Shortwave playlist part 5

The shortwave music expedition continues with the fifth instalment of the playlist.

1. Palyrria - Ikariotikos(Dry Mix)
Voice of Greece, May 2016

Born out of the need for experimentation PALYRRIA is a band that has devised and perfected its own, unique musical style. Created in 1999 Palyrria indulged in a mixture of western electronica and traditional music from around the Mediterranean. They call it world-electro and indeed this music is neither electronic nor ethnic. PALYRRIA has always been fascinated by traditional music and some of the bands members have worked with renowned traditional musicians, but living in Greece one realizes that traditional music goes way beyond the last millennium, back in times when people chose to express themselves in much more ecstatic and pagan ways. Ancient ceremonies around the Mediterranean have always been filled with music and musical expression. In a way, it wouldn't be too far from the truth if one was to draw a parallel between those events and the rave parties the world witnessed in the beginning of the nineties. The similarities are striking and have been the source of inspiration for the dynamic musical context of PALYRRIA. Aeolian scales, pentatonic music, instruments that come out of the depths of history, are presented alongside pumping bass lines, techno grooves, vocoders, clicks and cuts, in an attempt to create music that transcends the centuries and is both ancient and futuristic at the same time. Let the strangeness ware off and enjoy music that comes straight from the source. (Discogs)

2. Berbang - Ezim Kurdistan
Denge Kurdistane, September 2015

3. Adnane Chaouachi - Ya Ward Mfatah
RTV Tunisia, December 2013

Adnène Chaouachi (عدنان الشواشي), born in Beja, is a musician, composer and Tunisian singer. (Wikipedia)

4. Mohammed Abdu - يالله إني في رجاك
Medi 1, January 2016

Mohammed Abdu Othman Al-Aseeri, (Arabic: محمد عبده عثمان العسيري ‎) (born June 12, 1949) is well-known Saudi singer all across the Middle East. He had been described as "The Artist of Arabs". (Wikipedia)

5. Karan Khan - Inkar Kawi Na Sam Kawi Iqrar Sta Baanrha
Radio Azadi, December 2015

Karan Khan is a renowned Pashto singer, broadcaster, music developer and PhD in Pashto. (Facebook)

Shortwave playlist part 4

There's just too much good music on shortwave! Below is the fourth volume of the shortwave playlist for your listening pleasure.

1. Gürol Ağırbaş - Four Seasons - Spring
Radio Algerienne Chaine 3, June 2015

Gürol Ağırbaş is a musician from Turkey, born in Istanbul. (Wikipedia)

2. Ehab Tawfik - Ya Abu El Oloub
Medi 1, April 2014

Ehab Tawfiq (Arabic: إيهاب توفيق‎) (born in Cairo on January 7, 1966) is an Egyptian singer. He is seen one of the top singers in the Arab world, and is especially revered in his hometown. In 1995, he received his master's degree for his thesis: "The Egyptian Song in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century". Not satisfied with just a masters, Ehab worked toward his Doctorate in Music and Arabic singing, completed in April 2002. The doctorate was entitled "The Methods of Performing Arabic Singing in Egypt during the second half of the last century". (Wikipedia)

3. Joe Jackson - Caravan (5 minutes into the video clip)
Radio Rebelde, April 2015

David Ian "Joe" Jackson (born 11 August 1954) is a musician and singer-songwriter. Born in England, he lived in New York before moving to Berlin. His career, during which he recorded nineteen studio albums and garnered five Grammy Award nominations, spans from 1979 to today. (Wikipedia)

“Caravan” features the vocals of the Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim, performing the Farsi translation of  the song's lyrics.

4. Elis Regina - Alô! Alô! Marciano
Radio Nacional da Amazônia, May 2015

Elis Regina, born in Porto Alegre on March 17, 1945, was a Brazilian singer of popular and Jazz music. Before her untimely death at the age of thirty-six, she was widely regarded as Brazil's greatest living popular vocalist. (Wikipedia)

5. 5 Dong Ke - Doc Huyen Cam

Voice of Vietnam, October 2015

5 Dong Ke is widely regarded as the top girl group of Vietnam. From inception to date, the group has won several major music awards. (Wikipedia, translated from Vietnamese using Google Translate)

Shortwave playlist part 3

This shortwave playlist instalment is a little bit different. Some of the tracks are not the ones that I heard on the radio but are those I later found (and liked) after looking up the artist.

