#4224: West Meets Near East
For this New Sounds, take a tour of music around the world, one which also swings back to the West. Listen to music by Taiwanese pipa player Yufeng Chung in collaboration with Indonesian gamelan Sambasunda, Iranian sisters Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat and Kronos Quartet, plus German jazzers Web Web with Moroccan guembri player Majid Bekkas.
Listen to music by Taiwanese pipa player Yufeng Chung that incorporates Indonesian gamelan, western electric guitar, and was written in Egypt. It’s centered on the pipa, the Chinese lute, incorporates the group Sambasunda, yet is based in an Arabic scale, possibly evoking Siwa, an oasis in the Western deserts of Egypt. Then, hear Persian poetry set to music by Iranian composer and singer Mahsa Vahdat, featuring Kronos Quartet and her sister, the singer Marjan Vahdat. It’s from the album, Placeless, 14 songs that have set classical poems by Hafez and Rumi and the works of contemporary Iranian poets.
Then, hear music from German jazz supergroup Web Web, in collaboration with the Moroccan singer and lute player Majid Bekkas, who plays the guembri. Also, listen to more traditional Gnawan trance music by the Moroccan guembri player and singer Houssam Gania.
There’s music from the collective of musicians who come from Mozambique, Norway, Sweden and Zimbabwe – Monoswezi, which blends traditional African rhythms from Zimbabwe and Mozambique with influences from jazz and other contemporary music forms. Also, hear the Euro-jazz and Balinese gamelan project Podjama & Saraswati. And more.
Program #4224: West Meets Near East (First aired 4/11/2019)
ARTIST: Yufeng Chung & Sambasunda
WORK: Siwa [1:00]
RECORDING: Pendulum
SOURCE: Chung Yufeng / Tree Music & Art
INFO: store.cdbaby.com
ARTIST: Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat & Kronos Quartet
WORK: My Tresses In The Wind [3:23]
RECORDING: Placeless
SOURCE: Valley Entertainment
INFO: valleyentertainment.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Kamkars Ensemble
WORK: Sorrowfull and Restless Heart [6:18]
RECORDING: Gol Nishan
SOURCE: Reissued 2010 on Neydavoud
INFO: Available at iTunes
ARTIST: Web Web, feat. Majid Bekkas
WORK: Sandia [4:11]
RECORDING: Dance of the Demons
SOURCE/INFO: https://webweb.bandcamp.com/
ARTIST: Houssam Gania
WORK: Bouyandi [4:38]
RECORDING: Mosawi Swiri
SOURCE: Hive Mind Records
INFO: houssamgania.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Yufeng Chung & Sambasunda
WORK: Siwa [4:45]
RECORDING: Pendulum
SOURCE: Chung Yufeng / Tree Music & Art
INFO: store.cdbaby.com
ARTIST: Podjama & Saraswati
WORK: Tari Danur Dara / Temple Keeper [7:09]
RECORDING: Podjama & Saraswati
SOURCE: Altrisuoni #171
INFO: altrisuoni.com
ARTIST: E. Koestyara & Group Gapura
WORK: Reumbeuy [4:25]
RECORDING: Sangkala!
SOURCE: Icon #5501
INFO: Available at Amazon, and Spotify
ARTIST: Mbira DzeNharira
WORK: Tozvireva Tingaputike Neshungu [5:24]
RECORDING: Rough Guide: African Roots Revival
SOURCE: World Music Network RGNET1269
INFO: worldmusic.net
ARTIST: Monoswezi
WORK: Nhemamsasa [6:12]
RECORDING: The Village
SOURCE: Riverboat TUG1063
INFO: worldmusic.net
