers who work as oral historians). Her…
Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil Headliners at the Opening Ceremony of Rio Olympics
Acclaimed Brazilian singers, songwriters, and guitarists Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are set to perform at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio…
The Shiny Treasure of Vieux Kante
Vieux Kante – The Young Man’s Harp (Sterns Africa, 2016) I suspect that unseen, undiscovered masters of all shapes, sizes and disciplines brush past us…