Soundcheck

Some time ago, Malian singer, songwriter, guitarist and actress Fatoumata Diawara did a wonderful and daring thing – inspired by her friend Rokia Traore, she bought an acoustic guitar, and taught herself to play it. Since then, Fatoumata has put out her debut record, Fatou, collaborated with Damon Albarn's Africa Express, and contributed vocals to albums by Cheikh Lô, AfroCubism, and Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. Her forthcoming record, Fenfo translates as “Something to Say”, and she’s here to play some of those new songs, in-studio.  Watch Fatoumata Diawara perform "Fenfo" in-studio:   Fatoumata Diawara: "Don do" | In Studio:    This video for the album’s first single “Nterini,” was directed by Ethiopian photographer and contemporary artist Aïda Muluneh, and filmed in the remote Afar region of Ethiopia, to which archaeologists have traced the origin of humanity.  

Louisiana-based Lost Bayou Ramblers are a swinging punkass party band who mix Cajun melodies on fiddle, accordion, guitars, and some electric sounds. They just won a regional roots Grammy for their record, Kalenda, but they’ve also done an original score for ROUS, a film about Nutria Rats and Louisiana’s coastal land loss, and contributed to the score for Beasts of the Southern Wild. Fresh from the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, the Lost Bayou Ramblers join us in the studio. Watch the full session here: 

As bands go, Anna & Elizabeth have quite the origin story. Anna & Elizabeth began thanks to a broke down car and a shared desire to explore the traditions of Appalachian roots music. The immersive, intimate combination of Elizabeth LaPrelle’s deep mountain voice (from Virginia), Anna Roberts-Gevalt’s modern one (from Vermont), their sweet harmonies, and minimalist arrangements is striking. The duo’s latest record, The Invisible Comes to Us, co-produced by Anna and Benjamin Lazar Davis (avant-pop outfit Cuddle Magic), draws on old-time traditions of home, porch, and kitchen music, and incorporates experimental pedal steel player Susan Alcorn and drummer Jim White (The Dirty Three), along with electronic elements. It brings Anna & Elizabeth to play some of these sparse, haunting ballads, stories, and lullabies for us, in-studio. Watch the complete live session:  

In the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, during the 1960’s and ‘70s, the sounds of American jazz and James Brown-style funk rocketed through the clubs there, combining with Ethiopia’s own exotic scales to produce the golden age of Ethiopian pop. The New York-based 7-piece band Anbessa Orchestra draws from this era and aims to take the listener on a musical journey from Addis Ababa to Brooklyn, with the loping grooves, buoyant brass lines, moody organ, crisp guitars, and solid percussion. Their new album is called Negastat, which means “Kings,” and it is full of Ethiopian-style, horn-heavy funk. And the Anbessa Orchestra is here to play some of it in-studio.  Watch the full session here:

The folk-rock outfit The Lone Bellow crafts passionate, acoustic-based Americana that hints at elements of blues, country, and roots music. They’ve recently moved from Brooklyn to Nashville, (let that fact be read into, musically) and the band in their touring configuration, joins us to perform some of their songs built around warm, twangy guitar riffs and beautiful three-part harmonies, from their latest record, Walk Into A Storm. Watch the full session here:   Watch The Lone Bellow's performances from 2015 in The Greene Space at WNYC/WQXR:     

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Mary Chapin Carpenter re-imagined and rearranged songs from her 30-year catalog, along with the brand-new title track, for her most recent record, Sometimes Just the Sky. That title comes from a speech given by Patti Smith, where she "touched on both hard and beautiful aspects of life." The country music prize-winning Carpenter, who is now based deep in the Virginia countryside has spent her musical career “exploring depths of language and emotion,” using “compelling chordal voicings and finger-picking that produces unique sounds.” (Peter Cooper, Artist Notes) Mary Chapin Carpenter joins us to perform a few of these songs in-studio. Watch the session live below:  

The New York-based band Innov Gnawa performs the traditional healing music of Morocco: Gnawa - a trancey, rhythmic music that is played on an array of unique instruments — from the lute-like gimbri (sintir), to the metal qarqaba (castinets) with which the kouyos (chorus) keep time and pound out clattering, hypnotic rhythms. One of Innov Gnawa's innovations is to collaborate with modern electronic acts like Bonobo, but they've just released a new record, Aicha, and they'll be performing at the 10th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival this weekend. Innov Gnawa performs in-studio.  Watch the full session here:

