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Greedy for Best Music, Frankfurt (2024)

02/08/2024

Alex Figueira's Conjunto Papa Upa unveils sophomore album of visionary tropical soundscapes on Music With Soul. "Fruta Madura" is the definitive soundtrack to sunnier days that no one expected you to be carrying in your bag or simply a stand-out contemporary 'tropicalatin' record to boost your mood and anchor your collection of 21st century psychedelic grooves. 🍍

Following on the heels of his delirious, 2023 debut solo full-length "Mentallogenic", Figueira rejoins the ranks of Conjunto Papa Upa to knock another afro-Carribean-inspired curveball right out of the park. Similar to a 'ripe fruit', the musical tastes have really come together on this one and are bound to get your juices flowing. Like its 2020-released predecessor "Libre Para Amar" (on Names You Can Trust), "Fruta Madura" pushes the boundaries in terms of the left-field, unorthodox and at times totally off-the-wall arrangements. Characterized by catchy, upbeat and leisurely arrangements and led by futuristic synth lines, a regiment of percussive elements and charismatically gushing vocals, the ten tracks on this latest oeuvre, however, are all airplay material.

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Alex Figueira's Conjunto Papa Upa unveils sophomore album of visionary tropical soundscapes on Music With Soul. The definitive soundtrack to sunnier days!

30/07/2024

Listen to the latest Globalwize 'African Presence' special featuring "A History of African Music (Pt.1)" by WeltBeat / Globalwize host and selector Jean Trouillet alongside Dr. Hauke Dorsch, director of the African Music Archives (Archiv für die Musik Afrikas Mainz (AMA)) at the University of Mainz (Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Mainz). Now streaming via greedio on Mixcloud.🌍

The "Globalwize Radioshow #454" includes music by Mali's Baba Sangare of R.T.M., Spanish band Ketama playing with the recently deceased Malian kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté and UK jazz bassist Danny Thompson, the late Gambian jali and kora player Alhaji Bai Konte, the late Guinean singer Sory Kandia Kouyaté aka 'the voice of Africa', Senegal's Cheick Niang Guitariste, the legendary Guinean music group Bembeya Jazz National and, last but not least, the one and only Miriam Makeba.

Click below to read more and stream the full show 👀

Listen to a Globalwize 'African Presence' special 'History of African Music Pt.1' by WeltBeat's Jean Trouillet & Dr. Hauke Dorsch (African Music Archives).

26/07/2024

Tel Aviv's Fortuna Records imprint releases a generous anthology of songs by the 'undisputed king of Yemenite music', Aharon Amram, including timeless hits, obscurities and previously unreleased material – an exceptionally stimulating backdrop to festive gatherings and general merrymaking! 🎙️

"From the dawn of the sixties, and for over four decades, Amram recorded and released dozens of records on his independent record label, 'Sounds of Yemen'. A pioneer of his time, Amram combined in his repertoire religious songs as well as secular songs which he wrote himself. Alongside traditional compositions, Amram experimented with Western electric instruments such as guitar, bass, organ and a drum set, as well as with rock and soul arrangements. This mosaic created a unique sound signature which became the foundation for today’s Middle Eastern “Mizrahi” music, and the presence of this foundation is felt to this very day," the release notes read. The "Sounds of Yemen (1962-1987)" anthology brings us 20 tracks from Amram's vast catalogue, revealing a tireless innovator always on par with the zeitgeist.

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Fortuna Records release generous anthology of songs by the 'king of Yemenite music', Aharon Amram, including timeless hits, obscurities + unreleased material.

23/07/2024

Listen to another two hours of WeltBeat / Globalwize host/selector Jean Trouillet's regular far-reaching deep listening format, now streaming exclusively on greedio via Mixcloud! 🌍

The "Globalwize Radioshow #453" includes mesmerising productions by the likes of Youssou Ndour / the 'Lion of Zimbabwe' Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited / Matano & Morning Star from the "Zanzibara: First Modern Taarab Vibes from Mombasa & Tanga 1970-1990" on Buda Musique / the 'Queen of Taarab and Unyago Music' Bi Kidude / Gert Kapo / Rehman Memmedli from "Azerbaijani Gitara Volume 2" on Bongo Joe Records / Halva / East of the River led by Nina Stern and Daphna Mor/ Black Lives - from Generation to Generation / Staples Jr. Singers / ROCKET MEN / Lindigo Officiel / FLAVIA COELHO aaand Macadam Farmer.

