Afropop Worldwide Folgen

[APWW #586] [Originally aired in 2010] This week, Afropop celebrates one of the true unsung heroes of African music: the bass. Join us as we slap, pop and thump our way across the African diaspora with our ears tuned to those fat sounds beneath the music and the funky men who make them. Our tour of the global low end will begin with an exploration of virtuosic bass wizardry in Cameroon. Then, we’ll go to Cuba to find out how bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez invented mambo with the well-placed pluck of a finger. After that, we’ll stop by Detroit and hear how the innovations of funk bass playing got the whole world dancing. Special guests include Cameroon native Richard Bona, thought by some to be the best bassist alive today, and Bakithi Kumalo, one of Africa’s premier bassists and the man behind the groove on Paul Simon’s Graceland. Produced by Marlon Bishop.

[APWW #710] [Originally aired 6/11/2015] Join us on a freewheeling musical excursion. We start in Cape Town, South Africa listening to jazz, rock, and even classical music inspired by the city’s signature sound: goema. Veteran rocker and now-composer Mac McKenzie is our charismatic guide. Then on to Namibia where we meet one of the country’s most innovative and soulful singer/songwriter/bandleaders, Elemotho Galelekwe. We end in Cape Verde to hear old and new sounds from the first Portuguese settlement in Africa—from the vintage crooning of Ze Luis to the new sounds of cola-zouk.

World Sacred Music Festival In Fes #447 12/24/2015 The World Sacred Music festival in Fes, Morocco fully delivers on its promise of bringing together profound, spiritual music from around the globe. In one edition of the festival, Youssou N’Dour debuted his Egypt project, backed by an orchestra from Cairo; whirling dervishes from Turkey and qawwali singers Meher Ali and Sheher Ali from Pakistan revealed contrasting faces of Sufi music and dance; the Orchestra of Fes showcased Andalusian and Jewish traditions and the art of Arab maqam; and Sufi Nights showcased many varieties of Morocco’s rich Islamic folklore. This program brings you all that and more, including a behind-the-scenes glimpse of spiritual life in the medieval city of Fes.