Browsing Tag

World Music

Blowing My Own Trumpet redefined the landscape of protest music with their world music single, Sama Rainbow

Posted on 18 February 2024
Sama Rainbow by Blowing My Own Trumpet

Blowing My Own Trumpet’s latest single, “Sama Rainbow,” is a striking blend of vibrant world music and poignant political commentary. The track is a rich tapestry of Latin and African rhythms, infused with the soulful essence of jazz. This musical family, led by Claude and Josephine Lamon, along with Joe Dorstal and Mattie James, has crafted a piece that is as thought-provoking as it is rhythmically exhilarating.

From the first note, “Sama Rainbow” immerses the listener in a world where the joyous beats of Africa and Latin America collide. The instrumentation is a kaleidoscope of sound, with each note painting a picture of vibrant landscapes. However, beneath this bright exterior lies a narrative of deep sorrow and frustration towards the political turmoil that taints the beauty of Africa.

The lyrics, poignant and direct, speak of the enduring pain caused by political corruption in Africa. Phrases like “Politicians still playing their games” and “Help save the broken Rainbow” are powerful calls to action, urging listeners to acknowledge and address the ongoing struggles.

What makes “Sama Rainbow” particularly compelling is its ability to balance the beauty of its musical composition with the gravity of its message. The track doesn’t just lament the state of affairs; it also offers a sense of hope and resilience. The final verses, “There are colours in the Rainbow / We have saved the broken Rainbow,” suggests a future where unity and justice might prevail.

In essence, “Sama Rainbow” is a powerful statement on the state of our world, wrapped in a melody that captivates and moves. It’s a reminder that music can be a tool for change, echoing the struggles and hopes of people across the globe.

Sama Rainbow is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shashaa Tirupati & Elephant Gym orchestrated an Eastern art-rock masterpiece with Jhalleyaa

Posted on 16 November 2023

With almost 8 million monthly listeners and endless internationally revered accolades behind her, the Indo-Canadian singer-songwriter and music producer Shashaa Tirupati is one of the biggest artists of this era; her recent collaboration with Elephant Gym on ‘Jhalleyaa’ is set to cement her legacy into the world music arena.

The richly vibrant instrumental arrangement evolves from a soulfully quiescent score of pure artful beguile into an Eastern rock earworm with ever-ascending rhythmics. It is effortless for your rhythmic pulses to get in sync with the sublime sonics delivered by Shashaa Tirupati and Elephant Gym who conjured alchemy while aurally exploring unchartered ground. The celestial timbre of Shashaa Tirupati’s signature Bollywood-esque vocals against the progressively intricate instrumentals is a one-way ticket to transcendence.

Jhalleyaa was officially released on November 3rd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dora Gola – The Last Tear (Ostatnia Lza): Electronic Folklore Has a New Eloquent Author

Posted on 10 October 2023

For her latest single, The Last Tear (Ostatnia Lza), the electronic folk artist Dora Gola tapped into the divinity of her femininity to create an innately spiritual Clannad-esque score of pure beguile.

With her ethereal vocal timbre scintillating the orchestration of awakening Eastern beats and the reverb-swathed synth lines which give the release an ambiently explorative energy, the Polish Ireland-residing singer-songwriter and dancer reached the pinnacle of transcendent folktronica soul.

After her debut single, Dark Sand, saw her revered by Hot Press and The Irish Times Magazine as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Ireland in recent years, expectations on the rhythmic seamstress were set high; with each new release, she’s surpassed all expectations.

Stream the official music video for The Last Tear by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DANIELA revealed her celestial sun-soaked triumph of an electro-swing RnB sophomore single, Che si può fare

Posted on 26 August 2023

After vocal training in Milan with the legendary soprano Annamaria Calciolari and performing in jazz line-ups in the Emirates, the independent singer-songwriter DANIELA graced the UK shores with her talent by moving to London, where she obtained a Masters degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

With her debut EP in the pipeline, we checked out her RnB sophomore single, Che si può fare and was instantly infatuated by her perceptible deep connection to music, which doesn’t just border on spiritual if the celestial beguile in her melodies is anything to go by.

The vibrant piece of elegant and elevated world music is a rhythmic triumph that shares the warmth of a Sicilian sun-soaked veranda through the instrumental arrangement, which allows the timbre of a finger-picked guitar to take the lead as it effortlessly compliments the harmonies in her beguiling bilingual vocal lines.

Stream Che si può fare on Spotify.

 

Follow DANIELA on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mother Pangea followed the muse into unchartered territory with ‘tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL’

Posted on 17 August 2023

Mother Pangea captured the mystery of his Middle Eastern roots in his latest melodically enticing single, tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL.

The neo-classic electronic hip-hop score may reach the pinnacle of experimentalism, but the artist’s inclination to follow his muse into unchartered new territory didn’t diminish the accessibility of the release; to date, tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL has clocked up almost 40k streams, and counting.