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Listen another two hours of WeltBeat host/selector Jean Trouillet's regular far-reaching Globalwize format, now streaming exclusively on greedio via Mixcloud!

19/07/2024

Bogotá's MERIDIAN BROTHERS (aka Eblis Álvarez) release a boundlessly grandiose new concept album of 'tropicalatin' soundscapes. "Mi Latinoamérica Sufre" is out now on Bongo Joe Records/Ansonia Records. 🎸🌎🎸

"Born from the desire to explore the untapped potential of the electric guitar in a tropical latin context, the record draws inspiration from the chiming, clear-toned and intricately rhythmic traditions of African highlife and soukous guitar band music, sounds that are as popular at coastal Colombian picó sound system dances as they are on their home turf in Africa." The resulting compositions are a bizarro blend of upbeat riffing, journeying melodies and super kawaii off-kilter effects, "weaving elements of cumbia, champeta, soukous, Brazilian tropicalia, and underground psychedelic rock all contained within the Afro-Latino guitar band format."

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Bogotá's Meridian Brothers release a boundlessly grandiose new concept album of 'tropicalatin' soundscapes on Bongo Joe/Ansonia Records.

12/07/2024

Breadminster County Council's Elijah Minnelli releases disarming dub reimaginations of traditional folk songs with vocal features by Little Roy, Shumba Youth, Earl 16 and Joe Yorke – a shimmering, slightly wonky offering and reverberating call to lay down arms. 🍞

"Perpetual Musket" is an eight-track (four tracks + four dubs) tale of repeated human foolhardiness and war-mongering. Pacifist to the core, Elijah Minnelli reminds listeners of the futility of armed conflict and the importance of celebrating life's most basic joys. It tells the ancient story of the Partnership of the Perpetual Musket, an underground bohemian society led by a heroic "figurehead" set on bringing about a state of warlessness through song and ceremony. Each track is paired with an equally impressive live dub version, further showcasing Elijah Minnelli's craftiness on the controls and productive wit.

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Breadminster County Council Figurehead Elijah Minnelli releases disarming dub reimaginations of traditional folk songs.

09/07/2024

Here we go: Listen to two more hours of WeltBeat / Globalwize host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching broadcasting format. 🌍

The "Globalwize Radioshow #451" is now streaming exclusively via greedio on Mixcloud and includes music by Sonya Cohen Cramer on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / Ann O'aro on Buda Musique / Souad Massi / Paco El Lobo / Ali Doğan Gönültaş / Aynur Doğan / Pierpaolo Vacca Musica / Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly aka MESTIZX on International Anthem / Nubiyan Twist / Fatoumata Diawara / spëcht on Zephyrus Records / Multumult / Ofra Haza aaand Black Lives - from Generation to Generation!

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Listen to two more hours of WeltBeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching broadcasting format. Now streaming exclusively on Mixcloud via greedio.

05/07/2024

Long since on a quest for "cosmic grooves of unity" Berlin-based Hungarian-born producer and keyboarder Szabolcs Bognár – alias Àbáse – manifests the revelatory and cyclical nature of life on sophomore LP via Oshu Records/Analogue Foundation 👁

Fittingly titled "Awakening", this latest oeuvre of his marks a "creative rebirth" and a newfound sense of meaning on this ever so bumpy terrain. Three years down the road from his debut LP "Laroyê" (2021), "'Awakening' coalesces Àbáse's varied musical influences and reference points (classic Lagos afrobeat, traditional Hungarian folk, Yoruba rhythms, house and techno, hip hop et al) with the exquisite modal improvisation spurred by Szabi's introspection." To Àbáse himself, the term 'awakening' conveys the idea of coming into this life, opening one's eyes for the very first time and being welcomed into this world by the distant, yet familiar sounds once perceived from the womb, now imminent and omnipresent.

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Berlin-based Hungarian-born producer and keyboarder Àbáse manifests the revelatory nature of life on sophomore LP via Oshu Records/Analogue Foundation.

02/07/2024

Cheb Gero's Akuphone imprint just released this charming compilation of almost forgotten Jewish-Tunisian jewels, including the originals as well as timely reworks by DJ/producer Sharouh.

"In 1940, over 100,000 Jewish men and women lived in Tunisia. Thirty years later, no more than 10,000 remained. Today, only a few of them have resisted the historical forces that dispersed their families and their neighbours. In spite of this exile, the thousand-year-old presence of Tunisian Jews has left an eternal and delightful imprint on the country’s landscapes and its heritage - cultural, culinary and, of course, musical," the release notes detail. "Ya Hasra" is out now 💙

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Akuphone releases a charming compilation of almost forgotten Jewish-Tunisian jewels, including the originals as well as timely reworks by DJ/producer Sharouh.

26/06/2024

Surrendering yourself to the groove can be just as if not more rewarding than trying to remain in control at all cost: Hybrid Netherlands-based duo Esfand releases its debut album "Piltan" on 30M Records fusing traditional Iranian sounds w/ contemporary club appeal. 🤝

Comprised of two sound enthusiasts, the one hailing from Iran, the other from New Zealand, this sonorous duo has made a name for itself with its trademark "organic hybrid" of "ecstatic dance music" poised to jettison listeners into another dimension. "Piltan" serves up eight club tracks exploring a diversity of rhythmic patterns and ancestral sounds, verging on the esoteric yet successfully eschewing the rightfully dreaded "crossover kitsch" verdict. And though some of the compositions might be judged as more overwhelming and less accessible than others, there is no denying their shared emotive power and "sophisticated production."

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Hybrid Netherlands-based duo ESFAND releases its debut album fusing traditional Iranian sounds with contemporary club appeal on 30M Records.

22/06/2024

Listen to a fresh Globalwize 'Reggae & Black Music' special by WeltBeat / Globalwize host/selector Jean Trouillet with studio guest Jack Sapphire. Now streaming exclusively via greedio on Mixcloud! ✊🏾🇯🇲✊🏾

The "Globalwize Radio #450" includes music by artists such as Nina Ogot / Nubiyan Twist / Dadadi + Nana Budjei on Soundway Records (Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora 1980-1993) / Nouvelle Vague / Bob Marley / Addis Live / Peter Tosh / Heptones Expression / The Mighty Twinkle Brothers / burningspearmusic / U-Roy / Aswad / Michael Smith aaand Steel Pulse!

Click below to read more and stream the full show 👀

Listen to a fresh Globalwize 'Reggae & Black Music' special by WeltBeat host/selector Jean Trouillet w/ studio guest Jack Sapphire. Now streaming on greedio!

19/06/2024

We're back with Tel Aviv's Sandman Project and its recently released expansive debut longplayer on Batov Records. Led by guitarist and composer Tal Sandman, this open-minded outfit first popped onto the scene with its 2018-released "Royal Family" debut EP, only to embark on a presumed six-year hiatus, prompting people to ask: "Where Did You Go?" 🔭

The answer is to be found on the group's exhilarating new ten-track oeuvre, an evocative, borderless potpourri of global surf 'n' turf styles with a jazz ethos, blending Ethio scales, Afrobeat, American soul music and psychedelic, Mediterranean funk to heady effect. Six years in, the Sandman Project lays proof to its own musical growth and maturation "with plentiful personal and collective transformation" and "a deeper sense of geography and global nuance."

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Tel Aviv's Sandman Project releases open-minded, boundary-pushing debut longplayer on Batov Records – a jazz-led potpourri of global surf'n'turf styles.

05/06/2024

French-Moroccan powerhouse Bab L'Bluz drops their second high-octane full-length on Real World Records, adding to the fire of their previous outing and offering eleven new heavyweight tracks for audiences to get lost in. ✊🏽🇲🇦✊🏽

"This is ancient-to-future music, rooted as much in psychedelic blues, funk and rock as in the trancey, propulsive rhythms of northern Africa's Maghreb: Gnawa, Amazigh, Hassani and Houara music. The popular street music known as Chaabi, in which the word 'swaken' means to visit another dimension, as well as the space in which two dimensions overlap," the release notes read. Yousra Mansour's "melismatic voice" is front and center, singing in her native Darija tongue, accompanied by "the riffage from her electric awisha lute" with "her bandmates [contributing] everything from keyboards, flutes and electric guembri to drums, backing vocals and qraqeb castanets." We'll see you on the other side!

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French-Moroccan powerhouse Bab L' Bluz drops second high-octane full-length on Real World Records, adding to the fire of their previous outing.

31/05/2024

Globalwize returns: Listen to an 'African Presence' special introduction to Nigerian Fújì music featuring visiting scholar Dr. Oladele Ayorinde and WeltBeat / Globalwize host/selector Jean Trouillet. Now streaming exclusively on greedio via Mixcloud. 🌍🇳🇬🌍

Dr. Oladele Ayorinde shares an in-depth introduction to Nigerian Fújì music, ranging from the early 1940s all the way to today's burgeoning Afrobeats scene led by Nigerian global superstars the likes of Wizkid and Burna Boy, most of whom emerged from the Fújì scene. Besides providing added context and background infos, Ayorinde has selected Fújì and Fújì-inspired music by Nigerian artists the likes of Abibu Oluwa, Yusuf Olatunji, Sanusi Aka (S. Aka), Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Wasiu Ayinde Anifowose (Kwam 1), General Kollington Ayinla, Adewale Ayuba, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Sunny T Adesokan, Iyabo Osanle, The Remedies, Jazzman Olofin, 9ice, Wizkid, Olamide, Burna Boy and Asake.

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Listen to an 'African Presence' special introduction to Nigerian Fújì music featuring visiting scholar Dr. Oladele Ayorinde.

29/05/2024

Just in time to set the occasional dancefloor alight this summer: Berlin producer DANIEL HAAKSMAN gives Angolan composer Prado Paim's "Engracia" a novel spin, featuring Colombia's LosBulldozer on guitar. Out now on Man Recordings! 💚🇦🇴💚

Originally released in 1974, "Engracia" was Prado Paim's "first 7" single to reach gold status in a country where a domestic music industry was only about to kick off as a platform for homegrown musicians." Needless to say, the song "went on to become one of the biggest hits in Angola" and Prado Paim "one of the greatest Angolan rumba composers of his generation." Sung in Kimbundu – the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola – and "heavily influenced by Congolese rumba," it is, quite simply, a love song for a woman named Engracia that is sure to charm you in both its original and updated form.

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Berlin producer Daniel Haaksman gives Angolan composer Prado Paim's 1974 hit a novel spin feat. Colombia's Los Bulldozer on guitar. Out now on Man Recordings.

24/05/2024

Listen to another 'African Presence' special presented by WeltBeat / Globalwize host and selector Jean Trouillet alongside Dr. Hauke Dorsch, director of the Archiv für die Musik Afrikas Mainz (AMA) (Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Mainz) at the University of Mainz. This one features an introduction to the music of Tanzania with guest scholar Prof. Dr. Imani Sanga from the University of Dar es Salaam and is now streaming exclusively on greedio via Mixcloud! 🌍🇹🇿🌍

The "Globalwize Radioshow #449" includes music by artists such as Hukwe Zawose, the Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club, the Culture Musical Musical Club, Sahib El Arry featuring the late and great taraab vocalist Bi Kidude, the Dar Es Salaam Jazz Band, the Jamhuri Jazz Band, Salum Abdallah & Cuban Marimba, Mbaraka Mwinshehe & the Morogoro Jazz Band, Hukwe Zawose collaborating with Canadian producer/instrumentalist Michael Brooks, Tanzanian guitarist/singer Remmy Ongala & Orchestre Super Matimila, the brilliant East African afro-rock collective Sunburst, the popular 'muziki wa dansi band' Mlimani Park Orchestra, soukous outfit Makassy Orchestra and, last but not least, the versatile Tanzanian luminary Diamond Platnumz.

