Amid chaos, world music still rocks
Musical brilliance and raw energy and joy are alive and well here s the latest
published : 19 Jan 2021 at 04:00 Star Feminine Band. John Clewley
Riding high at the top of this month s Transglobal World Music Chart is the Isreali-Persian singer, songwriter and social activist Liraz Charhi.
Her new album, Zan, which means women in Farsi, was released last November. Given the dire situation for the entertainment industry, it seems appropriate that this album was crafted secretly through collaborations with musicians in Iran. The album is a mix of traditional beats with rock and jazz, and features Liraz s superb voice.
Star Feminine Band, l-r: Marguerite Kpetekoute, drums; Julienne Sayi, bass; Grâce Marina Balaguemon, keyboard and vocals; Urrice Borikapei, percussion and vocals; Angélique Balaguemon, drums and vocals; Anne Sayi, guitar; Sandrine Ouei, keyboard. Photograph: JB Guillot
Star Feminine Band, l-r: Marguerite Kpetekoute, drums; Julienne Sayi, bass; Grâce Marina Balaguemon, keyboard and vocals; Urrice Borikapei, percussion and vocals; Angélique Balaguemon, drums and vocals; Anne Sayi, guitar; Sandrine Ouei, keyboard. Photograph: JB Guillot
In the west African country, not everyone likes girls to play instruments – but this group of seven ultra-cool musicians are ripping up those expectations
Tue 22 Dec 2020 07.00 EST
born bad, mad, or evil, but we re born innocent creatures and then life happens to you. people say things to you and do things to you and you re traumatized and you never have an opportunity to recover. and so you repeat cycles, hurting people hurt people. so that s the context in which i really feel comfortable speaking about it because what i know is we are all human and we are all flawed and we make mistakes. so the thing is when you do make mistakes and when you do you know, this is it s kind of personal, but i consider myself an upstanding, righteous, sensitive, thoughtful person, but i also know that there s a dark side of me, you know, that i have anger issues, things that i ve learned through therapy, which is something that i think especially in the black community we tend to be hesitant to do. but all of us could benefit by mental health counseling. a little self-introspection as well. for sure. and in fact, october is national mental health awareness month. so just l