Discreetly or a solo role, the pathways of the berimbau cross continents, practices and traditions, between the sacred and the profane. From Miles Davis to Danyèl Waro, from Simon Winsé's musical mouth bow to Hermeto Pascoal's musique concrète, the berimbau sometimes drifts where it is not expected to, into realms of experimentation and proud resistance... Here is Qwest TV's overview.
Aziza Brahim had a score to settle with censorship: after a concert in Paris was cancelled following diplomatic pressure, the Sahrawi singer made her return to the capital on April 26, armed with her intense rock blues, her fist raised, victorious.
With Wasalala, Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni pay their respects to banjo music: an intentional, optimistic, joyful first album, where strings and harmonies give a taste of Malawi.
The American label Smithsonian Folkways have released The Social Power Of Music, an impressive collection of odes, songs of struggle, prayers and celebrations from around the world: it marks an homage to the power of action through music, and through a community of mixed voices.
Minimalist and powerful, the power trio Kel Assouf is back with Black Tenere, a third album that is resolutely grounded in rock, whose stoner distortions amplify the contemporary realities of Tuareg communities.
Following in the footsteps of Ramón Montoya and Paco de Lucía, Catalan guitarist Juan Gómez "Chicuelo" is undoubtedly one of the best of his generation.
After Jardin Migrateurs in 2015, Constantinople and Ablaye Cissoko refresh their quartet formation, painting a contemporary fresco at the crossroads of Mandinka and Persian musical traditions.
Born in the heart of the African continent more than 3000 years ago, the mbira is a mutant instrument, having spread according to migratory routes, genres and eras; it remains very dear to musicians.
Everything Bassekou Kouyaté does celebrates Mother Earth. On the four strings of his n'goni, the ancestral lute of the griots (bards), the musician uses his new album Miri to write the dream of a reconciled Mali – dedicating the result to the late Kassé Mady Diabaté.
In Pakistan, a whole civilization is singing the songs of Ustad Saami, celebrating peace and diversity through God Is Not A Terrorist. Recorded at night on a rooftop in Karachi, this album, the first of its kind, is the product of a collaboration between Saami and the American producer Ian Brennan.