Click below to read more and stream the full show 👀

Listen to an 'African Presence' special introduction to the music of Tanzania with special guest Prof. Dr. Imani Sanga from the University of Dar es Salaam.

19/05/2024

Senegalese guitarist Tidiane Thiam releases a mesmerisingly serene and compelling appeal to Africa to take back the reins of its own destiny. 🌿🇸🇳🌿

Released last Friday, "Africa Yontii" is Tidiane Thiam's third album on Sahel Sounds and sees him "[team] up with hip-hop beat maker Ndiaye Moctar from studio M.N. Records to provide accompaniment, integrating unexpected elements such as field recordings and electronic sounds," to flank his tranquil, evocative guitar soundscapes. “What I should be singing (with words) I’m instead saying with my guitar,” he says. There's an innate beauty to this new album of his, but beyond its pensive allure lies a more profound concept, one of pride and provenance and hope.

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Senegalese guitarist Tidiane Thiam releases an innately beautiful, compelling appeal to Africa to take back the reins of its own destiny. Out on Sahel Sounds.

13/05/2024

More than 20 years after its inaugural 'Ghana Soundz' compilation, Soundway Records unveils a scintillating new collection of electronic 'burger highlife' sounds from the Ghanaian diaspora, 1980-93. 🌍🇬🇭🌍

This latest "Ghana Special" edition shines a light on "the idiosyncracies of a rapidly changing postcolonial society, marked by increased migration and [thus] wider access to global sounds and modern technology." The underlying experimental approach takes the retro highlife sound to new synth-fueled heights, imbuing it with an even more infectious dynamic and cutting-edge allure. "Drum machines and synthesisers appeared alongside lilting guitar lines and punchy horns, and the emerging Ghanaian diaspora began incorporating US disco and boogie, R&B, European new wave, and Caribbean zouk and soca into their music."

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More than 20 years after its 'Ghana Soundz' comp, Soundway Records unveils scintillating collection of 'burger highlife' sounds from the diaspora, 1980-93.

07/05/2024

Get those 'Nederwave' engines revving: Amsterdam's Don Melody Club (The Mauskovic Dance Band) releases unapologetically wonky, infectiously groovy 'Dutch pop' five-tracker via Bongo Joe Records/ Excelsior Recordings. 🚤

If you are open to these admittedly quirky, left-field pop sounds, then "Zonder Pardon" will likely resonate with you as it has with us: Take a "psychedelic and retro-tinged" deep dive into an analog universe of "uptempo drum machine rhythms, pulsating basslines, and funky melodies" that verges on kitch, but is so catchy and straight-faced that it much rather "[echoes the iconic] work of Talking Heads and Bryan Ferry," while simultaneously "[evoking] memories of the Nederwave sound of Doe Maar, a [late '70s] Dutch pop band that combined punk, ska, and reggae influences."

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Amsterdam's Don Melody Club (The Mauskovic Dance Band) releases unapologetically wonky, infectiously groovy 'Dutch pop' five-tracker via Bongo Joe Records.

03/05/2024

Multi-cultural ensemble Halva presents its third album "Musafir", reimagining the traditional sounds of Eastern Europe via Ghent-based Zephyrus Records – wonderful arrangements reminiscent of the old yet beautifully rephrased in the here and now. "Musafir" is marked by dazzling virtuosity and a talent for musical storytelling; albeit the majority of the group's music is instrumental. 🎻

"The title 'Musafir' refers to the vulnerability of ‘the stranger’, to the sadness of leaving home, or being forced to leave; to the suffocating feelings of loneliness, desperation and helplessness that come along with that, and to the inherent fact of being dependent on hospitality in a faraway land. But on the other hand, it also refers to the joy of feeling connected to and accepted by others, the excitement of discovering new worlds and the satisfaction of building a worthy life."

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Multi-cultural ensemble Halva presents its 3rd album, virtuosically reimagining the traditional sounds of Eastern Europe via Ghent-based Zephyrus Records.

01/05/2024

Siberian brother duo Herandu (alias Evgeny Gavrilov aka dyad & Mikhail Gavrilov aka Misha Sultan) releases mesmerising jazz fusion debut on Hive Mind Records. 🏢

Channeling a deep appreciation of 'urban music' inspired as much by "the gritty cityscapes of '70s TV cop thrillers" as by "21st century urbanism," Herandu have conjured a mesmerising eleven-track opus of aural plasticity, fusion in practice or, quite simply, musical alchemy. Combining elements from club and dance music with an 'anything goes' modus operandi in the spirit of jazz, this here is a special blend of electro-melodic experimentation.

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Siberian brother duo Herandu (alias Evgeny and Mikhail Gavrilov) releases mesmerising, 'urbanist' jazz fusion debut on Hive Mind Records.

25/04/2024

Listen to another WeltBeat / Globalwize 'African Presence' special with the African Music Archives' (Archiv für die Musik Afrikas Mainz (AMA) / Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Mainz) latest Artist in Residence, Kigali's Eric '1key' Ngangare.

1key is a multi-lingual hip-hop poet, spoken-word artist, blogger and advocate of Kigali’s blossoming live music scene. Born in 1981 to a Rwandese mother and Congolese father, 1key spent his earliest years in Goma, eastern DRC. After suffering the repercussions of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in the eastern DRC, 1key moved to Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, where he continued his secondary education, which he completed ‘back’ in Rwanda. After studying Food and Science Technology, he pursued a career in translating and advertising before establishing himself as an artist first in Kampala, now in Kigali. 🌍

Now streaming exclusively on via Mixcloud! Click below to read more and stream in full 👀

Listen to another 'African Presence' special with the African Music Archives' latest Artist in Residence, Kigali's Eric '1key' Ngangare. Now on greedio!

24/04/2024

Back from a 54-year hiatus, the recently revived Covadia imprint shines a light on its remarkable back catalogue of Congolese music in Belgium with its inaugural compilation. 🎙️

"Les Belgicains – Na Tango Ya Covadia 1964-1970" tells the little-known story of 'Les Belgicains' – as the Congolese "countrymen living in Belgium" were referred to at the time – and "the first Congolese student orchestras in Belgium" through tracks by Orchestre Ebuka Ebuka, Orchestre Afro Negro, Carlos Lembe, Orchestre Ye Ye National, Orchestre Ba Bolingo, Los Nickelos and Orchestre Ekebo. A must-have compilation for any fans of Congolese rumba, bolero and more.

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Back from a 54-year hiatus the recently revived Covadia imprint shines a light on its remarkable back catalogue of Congolese student orchestras in Belgium.

19/04/2024

And just like that, on a rainy day in Berlin, we return with another two-hour episode of WeltBeat / Globalwize host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching deep listening format. 🌍

The "Globalwize Radioshow #446" brings us extraordinary sounds from around the world, from artists such as Kaan Bulak & Simon Höfele / Maliheh Moradi & Ehsan Matoori / SOMA Trio alias Peppe Frana, Ciro Montanari & Masih Karimi on Felmay / Bridges Kammerorchester / Otava Yo (Отава Ё) / Maria Mazzotta / Sara Correia / Baden Powell / Michelle David & The True-tones / LA YEGROS and a Glitterbeat Records special label focus including: Aziza Brahim / YĪN YĪN / Lenhart Tapes / Buzz' Ayaz aaand Suriname's Saramaccan Sound.

Click below to read more and stream the full show 👀

Listen to a brand-new two-hour episode of WeltBeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching deep listening format.

