ChocQuibTown

{MUSIC: DE DONDE VENGO YO}

ChocQuibTown hails from Colombia’s Pacific coast.Choco, the region they’re from, rarely makes headlines.It’s remote and very wet, the rainiest 100,000 square miles in the world.The jungle and Choco’s rain and mud often cut it off from the rest of Colombia.

Choco by the way is the answer to our Geo Quiz.

Choco’s capital is Quibdo, hence this band’s name ChocQuibTown. Gloria Martinez, a.k.a. “Goyo,” is the lead singer for the band. I asked her to compare Choco to Bogota. She answered in English and in Spanish with the help of a translator.

GOYO: OK Bogota is a big city…..(…music is really important in the Choco region).
MARCO WERMAN: For example says Goyo, there’s rhythm in Choco called “Levantar Polvo.”

It’s a very lively rhythm. Typically, dust rises up as dancers jump around to it on dirt floors. Levantar polvo literally means “to kick-up some dust.”  Goyo illustrates it with a song.

{SINGING AND CLAPPING}
{MUSIC: PRIETOS}

ChocQuibTown

Goyo says all members of Choc Quib Town grew up in Colombia. We tuned in to MTV like everyone else. We listened to The Police, Lauryn Hill, The Fugees and Stevie Wonder, she says. And Choc Quib Town mixes those influences with traditional Colombian music.

MARCO WERMAN: Do you think of the music as music of the black diaspora or as Colombian Music?
GOYO: Los dos….
MARCO WERMAN: it’s both, she says.

The region of Choco is Afro-Colombian. African ancestors built musical instruments there. Most children in Choco are taught to respect their African ancestors. Though in school, they only talk about the strength of the Colombian people and Christopher Columbus, she says. Choc Quib Town’s music IS dance music.

But at the same time, says Goyo, our lyrics tackle difficult subjects. The song “Pescao Envenenao” is about a venomous fish.It’s a metaphor for government corruption and how it siphons off public money.

{GOYO SINGS PESCAO ENVENEAO A CAPELLA}
{MUSIC: PESCAO ENVENENAO from the CD}

A couple of years ago, Choc Quib Town ventured from Quibdo to Bogota. They recorded their first demo, and their music hit the airwaves. Even their families heard them on the radio in Choco. Now they’re in the US, and on the receiving end of rave reviews.

The group is Choc Quib Town. Their US debut CD is called “Oro.”

CD Information

Story produced by Adeline Sire

Gerry also sent us this short video below:

• BBC coverage
• Charlie Gillett’s website

A selection of Nouvelle Vague videos:

• Nouvelle Vague homepage

Marianne Faithfull

Download MP3
Singer Marianne Faithfull’s been called the first rock chick, a 1960s icon, and an honorary Rolling Stone. Her career has also been grist for the British tabloid mill: dated Mick Jagger, overdosed from drugs, music comeback, beat breast cancer. Now she’s got a new album out — of other people’s songs — and she’s in the middle of a brief tour of the US. The World’s Marco Werman sat down with Marianne Faithfull to ask her a simple question.

Click here to download a special podcast extra with Marianne Faithfull.

CD Information:
Easy Come, Easy Go
Marianne Faithfull
Audio CD (March 17, 2009)
Original Release Date: November 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Decca
ASIN: B001QVMJUQ

http://www.mariannefaithfull.org.uk/

Italy's Lorenzo Jovanotti in New York City

Italian musician Lorenzo Jovanotti started out with a dream; he wanted to be the Italian version of American rappers The Beastie Boys. Jovanotti’s sound has changed over the years. His latest release is called Safari. The World’s Marco Werman caught up with Jovanotti in New York City recently. The Italian musician was in town peforming at Joe’s Pub.

Jovanotti actually spent a lot of time in Vatican City as a kid. Here he tells Marco Werman about that experience:

Download MP3

Jovanotti live in Rome in 2005:

Cover from Ladyhawke's upcoming release

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is usually more at home dishing the latest dirt on Britney Spears or Madonna. But instead, next month, Hilton will be launching and promoting a world music tour. The line-up doesn’t include the kind of names that usually make their way onto Hilton’s website.  New Zealand’s Ladyhawke, for one, will be in the line-up. We talk with Hilton about his “Perez Hilton Presents” tour.

Celebrity blogger and gossip columnist Perez Hilton is also a big fan of pop music from around the globe. Hilton has put together a package tour of some of his favorite artists. Anchor Katy Clark speaks with Perez Hilton about the upcoming tour and the artists involved.

>>> More information on the “Perez Hilton Presents” Tour.

More Global Hits

Cover from Ladyhawke's upcoming release

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is usually more at home dishing the latest dirt on Britney Spears or Madonna. But instead, next month, Hilton will be launching and promoting a world music tour. The line-up doesn’t include the kind of names that usually make their way onto Hilton’s website. New Zealand’s Ladyhawke, for one, will be in the line-up. Katy Clark talks with Hilton about his “Perez Hilton Presents” tour.

More Global Hits

More information on the band here.

More Global Hits