#banningeyre

[afropopworldwide]

Click here to read our interview with Emmanuel Jal: Between Che and Gandhi 

[theradiofile-blog]

#NowHearThis: Why we love Afropop Worldwide

By Hilary Brueck

Wednesday's All Things Considered featured a music review of the latest from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, "Libation." Here's what Afropop Worldwide's Banning Eyre had to say about the new album: 

"Their blend of old-school West African party grooves, roots reggae, gospel and marching band brass is pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face."

And I have to agree: when the music started to play, I couldn't resist turning it up and dancing around.

One of the great things about the producers at Afropop Worldwide is that they have a unique gift for knowing when to let music breathe on the air. They're not afraid to go for long stretches of tape without narration. So the listener really experiences the sounds of another place & the emotional timbre of a new artist or group.

It's a music program produced by people who love music, and it shows.

If you're looking for love, another beautiful hour of music from the show is this one on love songs of Somalia: 

Even if you can't stay the full hour, the first few moments are probably my favorite: it starts out with a pair of Somali immigrants in Canada singling love songs of their childhood.

As the music fades, we hear the stories of these women's early lives in Somalia. The beauty of their singing voices & their recollections of the country's complicated history interspersed with archival tape is just another tender and rich moment in audio from Afropop worldwide.