This week's Globalwize radio show presented by WeltBeat host and selector Jean Trouillet is another 'African Presence' special, placing an emphasis on – as you may have guessed – the music of Africa. Joining him in the studio is special guest Dr. Hauke Dorsch, director of the African Music Archive (AMA) at the University of Mainz. Founded in 1991, the AMA is home to a unique collection of modern African music on a wide range of media from shellac to vinyl, audio and video cassettes as well as CDs, VCDs and DVDs. The archive currently houses an estimated 15,000 recordings, some dating back to the 1940s, with a regional focus on countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania and more recently Madagascar. With an aim to introduce African music to broader audience, the archive also features an in-depth catalogue containing thousands of newspaper clippings of articles, reports, interviews, reviews and more, offering extensive background information and thus providing invaluable context.
On this occasion, Trouillet plays several records from reissue labels, also keen on keeping African traditions alive and making these sounds accessible to generations to come. The "Globalwize Radioshow #426" includes extraordinary music by pioneering Congolese singer, guitarist and songwriter Franklin Boukaka, Egyptian grand dame Oum Kalsoum also known as the 'Star of the East', three tracks from the compilation "Maghreb Lyon 1972-1998" of popular music from the Maghreb region (from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) by artists such as Jamal Estaifi, Salah el Annabi, and Cheb Hocine Chabati, Nigerian multi-instrumentalist Philosopher Okundaye's Edo funk project The Good Samaritans, Chadian singer Maître Gazonga and Congolese-born musician Sam Mangwana, both found on the three-volume "Golden Afrique" compilation series. Meanwhile, Hauke Dorsch shares the story of the AMA and gives insight into the archive's vast collection.
You can stream the full show (in German) below or head directly to our Greedio channel on Mixcloud for more far-reaching audio content and Globalwize shows. Click here for the full tracklist. We also recommend you take the YouTube tour of the AMA (also narrated in German) to get a better idea of this singular institution. Enjoy!