globalFEST 2012: A World Of Amazing Discoveries
The Silk Road Ensemble (left), Yemen Blues (top right), M.A.K.U. Soundsystem.
Twelve bands, 17 different countries, three stages, one frenzied night: That's the promise of globalFEST, a yearly showcase for international musicians who come from around the world to New York's Webster Hall. There, they introduce themselves to American club bookers, festival programmers, band managers and, of course, music fans. If you pace yourself well, there's just enough time during the evening's six hours to get a good taste of each band — and this year's amazing array of talent was fresh and surprising, from the funked-out psychedelic grooves of Ethiopia (by way of Boston's Debo Band) to the Silk Road's joyously rollicking cross-cultural collaboration, to the atmospheric and haunting sounds of Wang Li, a solo Chinese jaw harp player.
For this week's edition of All Songs Considered, NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR contributor and Afropop.org senior editor Banning Eyre, and Rob Weisberg of WNYC (who also hosts WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise) join Bob Boilen to revisit some of the highlights and favorite discoveries from this year's globalFEST.
globalFEST 2012: Full Sets
Debo Band
Ryan Muir for NPR"The band is based out of Boston, but that's a bit misleading because the (group leader) is from Ethiopia and he has a tremendous affection for this kind of lost music of Ethiopia's past — this funky music of the '70s, when all kinds of traditions were coming together." --Banning Eyre
Hear And Download Debo Band's Full Concert
M.A.K.U. Soundsystem
Ryan Muir for NPR"Younger bands digging into some cultural roots, but not in a reverent way. They're very contemporary bands. This band is based out of Queens; they're a mixture of Colombians, kids whose families come from Colombia, and other kids, and they do a span of Afro-Colombian music and '70s soul. A very electric, psychedelic band." --Rob Weisberg
Wang Li
Ryan Muir for NPR"This was the most sacred of sounds I heard (at the festival). It's very electronic in its sound. He's playing a Jew's Harp, through some effects, but that implies lots of delay and other stuff. But what you hear here is the pure sound of a Jew's Harp and (Wang Li's) breathing technique and his mouth opening and closing, through maybe a little bit of reverb." --Bob Boilen
The Silk Road Ensemble
Ryan Muir for NPR"This is a multi-member, sort of shifting consortium of artists from across the world, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. You've got Western classical musicians, you've got Chinese pipa (lute), Middle Eastern percussion, you've got all kinds of people coming together." --Anastasia Tsioulcas
The Gloaming
"One of the odd musicians in what would otherwise basically be a Celtic band is Thomas Bartlett, who people know as Doveman. Doveman's known for working in the avant garde scene in Brooklyn; he's got his own records we've done on All Songs Considered. It's a darker sound. So you get this piano sound with a darker tone mixed with reels and jigs. It added an undertone to the lilt of Irish music." --Bob Boilen
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
Ryan Muir for NPR"This is an amazing band. They represent something that's gone on a lot in Europe since the '70s, and that's revivals of traditions. Younger generations that were not at all interested in folk music, but in the '70s, there started to be a wave of young musicians with interest. And even more so now. This is a band that started in the '70s and it's (now) in its second generation. This is very different Italian music than what a lot of Americans are used to. It's not mafia music." --Rob Weisberg
Hear And Download Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino's Full Concert
Yemen Blues
Ryan Muir for NPR"This is a really interesting band based in Israel. The lead singer is a Yemeni Jewish guy who likes to channel Prince more often than not — his style, between the falsetto and hip-wriggling. A ton of fun to watch. Their music references everything from funk to traditional Middle Eastern sounds and just sort of a huge gamut." --Anastasia Tsioulcas
SMOD
Ryan Muir for NPR"(SMOD) is the initials to the names of the members of this band: the son of Amadou and Miriam, a Malian singer, and the other members." -- Bob Boilen
"There's a kind of melodicism; quirky sounds, light strummy acoustic guitar. There's a vibe to it you spot instantly. But (this set) is very stripped-down. The strength of the act is very much their vocal sound. And it's not that any of them is a brilliant singer, but they're just so together. A mixture of rapping and singing. Beautiful melodies." —Banning Eyre
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