20th May 2011 at Jazz Cafe, London NW1.

Country: Peru. Style: Afro-Peruvian.

Line Up: Susana Baca (v), Ernesto Hermoza (g/charango), Oscar Huaranga (b), Hugo Bravo (congas/cajón/timbales/quijada/cajita).

Susana Baca was brought up in Chorrillos, which is near Lima. She performs Afro-Peruvian music, a style developed by black people in Peru’s costal region which combines African and Spanish influences. Baca is also influenced by Neuva Canción.
More information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_Baca.

Tags:   World Music Peru Afro-Peruvian Music Susana Baca Jazz Cafe

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20th August 2010 at Royal Festival Hall (Clore Ballroom), London SE1.

Festival Brazil / Friday Tonic (free event).

Country: Brazil (British resident). Style: Maracatu & Ciranda.

Lineup included: Uria Noguera Xekere (conductor/per), Rebeca Vallim (v)

Maracatudo Mafuá play the music of the north eastern state of Pernambuco. Maracatu and Ciranda are two of the popular rhythms. The singer and dancers were backed by Alfaias (bass drums) and Caixas (snare drums).
More information: www.myspace.com/mafua.

Tags:   World Music Brazil Afro-Brazilian Music Maracatu Ciranda Maracatudo Mafua Rebeca Vallim Festival Brazil Friday Tonic Southbank Centre

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4th September 2011 at Gunnersbury Park (Classical Stage), London W3.

London Mela (free event), www.londonmela.org/.

Country: Pakistan (British resident). Style: Sufi Music- Qawwali.

Lineup: Singers, Harmoniums, Keyboards, Dholak and Tabla.

Adeel Saeed Chishti was born in Faisalabad in the Pungab (and now lives in the UK). He is the son of the late Qawwali singer Qari Mohammed Saeed Chishti. Like his brothers Qari Waheed Chisthi and Quari Naveed Chishti he is carrying on his father’s tradition.
More information: www.adeelchishti.com/.

Tags:   World Music Pakistan Sufi Music Qawwali Adeel Saeed Chishti London Mela Gunnersbury Park

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1st August 2011 at SOAS (Brunei Gallery), London WC1.

Folk Music Japan, a benefit for Tohoku.

Country: Japan (British resident). Style: Min’yō from Tohuku.

Lineup: Yoshie Asano Campbell (v/dance/drums), Sylvia Vale (v/percussion), David Hughes (v/shamisen/drums/g), Yoshihiro Endō (shakuhachi), Hibiki Ichikawa (shamisen), Chris Mau (shakuhachi/percussion).

The first half of this benefit concert, before the appearance of the Kimura & Ono Duo, was put together by the event organiser - David Hughes (a retired lecturer in ethnomusicology from SOAS, originally from the United States). Many of the performers had just attended a European Shakuhachi Society Summer School at SOAS. They included Yoshie Asano Campbell (born near Tokyo, studied Min’yō in Akita and resident in Glasgow since 1998), Yoshihiro Endō - also known as Endō Shōfūzan or Endō Chikuhō - (who teaches the Shakuhachi in Japan), and Sylvia Vale (born in London, once an opera singer and studied Min’yō whilst teaching in Japan). Also appearing was Shamisen player Hibiki Ichikawa (from Kanazawa, currently resident in London).

Tags:   World Music Japan Traditional Japanese Music Min’yō Songs and Dance from Tohoku Folk Music Japan SOAS

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24th July 2011 at Barbican (Foyer), London EC2.

Part of Blaze Festival and Extraordinary Voices Weekender (free event).

Country: China - Inner Mongolia. Style: Mongolian traditional Music.

Lineup: Biligbaatar (v), Tsetegmaa (v), Monkhjayaa (morin huur), Nars (morin huur/huuchir), Urgen (morin huur), Chinggel (tsuur/shigshuur), Otgonbayar (topshuur/morin huur), Uni (doshpuluur/huuchir/morin huur), Saikhannakhaar (topshuur/aman khuur/morin huur), Hadanbaatar (hengereg).

AnDa means blood brothers in Mongolian. The group were formed in 2003 in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia (the Chinese name for the part of Mongolia in that country) by students at the Inner Mongolian Ethnic Opera and Dance Theatre. The members come from a number of different ethnic backgrounds and the band plays styles from across Inner and Outer Mongolia (i.e. the Republic of Mongolia). Singing styles include Hoomii (or Khöömii) - overtone singing - and Long Song (based on alliterative derived from Mongolian poetry). Prominent instruments include the morin huur (or morin khuur) - the 2 string horse head fiddle - and the topshuur (or tov xuur) - a 2 string plucked lute.
More information: andaunion.com/.

Tags:   World Music China Mongolian Music Anda Union Extraordinary Voices Weekender Blaze Festival Barbican

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