World Music Matters

RFI English
  • 4.8 (5)
  • MUSIC
World Music Matters

Paris is a hub for musicians from all over the world. Our weekly show is a forum for sharing that music, and exploring its emotional impact. World Music Matters is hosted by RFI's Alison Hird.

  1. 09/18/2020

    Electric Vocuhila: the French quartet with taste, and talent, for African rhythms

    Electric Vocuhila combine the spirit of free-jazz legend Ornette Coleman with driving urban guitar rhythms like tsapiky from Madagascar or Congolese sebene. They masterfully sew them together on their pulse-raising third album, Palaces.

    12 min

  2. 09/08/2020

    Cult 1984 album 'Sons of Ethiopia' enchants new audiences in 2020

    Admas, a quartet of young Ethiopian musicians living in exile in Washington DC, had a ball recording an album of synth-heavy, funked up versions of Ethiopian classics. 'Sons of Ethiopia ' was soon forgotten but became cult among fans of ethiojazz. Now reissued by Frederiksberg Records, it reflects happier times from a generation that "just escaped" the worst of the Derg.

    16 min

  3. 07/11/2020

    Ennio Morricone: a tribute to the late maestro

    Italian composer Ennio Morricone was famed for his film scores but his work straddled jazz, pop, psychedelia as well as the avant-garde, influencing bands as diverse as Air and Metallica.

    10 min

  4. 07/03/2020

    Hachalu Hundessa: the Oromo singer who helped transform politics in Ethiopia

    "Everyday I walk in this city, I know I walk alongside death," singer Hachalu Hundessa said just days before he was shot dead in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on 28 June. We hear how the 34-year old protest singer became the voice of the Oromo ethnic group. "He was the soundtrack of the 2018 revolution that brought change to Ethiopia" Awol Allo told RFI.

    16 min

  5. 06/26/2020

    'Black Lives Matter', and songs are showing it's a fact

    Inspiring speeches are great, but a song can travel and connect people like nothing else. After the tragic death of George Floyd, musicians are helping to bring issues of police violence and social justice to the fore. Beyoncé, queen of R 'n' B,  and the young gospel singer Keedron Bryant have just released songs with a strong 'Black Lives Matter' message.

    12 min

  6. 06/19/2020

    Ariana Vafadari breathes life into Anahita, Persian goddess of water

    After exploring Zoroastrian chants on her 2016 album “Gathas, songs my father taught me”, mezzo soprano Ariana Vafadari puts femininity to the fore with the heart-wrenching “Anahita”, inspired by the Persian prophet Zarathustra and the goddess of water. Ten deeply spiritual songs set to Oriental maqam scales, tracing a path from despair to resolution.

    18 min

  7. 06/12/2020

    The Eddy: a love letter to jazz in modern, multicultural Paris

    There are big names in The Eddy, a Netflix series about a struggling jazz club in Paris. But the real star is jazz. And since coronavirus is depriving us of the thrill of live music, the jazz sessions recorded with its own six-piece band provide music lovers a much needed fix. Composer Glen Ballard and saxophonist Jowee Omicil talk about the joy of putting music first.

    20 min

  8. 06/06/2020

    Mugogo!: electronic music from the coast of Kenya

    When Swiss beatmaker FlexFab was doing a set in the coastal town of Kilifi, Kenya, a young Kenyan rapper Ziller Bas grabbed the mike and delivered his "Swengflow". The chemistry was immediate and six months later the two artists are set to release their debut EP Mugogo! A dancefloor must.

    13 min
See All (24)

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Paris is a hub for musicians from all over the world. Our weekly show is a forum for sharing that music, and exploring its emotional impact. World Music Matters is hosted by RFI's Alison Hird.

Information

  • Creator
    RFI English
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2020
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Radio France Internationale
  • Show Website
    World Music Matters

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