WORLD CHOICE<\/h4>\n\n\n\nCelebrating Yunnan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This diverse collection of tracks is a great way to get to know China\u2019s most musical province<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan <\/span><\/strong> Sometimes the opening cut from a classic album announces its importance like a light being switched on. So it is with that from The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan as Gen Dequan\u2019s \u2018Ancient Melody of the Dai gourd pipe\u2019 kicks in, launching this overview of what might just be China\u2019s most musical province. Despite occupying only 4.1 per cent of its total land mass, this geographically and culturally diverse province in China\u2019s far southwest punches above its weight, for which it has long been revered by musicologists. Any readers who enjoyed the music of the group Manhu, whose international debut featured in the July 2020 issue, will soon recognise the gleeful folkloric tone of some of these artists. In fact, Manhu can even be heard collaborating with Jenny and the Hog Drovers on \u2018Banquet Dance\u2019. Although much of Yunnan\u2019s folkloric wealth is \u2018frozen in time\u2019, there\u2019s an obvious readiness to embrace foreign or western sounds like rock and reggae, which gives this collection an accessibility that those new to Chinese folklore will probably find appealing, while a canny track sequence adds listenability. \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n We last met Melbourne\u2019s experimental group Bush Gothic<\/span><\/em><\/strong> in November 2016, and now their third album Beyond The Pale<\/em> <\/strong>finds them moving outside their early inspiration of traditional bush ballads into more contemporary poems. These address post-penal Australian matters such as industrial relations; \u2018When they jail a man for striking it\u2019s a rich man\u2019s country yet\u2019 sings pianist and double-bass player Dan Witton on \u2018The Ballad of 1891\u2019, giving singer\/multi-instrumentalist Jenny M. Thomas her break. The trio are accompanied by The Lonely String Quartet and furnished \u2013 as ever \u2013 with abundant ear worms. (Fydle Records Fyd005) \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n\n Since two of these three Australasians claim Welsh ancestry, they would probably appreciate the new disc by Welsh harpist Catrin Finch<\/span> <\/strong><\/em>and kora player\/Senegalese singer Seckou Keita<\/span>. <\/strong><\/em>They too are onto a third album. Their second disc featured in the July 2018 edition of this round-up, and Echo <\/strong><\/em>features an immaculately well integrated string section. \u2018Conversation\u2019 might be an alternative title, describing the way these two well-matched players respond to each other\u2019s musical phrases with such rare chemistry. (Bendigedig BEND19) <\/em> \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span><\/p>\n\n Harp lovers will also thrill to Out Of The Desert <\/strong><\/em>by Tasha Smith Godinez<\/span>, <\/strong><\/em>director of the San Diego Harp Academy. On her more athletic excursions, she seems to leave almost no string untouched. Her penchant for the avant garde is here complemented by Domenico Hueso on viola and Christopher Garcia on percussion and vocals. Imaginative interweaving of studio and field recordings creates a delightful virtual portrait of the Californian city beside the sea that\u2019s become both magnet and melting pot for musicians from afar. Although she\u2019s never toured the UK or Europe, that possibility is pending so fans will find out whether she gives good sequin in the same manner as Catrin Finch, who appears like a gracefully moving cloud of fire-flies behind a taut wall of harp strings during mesmerising shows with Seckou Keita. <\/span>(Ennanga Records ENN 20003)<\/em> <\/span>\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span><\/p>\n\n Some say the \u2018west is the best\u2019 in the US, and the same could easily be said about Africa. Benin\u2019s biggest star to date is without doubt Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo, so it\u2019s fitting that this nation\u2019s latest sensation are Star Feminine Band.<\/strong><\/em><\/span> <\/strong><\/em>It\u2019s comprised of seven small-town girls aged between 12 and 18, which might account for the energy with which they tear through a phenomenal range of styles including Congolese rumba, Nigerian afrobeat, local vodun and sato as well as Ghanaian highlife on their second album, Star Feminine Band In Paris <\/strong><\/em>. While their fans dance, titles like \u2018Le Marriage Force\u2019 and \u2018Women Stand Up\u2019 underline that they have serious messages among their giddyingly syncopated rhythms and retro synths. (Born Bad Records BB157) <\/em> \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n The same is true of The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah,also <\/strong><\/em>titled \u2018World Spirituality Classics 3\u2019. Highlife is generally synonymous with Nigeria and Ghana\u2019s largely Christian south, but Oshomah<\/span> <\/strong><\/em>hails from the Nigerian community of Afenmailand in Edo state, where togetherness is emphasised. His \u2018broken English\u2019 seems to work as well as the \u2018unbroken\u2019 or native variety while relaying his moral messages, which often focus on jealousy. He also sings in Etsako and other local languages. You\u2019ll surely become a believer soon after first listening. (Luaka Bop CDLBOP100)<\/em> \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World Jon Lusk takes a trip in sounds ancient and modern from Australia to Nigeria November round-up We last met Melbourne\u2019s experimental group Bush Gothic in November 2016, and now their third album Beyond The Pale finds them moving outside their early inspiration of traditional bush ballads into more contemporary poems. These address post-penal Australian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"106","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"106","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_106-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_106-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_external_id":"November-2022-106-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"November-2022-106-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086188||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086188||","purple_android_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_ios_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"5b9287a1-9911-4f59-a9d7-30a805560f3d","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-10-06T09:33:19Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"a226fd80-fb7e-427e-950f-4161a859cc4e","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-10-06T09:46:48Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Aoib9gPt-Qn6VD0FhqFnMTg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[19],"tags":[13],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848.jpg",1625,1090,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848-768x515.jpg",768,515,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848-1024x687.jpg",800,537,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848-1536x1030.jpg",1536,1030,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-e1664551515848.jpg",1625,1090,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"World Jon Lusk takes a trip in sounds ancient and modern from Australia to Nigeria November round-up We last met Melbourne\u2019s experimental group Bush Gothic in November 2016, and now their third album Beyond The Pale finds them moving outside their early inspiration of traditional bush ballads into more contemporary poems. These address post-penal Australian…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19801"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21187,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801\/revisions\/21187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Manhu_cmyk-1024x655.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Various Artists
World Music Network RGNET1421CD <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nNovember round-up <\/h4>\n\n
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