PRI’s The World presents the Global Hit, a daily spotlight on international musical artists or trends. Created by The World’s Marco Werman, the Global Hit features interviews with musicians, critics and deejays around the globe. He is also one of the curators of the South By Southwest Musical Festival (SXSW) – “All Music Is World Music.” Subscribe and follow:
Global Hit
Iwan Fals: The Voice of Social Justice in Indonesia
Back in the 1960s, American musicians wrote songs of social justice. Today, Indonesian singer-songwriter Iwan Fals does the same.
French Singer Nolwenn Leroy and her Celtic Roots
French singer Nolwenn Leroy made her US debut this week in New York. Leroy’s is a name with Celtic roots. And that’s the kind of music she plays on her first US album.
World Kora Trio Shine at the Africolor Festival
The musical group, which was the highlight of the festival, gives a modern and funky vibe to traditional instruments.
David Bowie Breaks Decade-Long Musical Silence
After a 10-year musical silence David Bowie is back. Early this morning he released a new single and video online. A new album is on its way in February. The news comes on the British singer’s 66th birthday.
Discovering South African Opera Singer Mthetho Maphoyi
South Africa’s Mthetho Maphoyi discovered an opera CD left behind by his dad who had abandoned him. The chance to sing opera made him feel closer to his father. And it was while singing on a street corner that he was discovered.
Welsh Band Pays Tribute to Samoa for Jumping the International Dateline
When Samoa jumped over the international dateline at the end of 2011, Howl Griff wrote a song about it. At the stroke of midnight of this year, a Samoa radio station played it, thus making the song “International Dateline” the first song played in 2013.
Remembering Master Violinist M. S. Gopalakrishnan
M.S. Gopalakrishnan was a violinist whose intense study led him to develop new styles of playing the instrument in Indian classical music.
Sierra Leone Thumb Piano Player, Sorie Kondi, Finds American Audience Online
A street musician from Sierra Leone is cultivating an American audience, with a little help from the internet. Reporter Marlon Bishop tells us about Sorie Kondi and his thumb piano.
Pete Seeger on the Death and Legacy of Chile’s Victor Jara
Until this past week, no one has been charged with the death of Chilean singer Victor Jara. The folk hero died during a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet back in 1973. Marco Werman speaks to American folk singer Pete Seeger about the death and legacy of Victor Jara.
The Shout Out Louds Record New Single on Ice Record
To help promote their new single “Blue Ice,” Swedish indie rockers Shout Out Louds reached out to a Stockholm ad agency to create working records out of ice.
‘Music Time in Africa’ Founder Leo Sarkisian Retires
The man who founded Voice of America’s “Music Time in Africa” program retired this past fall after 47 years on air at the age of 91.
From Poland: The Mesmerizing Tones of GlassDuo
The origins of the glass harp can be traced to Benjamin Franklin, who developed one of the early versions of this instrument before it fell out of fashion for about a hundred years. Today, two classically trained musicians from Poland are touring the world with a glass harp of their own. The couple performs under the name GlassDuo.
Global Hit Picks for 2012
Anchor Marco Werman and producer April Peavey talk about their top music picks of 2012.
The Strange and Startling World of Japanese Otaku
In Japan, obsessive collectors of comic books and anime have a name — Otaku. Their lifelong devotion to their collections can result in some startling life changes in the fictional worlds they inhabit.
Rescuing the Lost Sacred Songs of Georgia
For most of the 20th century, the country of Georgia was under Soviet rule. A lot of Russian traditions flowed across the border–sometimes influencing–sometimes replacing native Georgian traditions. Now, 20 years after Georgia became independent, religious communities want to unearth one of those lost traditions: sacred song.
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