Toronto-based Charlotte Day Wilson is a singer, multi-instrumentalist (she plays piano, saxophone, bass, and guitar), and producer who draws on her classical background to make bedroom-intimate, yet intensely emotional tunes that are influenced by everything from R&B to electro, to jazz revival. She joins us in the studio to perform songs from her self-released records and hopefully will talk about how she aims to change the entire studio production industry to help younger songwriters and support women. Watch the full session here:  

The big band jazz and hot swing revivalists Squirrel Nut Zippers from Chapel Hill, North Carolina have always been a guaranteed good time since they broke through in the late 1990’s,with their platinum album Hot. Although they stopped recording around the turn of this century, they have returned to form with a brand new album, Beasts of Burgundy. It’s crammed full of the same swinging hot jazz of the roaring 1920's brass, banjo, explosions of fun! The Squirrel Nut Zippers play some of these new tunes in the studio.   Watch the session live below (in two parts, due to unforeseen technical difficulties):

Coming from a rock and funk place, Dominican singer-songwriter Vicente García has become something of a folk pop revivalist, incorporating his love of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, from acoustic bachata to reggae on his latest record, A La Mar. Formerly the lead singer of the band Calor Urbano, the winner of Best New Artist at this year’s Latin Grammys has been digging into Dominican folklore, despite his having relocated to Bogotá, Colombia. (He was also up for Best Tropical Song for "Bachata In Kingston," according to alt.latino.) Vicente García joins us for an acoustic set to play some of these eclectic love songs. Watch live here or on the New Sounds Facebook page. Set list: Te Soñe  Dulcito e coco Juana Mecho 

The great South African a cappella choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a global phenomenon. With their uplifting vocal harmonies and signature dance moves, they’ve been anointed “cultural ambassadors to the world” by no less than Nelson Mandela. (Some listeners might recall them appearing on Paul Simon’s Graceland album back in 1986.) The group was formed in 1960 by Joseph Shabalala, has recorded more than 50 albums, and won five Grammys. Joseph Shabalala is now retired, but his sons and other family members carry on the tradition. As they’re on another world tour, Ladysmith Black Mambazo returns to perform songs in our studio. Watch the entire live session here:  

Formed in Texas, the sibling duo The Oh Hellos have embarked on making music for folks wherever the winds carry them. Seriously - their latest  string of EPs are named after one of the four Greek mythological wind deities that bring the seasons. With fiddles, banjo, accordion, and cheerful melodies, the duo expands their musical forces when on tour to an entire ecstatic folk-rock community party. The Oh Hellos and their reinforcements perform their autumnal songs in-studio. Set list:  Eurus On The Mountain Tall Torches Watch live here or on the New Sounds Facebook page.  

Feminist icon and Mexican folklorist Lila Downs’ most recent album Salón, Lágrimas y Deseo (Dancehall, Tears, and Desire), is dedicated to strong women everywhere. Her lyrics, inviting all “dangerous” women to join her, often highlight issues relating to social justice, while spanning blues to cumbia, folk and ranchera music. Inspired by Frida Kahlo, Downs says in an interview with Remezcla that she finds being Mexican has “a lot of value, even if the world that surrounds one doesn’t believe it.” She’s joined by her band, and special guest Chilean emcee Ana Tijoux, in-studio. Watch live here or on the New Sounds Facebook page.

The rapper and producer Black Milk is based in LA these days, but he’ll always be associated with Detroit... with Detroit producers like the late J Dilla, and Detroit rappers like Danny Brown. Black Milk (Detroit-born and bred rapper, composer and producer Curtis Cross) seems to be able to make beats and build songs from some of the most unlikely sources, keeping full creative control from composition to mix and master. On his latest record, Fever, he tackles topics like the social media, injustice, religion, relationships, and he’s here to perform some of these songs, in-studio. Watch the full session below:  

Musician, actor and doctor (otolaryngologist) Jorge Drexler grew up in Uruguay, and now lives in Spain. Listeners may be familiar with Drexler’s music because his theme song for The Motorcycle Diaries won an Academy Award (presented to him by Prince.) His latest collection of songs, Salvavidas de Hielo, is guitar-based, but augmented by a wide sonic palette of effects – samples, loops and beats created by different parts of guitars, dobros, and banjos. There is a song that touches on the loss of the planet’s glaciers, there’s one about how people have been migrating throughout time to stay alive – “Movimiento”, and yet another celebrating the elegance of silence. Jorge Drexler and his band play arrangements of these songs in-studio.  Set list:  "Movimiento" "Asilo" "Telefonía"