Small, boutique record labels, eager to find new sounds to promote and develop, are showing more interest in artists and bands from Africa and the African diaspora. I spoke to some of these labels for my story at the Economist, but here’s a quick discussion about a few of the musicians working with these labels, along with their music:
ETTA JAMES had a rare voice—one that could convey a lifetime of experience without showing signs of age. Sometimes dusky, with a bit of a growl, it was also confident, powerful and clear. So a song like “At Last”, her signature tune, written in 1941 and recorded by Ms James in 1960, remains timelessly...
The wide appeal of the music of the Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone, who wrote for spaghetti western films such as “Fistful of Dollars,” Brian de Palma’s “The Untouchables” and hundreds of other films, is evidenced by the wide array of artists who pay homage to him. They range from the producer Danger Mouse, who...
For four years, Taryn Simon traveled the world photographing 18 family bloodlines and their related stories. The resulting images document victims of genocide in Bosnia, a polygamist family in Kenya, the alleged body double of Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday, Filipino farmers and miners, children with no known bloodline from a Ukrainian orphanage, and many...
A lifelong lover of chocolate, Yael Rose is as happy sipping a cup of hot chocolate as she is nibbling sea-salted caramel or cocoa nibs. “To be honest, I think it’s an addiction,” she said. “There’s something about the smell and colors of chocolate I simply can’t resist every single time.” Ms. Rose has...
AS THE music industry searches for new voices and talent, entrepreneurs are pinning their hopes on emerging African artists both from the continent and the diaspora. Africa Unsigned is an Amsterdam-based start-up music label founded by Pim Betist that promotes African artists. Under Mr Betist’s watch, Africa Unsigned has invested €525,000 (about $725,000) in...
Promotional fliers for rock shows typically end up in the trash. But David Ensminger collects them. He’s stockpiled them for more than 30 years, documenting a Xeroxed history of punk gatherings, an anthropologist of punk rock’s printed images and text. The do-it-yourself tradition of punk-rock fliers are just part of his new book, “Visual...
London did not make USA Today’s “10 Great Places for City Cycling” list this July. But the city did earn a top-20 mention in a more European-focused Danish report on the best bicycle-friendly cities. Combined with local efforts to promote cycling in anticipation of the upcoming 2012 Olympics, some would argue that London’s cycling...
When the Memphis design group turned up at the 1981 Milan Furniture Fair with their plastic laminated, brightly colored and highly patterned furniture, the exhibition was reportedly mobbed and streets were blocked as people tried to cram into the tiny exhibition space. In an effort to explore how this and other examples of postmodernism...
Because of the million or more people who attend it, the Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration of Caribbean culture, can feel overwhelming to say the least. Sprawling over roughly 20 miles of West London, the carnival is often cited as one of the largest street festivals in Europe. This year’s festival takes place...