Afropop Worldwide Folgen

Planet Afropop closes out 2023 with a focus on celebratory music from the Democratic Republic of Congo. First, Mukwae notes some of the year’s trends in global African pop. Then we go to the streets of Kinshasa with live music from Kin’Gongolo Kinyata, recorded at WOMEX 2023 in Spain. And we end at the 35th Anniversary Dance Party at SOB’s in New York City, with Samba Mapangala and Soukous Stars. It’s a rollicking finale to an eventful year in African music.

Tarab, the ecstatic feeling associated with listening to and playing great music, is a fundamental characteristic in many varieties of Arab music. In this program, we explore tarab with special guest UCLA ethnomusicology professor A.J. Racy. Racy draws on his lifelong study of music and musicians, and also his insights as a virtuoso performer on the nay flute and the buzuq. Racy guides us through the experiences of listeners and players, providing deep insight into many varieties of tarab. We hear works by A.J. Racy, Sabah Fakhri and Ensemble Al-Kindi of Syria. APWW #424

In 1999, almost 30 years before ethnomusicologist Paul Berliner began his research on Zimbabwean mbira music, he organized a U.S. tour with mbira artists he had worked with over the years. Billed as the Mbira Masters of Zimbabwe, the ensemble presented Shona spiritual music as never before on American stages. Revered vocalists Hakurotwi Mude and Beulah Dyoko fronted an ensemble that also included Cosmas Magaya, Chaka Chawasarira and Berliner himself. Afropop Worldwide documented the tour and took it as an opportunity to take a deep dive into one of the most beautiful traditional music traditions in Africa. Produced by Banning Eyre. APWW #327