Ready to embark on another journey into sound? We return with a fresh two-hour instalment of Weltbeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching deep-listening format on Frankfurt's Radio X, now streaming exclusively in our Greedio Mixcloud channel at your convenience.
Episode #393 kicks off with a classic track by popular reggae outfit Misty in Roots, playing reggae to deliver a political statement. Next, we hear a tune by iconic American avant-garde jazz trumpeter Don Cherry off his 1991 album "Birdboy", before we listen to music by four artists of Turkish heritage: i.e. Aarhus-based, saz-led outfit İpek Yolu with two tracks off their just released album "Tropical Anatolia", Leverkusen-based bağlama virtuoso Ozan Ata Canani, whose songs and lyrics recall the situation of Turkish guest workers to Germany and whose recently released album "Warte mein Land, warte" goes to show that his late 1970s output was way ahead of its time, Hamburg-based vocalist Derya Yıldırım and her Grup Şimşek with a track off their current demi-album "Dost 1" and finally, three fresh tracks off of Kolektif Istanbul's fifth longplayer "Kismet".
Moving on to a new track by contemporary Galician jazz outfit Sumrrá, followed by the equally fascinating explorations of the Mukdad Rothenberg Lankow trio, we then enjoy two new tracks from the high-calibre collaboration between acoustic and electric oud master Mehdi Haddab and Algerian-French ensemble Speed Caravan alongside Algerian Malouf singer and violin player Sheikh Hamdi Benani, as they dive deep into classical Nuba poetry and song and lead us well into the second hour of the show. Grammy-winning East L.A. outfit Quetzal then revisit the traditional rural sounds of Veracruz, Mexico, planting "Las Semillitas" ('Little Seeds') for future generations of young listeners and building a transatlantic bridge to Wiesbaden-based musical globetrotters Hotel Bossa Nova and lead singer Liza da Costa.
Paving the way to the show's last 40-something minutes is Frankfurt's Shantel with a Berlination Mix (by Shantel, Yuriy Gurzhy and Katya Tasheva) of his "Kids of the Diaspora", a song originally commissioned to celebrate 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany, which is succeeded by US folk trio Lula Wiles, the sparse "Country Blues" of J.P. Harris' Dreadful Wind and Rain, and the mesmerising Desert Blues of late Malian vocalist Khaira Arby, gone way too soon, off a recently released live recording from 10 years ago. Israeli musician and percussionist extraordinaire Ben Aylon is up next with a track off his international debut album "Xalam", which sees him reinterpret the traditional music and instruments of Senegal and Mali, xalam being the Wolof name of a small lute, also known as the ngoni in Mandinka. As we near the end of this episode, we get to a hear a Western swing track by Bill & the Belles, the exclusive track "Marimbatech" off the forthcoming album (to be released in September) by Frankfurt live-techno duo The OhOhOhs and, in closing, a magical acoustic rendition of "Jah No Dead" by Jamaican roots reggae icon Burning Spear.
For the full show, simply click the player below or head directly to our Greedio channel on Mixcloud. You can find the detailed playlist here. We do hope you enjoy the selection!