World Tracks
World Tracks meets the makers and shakers in the world of music. On-the-spot reporting from the five continents, to find out what is behind the sounds shaking and shaping our world.
Read moreListen to the last episode
All episodes
-
Double H and Shirma Rouse in first New Skool Rules festival
Dutch rapper Hind Hakki, aka Double H, and soul singer Shirma Rouse are emerging from the teeming metropolis of Rotterdam to bring out rare jazz and rap grooves. They have set the local scene alight with songs that cross over from Morocco to the United States, via the Netherlands. Their paths crossed at the inaugural Newskool Rules festival in the Dutch port. The second edition of the event has just been announced for April 2011.07/01/201121:34 -
Walking the Line with Bill T Jones and Yungchen Lhamo
World Tracks shares in the world premiere of "Walking the Line". This choreography by Tony award-winner Bill T Jones was performed in the Louvre Museum to the sounds of Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo and French percussionist Florent Jodelet. This programme was first broadcast in 2008. Since then, Jones has created a homage to Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, currently being performed in London.24/12/201020:28 -
Part 2: Asmara All Stars bring Eritrea out of isolation
In October 2010, the German label Out Here released a 13-track album that defied pigeonholes, government suspicion and bureaucracy. Eritrea’s Got Soul is a labour of love between the Horn of Africa nation and French musician Bruno Blum. World Tracks went to Asmara for the official launch and, in a radio exclusive, brings back a two-part series about this unique collaboration. This is part 2.17/12/201023:57 -
Asmara All Stars bring Eritrea out of isolation
In October 2010, the German label Out Here released a 13-track album that defied pigeonholes, government suspicion and bureaucracy. World Tracks brings you a two-part special from the official launch in Asmara of Eritrea’s Got Soul, a collaboration between French musician Bruno Blum and the Eritrean authorities.10/12/201025:03 -
Mixing north African and world music - Majid Bekkas, Khader Fahem Mimoun Rafroua and Atef
For decades, musicians from the Arab world have been exploring genres far removed from their own heritage. World Tracks this week talks to four such artists who challenge the idea that their traditional music impinges on their crossover styles. They have been able to incorporate pop, soul, jazz and even flamenco in their creations.03/12/201023:01 -
African pride with Nigeria's Femi Kuti and Kenyan Makadem
In an exclusive exchange, Nigerian singer-saxophonist Femi Kuti denounces corruption, military dictatorship and nepotism, as he releases another vitriolic album. These themes are echoed by akadem, an up-and-coming artist from Nairobi. The young Kenyan mixes traditional Luo, Dodo and Nyatiti music with ragga and hip-hop to telling effect.26/11/201028:48 -
Førde fest rocks fjords
In the land of fjords, elks, and endless summer days, there is a festival which has been celebrating world music cultures for the past two decades. Indeed, each July since 1990, the 11,000 people in Fjorde have seen their town transformed by music.19/11/201022:55 -
Shifting classical Indian music into the 21st century
This week we meet artists with passionate links to Indian classical music. But young Sona Mohapatra and the veteran dance duo from France, Brigitte Chataignier and Michel Lestréhan, use very different approaches to transmit their passion. From traditional to modern visions, they explore untested ground in India’s great musical heritage.12/11/201020:06 -
Bantunani’s Michel Nzau and ex-PBS rapper Carlou D
World Tracks meets two male singers who could break through this year with their powerful western and central African singing style. Senegalese crooner Carlou D and the Bantunani collective from Congo led by Michel Nzau, feature in a lively debate about history, politics and tradition.05/11/201020:38 -
Ambulley and Takashi headline High Vibes fest
World Tracks previews the High Vibes festival in Accra, Ghana, chatting with artist Gyedu Blay Ambulley and members of the Takashi band. On 10 November, Accra hosts the second High Vibes event, and it seems most of last year's teething problems have been solved (click here for the RFI coverage of the inaugural festival).29/10/201020:19 -
Wayne Beckford and Joe Flizzow - urban beats meet at New Skool Rules
World Tracks spreads its wings to swoop onto European urban beats by Renaissance man Wayne Beckford and Asian hip-hop by Malaysia’s Joe Flizzow. The two up-and-coming rappers met at the inaugural New Skool Rules festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.22/10/201020:00 -
Pascal Seixas and Samuel James break with tradition
World Tracks this week meets two artists who've broken out the boxes, traditions and prejudices in their respective societies: Pascal Seixas, from the French group Dites 34 and African American bluesman Samuel James.15/10/201021:38 -
Pad Brapad's urban tzigan
Pad Brapad is a sextet inventing a genre they call urban tzigan. It's as joyful as the current climate against France's Romani minority is woeful.08/10/201020:48 -
Amal Murkus and Rhoda Scott fight prejudice in music
Two women artistes fight prejudice and conservatism. Palestinian Amal Murkus and African-American Rhoda Scott have always refused to cower in sometimes hostile environments.01/10/201023:15 -
Ethiopia's Addis Acoustic Project and Staff Benda Bilili from Congo Kinshasa
The Addis Acoustic Project is an ambitious group trying to breathe new life into Ethiopian jazz tunes that hark back to the Fifties. The annual Womex gathering of music professionals invited the Ethiopian group, as well as the sensational Staff Benda Bilili, to perform in Copenhagen. The Congolese band of paraplegic artists is stepping out of the world music ghetto, largely thanks to a new documentary chronicling their rise to fame: from the streets of Kinshasa to the world’s greatest stages.24/09/201020:52
World Tracks
World Tracks meets the makers and shakers in the world of music. On-the-spot reporting from the five continents, to find out what is behind the sounds shaking and shaping our world.