16/04/2024

UK duo Alina Bzhezhinska Harpist (harp) & Tony Kofi Music (tenor sax) releases heavenly spiritual jazz full-length "Altera Vita" ('Another Life') on BBE Music – an “homage to the ethereal” and tribute to the late Pharoah Sanders. 🙏🏽

"'Altera Vita' mirrors the human experience, from conception through to the inevitable end or new beginning" as much as it is a "spontaneous response to a world in dire need for a reset. In a reality where billions find themselves hostage to the 'doom-scroll', where topics are disproportionately centred on the darker shades of our existence, and where our attempts to foster connection have only yielded deeper factionalism."

The connecting element here is a musical search for commonality while establishing a space for mindful contemplation or simply being in the present, providing a sonic refuge for weary senses.

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UK duo Alina Bzhezhinska (harp) & Tony Kofi (tenor sax) releases spiritual jazz full-length on BBE – an homage to the ethereal and tribute to Pharoah Sanders.

13/04/2024

Jamaica’s groundsound (Gavsborg of Equiknoxx fame & Isis Semaj Hall alias Riddim Writer) release unconventionally progressive, message-driven afrofuturist dancehall album. 🇯🇲

"Working Progress" is the title of this 15-track dip into a their multiverse, densely constructed and highly danceable from a production standpoint, dangerously observant and tongue in cheek from an intellectual standpoint, and unconventionally progressive from a cultural standpoint. In other words, this is not what you would expect and you will be elated that it isn't. Instead, this boundary-pushing Jamaican songbook takes a magnificent swing at rethinking its very own roots and challenging the status quo from the ground up to draw up a novel, decolonial 'commonwealth' of sound. Ya heard?!

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Jamaica’s groundsound (Gavsborg & Riddim Writer) release unconventionally progressive, message-driven afrofuturist dancehall album. Ya heard?!

09/04/2024

Berlin's multi-cultural Jembaa Groove collective return with another heavy afro-soul groover on Agogo Records fusing ancestral West African flows with a jazz mindset. While, of course, the band has grown and come into its own, the constant here is still their mesmerisingly cohesive and silky smooth delivery. 🌿

"Ye Ankasa I We Ourselves" is yet again led by the masterful arrangements of German bassist, composer and producer Yannick Nolting as well as the velvety voice and deft rhythmic nuances of Ghanaian singer, songwriter and percussionist Eric Owusu. Only this time, they opened up their tight-knit ranks to collaborate with a select cast of individuals such as UK-based Ghanaian "force of nature" Kweku Sackey, aka K.O.G, veteran Ghanaian saxophonist and vocalist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley as well as fellow Ghanaian staple, the multi-instrumentalist and producer Kwame Yeboah (Kwashibu Area Band).

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Berlin's Jembaa Groove collective returns with another heavy afro-soul groover on Agogo Records, fusing ancestral West African flows with a jazz mindset.

05/04/2024

Marseille's Secousse imprint has just released the scintillating and essential 2LP compilation "MERCI YAYA BONGO" showcasing the all-female 'animation groups' from Gabon (1982-1989), also described as then president Omar Bongo's "ultimate musical propaganda machine." 🇬🇦

The release includes liner notes by Gabonese scholar Dr. Omer Arsène Ivora Mouangoye to provide some necessary context and upbeat recordings by Missema, Groupe Kounabeli de Masuku & Patience Dabany, Oyana Efiem Pelagie, Groupe d'Animation U.F.P.D.G., Kolikagie de Masuku, Mi Kouagna de Mounana, Groupe d'Animation Kakoula Djele de Bongoville, Kounabeli de Mbilasuku and Groupe Kounabeli de Masuku & Orchestre Banowita. This here compilation is, quite simply, Gabonese popular music with a not-so-hidden agenda: legitimising the Bongo rule.

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Marseille's Secousse imprint releases scintillating and essential 2LP compilation showcasing the all-female 'animation groups' from Gabon (1982-1989).