Malian singer songwriter Rokia Traoré’s “Roots” project emerged as a continuation of the Desdemona multimedia collaboration she contributed to in 2011. Written by American novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison and staged by experimental theatre director Peter Sellars, Desdemona is a play imagining a dialogue …
Trio Mediaeval: Gjendines bådnlåt
Trio Mediaeval is a vocal ensemble formed in 1997 by Anna Maria Friman (Sweden), Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Torunn Østrem Ossum (both from Norway) specialising in the sacred and mediaeval polyphonic repertoire from Italy, France and England. They have also worked extensively with contemporary composers and musicians such as Gavin …
Marideth Sisco: High on a mountain
Marideth Sisco is neither a professional singer nor an actress, but when independent film director Debra Granik started researching and gathering material for her upcoming feature Winter’s Bone (2010), she hired the veteran teacher, part-time musician and journalist as a music consultant. Set in the desolate backdrop of the …
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba: Jama ko
Bassekou Kouyate is a Malian musician who burst onto the World music scene in 2007 with the international release of Segu Blue. Over the years, he has also played and toured extensively with Toumani Diabate, Ali Farka Toure and Taj Mahal. Jama Ko is the musician’s third recording released in January 2013. Bassekou Kouyate’s …
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Joanna Newsom: Colleen
A stripped down collection of three tracks featuring two alternate and rearranged versions of older songs (“Crab, Clam, Cockle, Cowrie” and “Cosmia”) and a new composition (“Colleen”), the Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band Ep was released in 2007, one year after her orchestral tour de force Ys. Joanna Newsom’s …
Joanna Newsom: Emily
Classically trained on the piano and pedal harp, Joanna Newsom is a young independent American singer songwriter whose music is almost impossible to define. Her magnum opus to date is without a doubt her 2006 recording Ys for the Drag City record label. While drawing on Americana, avant-garde, folk, classical and contemporary …