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:
Hawaiian singer Makana is gathering a lot of attention after slipping in a protest song while performing for President Obama and other world leaders gathered in Hawaii for the Asia-Pacific economic summit. Host Marco Werman speaks with Makana.
One could argue Kate Bush is the most influential British female singer of all time. The British rock weekly New Musical Express thinks so. They’ve written that without Kate Bush there would be no PJ Harvey, Bjork, Tori Amos, Radiohead and the list goes on. Kate Bush’s tenth studio album comes out next week. It’s called “50 Words for Snow.” Marco Werman spoke with her.
La Bomba de Tiempo (“Time Bomb”) is one of the hottest shows in Buenos Aires these days. It’s a percussion explosion – 18 musicians dressed in bright red overalls playing djembes, bass drums, claves and congas.
A new collaboration between percussionist Eric Bobo and Chilean beatmaster Latin Bitman is out. It’s a funky blend of cumbia, Afrobeat, hip-hop and electronica. The duo’s debut album is called Welcome to the Ritmo Machine.
Norwegian music journalist Marius Asp tells us about the latest release from Norwegian-born singer-songwriter Ane Brun. Her latest album is “It All Starts With One,” whose title was inspired by the Arab Spring protests from earlier this year. Subscribe and follow The World’s Global Hit Global Hit Podcast on iTunes Global Hit Podcast via RSS [...]
The World’s Alex Gallafent reports on South Africa’s latest pop sensation, Zahara. Her debut album has gone multi-platinum in South Africa, and she gave a private performance to Nelson Mandela.
The US State Department has been sending musicians overseas for years. The World’s Alex Gallafent meets a pair of American jazz musicians, Keri Chryst and Jeff Hoffman, as they deliver a workshop to a group of young vocalists in Swaziland.
Lila Downs is a singer living in Mexico City. On her latest album “Pecados y Milagros” or Sins and Miracles she sings songs set against the backdrop of drug-related violence in Mexico. Lila Downs tells Marco Werman that her songs help express anger, frustration and fear.
June and Jean Millington have been dubbed “The Godmothers of Chick Rock.” The two sisters were born in the Philippines. In 1961 they moved to California and discovered rock and roll. They became full blown rock stars in the 1970s with their group Fanny. The sisters have a new album out, it’s called “Play Like a Girl.”
Susana Baca is a singer-songwriter and Afro-Peruvian activist in Peru. She is now Peru’s new minister of culture. Mirissa Neff reports from San Francisco.
The World’s Adeline Sire profiles Sara Serpa, a Portuguese jazz singer, who became interested in travel literature soon after her arrival in New York City. Serpa’s new CD is called “Mobile.”
Tom Schnabel’s DJ pick for today is vintage music from Cotonou, Benin. It’s music recorded in the 1960s and 70s that has never been released in the United States before. The 2-CD set is part of a series called AfroLatin.
Francisca Valenzuela was the only singer from Chile invited on stage to sing with U2 at the band’s March concert there. So who is she? Reporter Betto Arcos introduces us to her.
The World’s Marco Werman begins with a collection titled “Bollywood Bloodbath,” then explores some other unexpected sources of ghoulish music to play on your porch for the trick or treaters.
The World’s Marco Werman speaks with Sudanese rapper and former-child soldier Emmanuel Jal about his achievements in his homeland since he recorded his first album in 2005.