After being fascinated by the way instrumentation drives our emotions, especially by the hand of Yanni, Hans Zimmer, and Tyler Bates, Mother Pangea was keen to awaken evocative impulses with his own compositions; never one to discriminate on genre, he often turns his talents to emanating elements of pop, RnB, Indie, House, and EDM in his hybridic compositions which break every mould known to man, and a few more that are beyond our consciousness.

tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL was officially released on July 28th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WTSN took his latest exotic hip-hop track ‘Uptown’

Posted on 16 August 2023

WTSN went beyond delivering the definitive London rap sound with his latest single, Uptown, which smashes through the mono-cultural mould as strikingly as the hits in the Melt Yourself Down discography.

With grimey rap bars pulsating momentum through the jazz-infused exotic instrumentals that allow Uptown to unravel as a stylistic feat of world music, WTSN’s authenticity could never be in question.

The North African funk layers against the lyricality that invites you to walk through the streets of London is a mesmerising juxtaposition that stands as a testament to how much of a visionary WTSN has come to be since he first entered the industry. If you want to hear more revolutionary rap hits, just watch this space.

Uptown will officially drop on August 16; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Paloma Amaya became the ultimate advocate of embolened independence in her world music single, Mejor

Posted on 4 July 2023

The sensually superlative singer-songwriter, Paloma Amaya, blended her dualistic Mexican and Austrian heritage in her latest monocultural mould-smashing single, Mejor.

If rhythm is a dancer, it would want to move to the beat of Amaya’s fiery hit, which blends classic Latin pop with a pinch of reggaeton flavour and other elements of world music to effortlessly transcend genre and geographical boundaries. Just try telling us this isn’t the most vibrant single of the summer.

If you needed any proof that music is a universal language, slip right into the empowering hit, which celebrates freedom away from the toxicity of a relationship better left in the rear-view mirror. Amaya became the ultimate advocate of emboldened independence in Mejor. Stepping into your power never sounded sweeter thanks to the arrestive nature of Amaya’s pitch-perfect harmonies.

Mejor hit the airwaves on June 23; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marianna’s vocal lines leave us on the hook in her feat of alt-indie pop grandeur, Hold On

Posted on 26 May 2023

If it has been a while since you last checked in with your inner child, find the inspiration to reach out and reconnect my immersing yourself in the latest single from the arresting alt-indie pop chanteuse, Marianna. With class, conviction and introspection the triadic drivers within the tribally enlivening single, Hold On, ambivalence is not an option.

Towards the outro, the single moves away from indie pop panache and veers towards an ABBA-ESQUE world music crescendo; if you weren’t invested before that climactic build, you’ll feel your heart catch in your throat around her flawlessly pitched vocal lines.

It’s a rarity that we hear something truly pioneering and resounding in equal measure, but evidently, pedestrian performances aren’t Marianna Zappi’s forte. After performing in front of a crowd of two million, one of those just so happening to be Pope Benedict XVI, touring across Europe for the past two years and garnering attention from BBC Radio London, the future for Marianna will be as luminous as her talent.

Hold On will officially release on May 26. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AŸA is anything but pedestrian in her jazzy RnB pop single, Sidewalk

Posted on 22 April 2023

Singer-songwriter, producer, and artist AŸA has beguiled the Berlin scene and beyond with her latest RnB pop rendezvous, Sidewalk, which is anything but pedestrian for the way it breaks the monocultural mould by pulling on her Moroccan and Yemeni Roots while keeping the production refreshingly contemporary.

If I’m being honest, I dread the run-up to summer for the swathes of superficial sun-soaked singles that land on my metaphorical desk, but AŸA couldn’t be trite if she tried. The revolutionary soul in the ethereally warm vocal lines melding with the dominant percussion is a lesson in Summer pop alchemy. If the sax lines and the lyrics that narrate a story of romantic stagnation don’t leave you wanting to dive into realms of fulfilment, you may as well hibernate through summer too.

“The lyrics of the song are a metaphor for an ongoing relationship that is actually not going anywhere. Instead of riding into the sunlight with the one you love, you find yourself taking dark paths and compromises for the one you love even though it feels so wrong.”

Sidewalk was written, composed, and produced by AŸA, with help from Kurtis Wells, Johnny Kulo, and Gavriel. Executive production and mixing were taken care of by the #1 Billboard music producer, Ido Poleg, and the single was mastered by the award-winning engineer, Manon Grandjean.

Stream the official music video for Sidewalk on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trip-hop goes baroque in Lakitah’s latest bullet to the monocultural mould, The Fall ft. EvenstAr

Posted on 18 March 2023

Lose yourself in the fantastical atmosphere of Lakitah’s latest single, The Fall, featuring EvenstAr; the baroquely histrionic brand of trip-hop melodically works to create a mise en scene of isolation and introspection.

The international collaboration project, led by vocalist and guitarist Dominika Zdrodowski, started as a lockdown-born endeavour, but as the struggle for hope is still as endemic as it was when we were commanded to keep distance between each other, and just as insular in our alienation, the project still thrives. You only need to slip into the artful opulence of the Fall to affirm that for yourselves.

The featuring artist EvenstAr takes influence from trip-hop acts, such as Portishead and Massive Attack; put against the monocultural-mould smashing beguile laid out by Lakitah, The Fall is an Avant-Garde emblem you will want to treasure for as long as you want to keep hold of your sanity.

Stream EvenstAr on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast