War, what is it good for? The Russian attack on Ukraine more two weeks ago has cast its ugly shadow over us, as we wake up each day, hoping for this senseless aggression and subsequent suffering to end. Deeply saddened and worried by the terrible ongoing events, we find ourselves wanting to put an end to this madness as soon as possible. Weltbeat host Jean Trouillet found himself reflecting on the current situation in Ukraine, while preparing to air the latest edition of his regular Globalwize format. Wondering how to go about this difficult task, he decided to continue his far-reaching approach, while nonetheless placing an emphasis on the current tragedy.
"Globalwize Radioshow #402" takes flight with a special recording by American singer-songwriter Patti Smith, who performed an English version of the Ukrainian national anthem at her last concert. We continue with two tracks by The Specials, taken from their recently released album "Protest Songs 1924-2012" with tell-tale titles such as "Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes" and "The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum". Remaining in the UK, we then hear a track by British folk/rock outfit the Oyster Band off their brand-new album "Read The Sky". Next up is the extraordinary Austrian accordion quartet Belofour with their multi-faceted, Balkan-tinged track "Ravelin Sense", followed by Berlin-based Japanese folk-fusion five-piece Mitsune, led by a powerful trio of female shamisen players, which blends well with Okinawan folk music group Nēnēs and the title track to their 1994-released album "Dabasa".
Munich-based imprint Trikont released its "Russensoul" various artists compilation back in 2004, presenting soulful grooves from the iconic "Russendisko" event series in Berlin, as we hear a track called "Soldat" ('Soldier') by now disbanded Ukrainian acoustic group 5'nizza ('Friday') from Kharkiv, after which Trouillet fittingly lines up the track "Gay, Gypsy, Jew" by Berlin's 'Emigrantski Raggamuffin Kollektiv' Rotfront, led by our dear friend Yuriy Gurzhy. Sankt Petersburg's multi-cultural Klezmer band Dobranotch is next with the upbeat Eastern European traditional "Zay Freylekh" ('Be Happy'). We then head south behind two ethereal, atmospheric jazz tracks by French saxophonist Laurent Bardainne and Tigre d'Eau Douce off their recent "Hymne Au Soleil" ('Ode to the Sun') on Heavenly Sweetness. This is followed by the wonderful Kurdish singer Aynur with "Hedûr" ('Solace') and then Czech singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Kateřina Göttlichová with a track off her recent album "Zimnice", blending medieval Slavic traditions with global influences.
Moving on, we hear "La danse du grand calumet de paix" ('The Dance of the Great Peace Pipe') from a utopian opera by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau titled "Les Indes galantes" ('The Amorous Indies') and then the furious castanets of Spanish folk quintet Vigüela on a track from their latest album "A la manera artisana", celebrating 'the artisan way', before going positively mad with a two-track adrenaline dose of French cumbia fusion outfit Cumbia Chicharra. After that we delve into the freewheeling blues of French trio Muddy Gurdy on a track called "Help the Poor and Needy". As we near the end of the show, we head to "Soaring Wild Lands", the title track of Copenhagen-based West African kora player Dawda Jobarteh's new album, accompanied by a Danish string quartet, hear the return of Angola's Bonga, one of the greatest lusophone voices and then bow out with a rocking new single by Mali's Oumou Sangaré.
You can now stream the full show via our Greedio Mixcloud channel and find the playlist here for further reference. Below is a video of Patti Smith's aforementioned English rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem.