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Global Hit
Balkan Beat Box
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Tomer Yosef (pictured) of the New York-Israeli hip hop band Balkan Beat Box drops by our studio and speaks with anchor Marco Werman about Vice President Biden’s visit to Israel and about the band’s new album. Download MP3
Dengue Fever
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The band Dengue Fever is based in Los Angeles. But what brings the band’s members together is music from Cambodia. They’ve produced several albums full of Cambodian pop mixed with psychedelic rock. Now the band has put together a new compilation of tunes from Cambodia. It’s called “Electric Cambodia — 14 rare gems from Cambodia’s Past.” Guitarist Zach Holtzman tells us more.
The world’s fourth-largest island
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We head south from Somalia about 1600 miles for today’s Geo Quiz. We’re heading to the world’s fourth-largest island. Let’s give you a little help right off the bat. The three largest islands in the world are Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. So you can rule those out… Download MP3
The rapping monk
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Today’s Global Hit take us to Japan where a Buddhist monk is using rap and hip hop to spread the word of Buddha to young people. Download MP3
Nightlosers
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Here’s a crazy ethno-musicology hypothetical for you: what would have happened if slaves from Africa had been taken not to the Americas, but to the Balkans? This is the Romanian band Nightlosers. They’re very popular in Romania. It’s not uncommon to find blues bands in many parts of the world. People around the planet just love the blues. But Nightlosers pull off a more nuanced trick. Download MP3
Dancing through the 20th century
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The World’s Alex Gallafent introduces us to ballet dancer Frederic Franklin. At 95 years old, he’s still performing on stage. Franklin got his big break in Paris, back in the 1930s. He later went on to star in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo before making his home in the United States. Franklin tells his own story on today’s show. Download MP3 (Photo courtesy of Frederic Franklin / Maurice Seymour)
Birds rock
An art museum figures in today’s Geo Quiz. It’s not the Hermitage, the Louvre, or the Met. But its one of Europe’s largest performance art museums, home to an eclectic mix of music, theatre, and dance events.
Luciano Mabrouck
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The French speaking island of Reunion, which as musician Luciano Mabrouck tells us there, is in the Indian Ocean, just next to Mauritius…
Fflur Dafydd
The Global Hit takes us to Wales this time. The songs of Fflur Dafydd are rooted in her native country but her music draws on blues, soul and pop influences from far beyond the Welsh border.
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Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas
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Anchor Marco Werman has three words for our musical closer today: Batman in Brazil.
Madame White Snake
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A new opera will premiere in Boston on Friday. It’s a piece that was written, and developed in the city over the past four years. But its story is over a thousand years old. It’s based on the ancient Chinese legend that has never been brought to a Western audience. Sung in English with projected English and Chinese titles. The World’s Adeline Sire has more. Download MP3
Francois Ladrezeau
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For today’s Global Hit … a visit to the French territory of Guadeloupe where Carnival season is still going strong and artist and singer Francois Ladrezeau wants to remind his countrymen of their musical roots.
Oaxaca’s creative musicians
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The prolonged economic slump in the Mexican countryside has emptied some towns of their young adult populations. Preventing mass migration requires alternative income streams to supplement subsistence farming. Some towns make handcrafts or goods for niche markets, but one indigenous village in Oaxaca produces highly-skilled musicians. Shannon Young reports. Download MP3
Global Hit
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Anchor Marco Werman introduces us to US-based Chinese musician Bei Bei, UK-based American producer Shawn Lee and their efforts to add a little 21st century funk to an ancient Chinese instrument.
Quan Ho
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Vietnam these days is young, energetic and hip to the world’s latest trends and technology. Some 60 percent of Vietnamese are under 30, and more likely to listen to pop tunes than traditional Vietnamese music. The Vietnamese government hopes to change that. It recently won UNESCO recognition for two kinds of traditional Vietnamese music. The one with a little more swing and sass is Quan Ho. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from northern Vietnam.
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