1. Simba Wanyika - Baba Asiya
Zanzibar Broadcasting Company, September 2015 — original song heard: Shilingi

Simba Wanyika was a Kenyan based band created in 1971 by Tanzanian brothers Wilson Kinyonga and George Kinyonga, and disbanded in 1994. Simba Wanyika and its two offshoots, Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika Stars, became some of the most popular bands in Kenya. Their guitar-driven sound, inspired by the Soukous guitarist Dr. Nico, combined highly melodic rumba with lyrics sung in Swahili. Simba wa nyika means "Lions of the Savannah" in Swahili.

[Rumba, also known as Soukous] is a popular genre of dance music that originated in the Congo basin during the 1940s, strongly influenced by Cuban son. The style gained popularity throughout Africa during the 1960s and '70s. (Wikipedia)

2. Alick Macheso - Tafadzwa
Radio Dialogue, May 2014

Macheso was born in 1968 in Shamva, 90 kilometres to the north of Harare, to parents of Malawian origin - a fact that was to inspire him to be able to speak and sing in five languages - Shona, Chichewa, Sena, Venda and Lingala.

He is well known throughout Sourthern Africa as one of the most successful singers and ranked among the best bass guitarist on the continent. He is Zimbabwe's best-ever selling artiste with his album Simbaradzo being the highest ever sold album in Zimbabwe, a record which is yet to be broken by any artiste in Zimbabwe to date. In recent years Macheso has risen to become an advertising face for many corporations with his recent achievement being an an ambassador for the Red Cross. (Wikipedia)

3. Cheb Khaled - La Camel
Medi 1, June 2014 — original song heard: Yamina

Khaled Hadj Ibrahim (Arabic: خالد حاج إبراهيم‎, born 29 February 1960), better known as Khaled, is an Algerian raï singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Sidi El Houari in Oran Province of Algeria. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled (الشاب خالد, Arabic for "Young Man" Khaled, as opposed to the traditionalist Sheikh elders) and has become the most internationally famous Algerian singer in the Arab world and across many continents. His popularity has earned him the unofficial title "King of Raï". (Wikipedia)

4. Rivany - Telaga Dewa
Voice of Indonesia, October 2015

Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong") is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong, the band or combo or ensemble (called a keronchong orchestra) consists of a flute, a violin, a melody guitar, a cello in pizzicato style, string bass in pizzicato style, and a female or male singer. (Wikipedia)

5. Te Vaka - Samulai
Radio New Zealand International, December 2013

Te Vaka is an Oceanic music group that performs original contemporary Pacific music or "South Pacific Fusion". The group was founded in 1995 by singer and songwriter Opetaia Foa'i in New Zealand. They have toured the world constantly since 1997 and have won a number of awards including "Best Pacific Music Album" award for their albums Tutuki (2004) and Olatia (2007) from the New Zealand Music Awards and "Best Pacific Group" in the 2008 Pacific Music Awards They have also been acclaimed by the BBC as "the world's most successful band playing original contemporary Pacific music." (Wikipedia)

Shortwave playlist part 2

Below is the second instalment of the shortwave playlist series for your enjoyment.

1. Salif Keita - C'est Bon C'est Bon
VOA Africa, August 2015

2. Marinella - Zografismena Sto Charti
Voice of Greece, September 2015

3. Grupo Casuarina - Rosa Morena
Radio Nacional da Amazônia, August 2014

4. Beny More - Mata Siguaraya
Radio Habana Cuba, December 2013

5. Daoudi - Lamina Aamri Mabkit
Medi 1, September 2014

Shortwave playlist part 1

Over the past two years, shortwave radio listening has exposed me to lots of new music from around the world. Starting from this entry, I shall occasionally post short playlists of some of the more interesting records I have heard.

1. Ibrahim Maalouf - Sensuality
Medi 1, July 2013

2. Morenito - Los Almonteños
Radio Exterior de España, June 2014

3. Harold Lopez Nussa Trio - Bailando Suiza
Radio Habana Cuba, December 2013

4. Alexis Boulgourtzis - Choris Prova
Voice of Greece, November 2013

5. Lin Hai - Happy Together
China Radio International, August 2013