Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers around the world! The sun is out in Berlin today and spirits are high as we share a brand-new instalment of Weltbeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's far-reaching Globalwize format. Originally aired on Frankfurt's community Radio X, the full show is now available exclusively in our Greedio Mixcloud channel.
"Globalwize #401" brings us a fresh selection of tunes from the global circuit and kicks off with Jean Rondeau, one of today's leading harpsichordists, whom The Washington Post described as "one of the most natural performers one is likely to hear on a classical musical stage," performing an aria from Bach's "Goldberg Variations". We remain in a classical hue and hear young pianist, composer and electronic music producer Francesco Tristano's take "On Early Music", followed by the exceptional Iranian artist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi and a percussive piece off his breathtaking new album "Prisma". Next it's two tracks off the recent album "Grifone" by Toulouse-based multi-genre four-piece Pulcinella and Italian singer Maria Mazzotta (who you may remember from her involvement with Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino) and then two tracks by renowned French accordionist Daniel Collin, taken from his current 80th birthday album "L'Anniversaire".
We continue with a live recording of world music/jazz cellist Matthieu Saglio, accompanied by his quartet and guests from a concert in San Javier, Spain, in 2021, before heading to the Balkans behind the sounds of Bosnian quintet Divanhana and two tracks from their sixth album "Zavrzlama", which paves the way to the kaval recorder of Isabelle Courroy and her renditions of Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish and Armenian repertoires. Munich's Trikont imprint recently released the second volume of their celebrated "Songs of Gastarbeiter" compilation, featuring original productions by former guest workers to Germany as well as remixes by our good friend and acclaimed Disko Partizani Shantel, as we hear him rework the 1984-released song "Protomaya" by legendary Frankfurt outfit Prosechòs, followed by the Akbabalar Ikilisi representing the disco folk genre on "Keyfo Ağam".
Upping the tempo, we hear a track by French-Creole outfit Dowdelin, who just released their sophomore album on Underdog Records, a first taste off the forthcoming project by Glasgow MC Soom T and then French duo Badd Lime featuring Ya Ka Madou. Next up, it's two tracks off the stunning "Chicha Popular" compilation of late 1970s/80s working-class cumbia from iconic Peruvian imprint Discos Horóscopo, recently reissued on Rebel Up! – read more here. We then hear a track by Germany-based Cameroonian singer-songwriter and guitarist Melchi Vepouyoum and a then Congolese bolero by Kinshasa's O.K. Jazz orchestra, taken from a recent compilation on Planet Ilunga (read more here), before Trouillet rounds off the show with another harpsichord aria by Jean Rondeau.
You can now revisit the full broadcast on Mixcloud and find the full playlist on weltbeat.net. And of course, feel free to spread the word!