A childhood spent in his native Zimbabwe informs the uplifting, intensely personal music of London-based singer/songwriter Tinashé and his debut album, Saved.
Playing modern pop with nods to Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, and his original hero, Michael Jackson, the ebullient young artist tempers his guitar-driven tracks with traditional African influences and instrumentation. From the album’s transcendent title track to the longing “Good Times,” it’s a record full of hope, promise, and fantastic tunes.
On June 19th, 2003 three men met at the Tekehtopa restaurant in Oslo and founded the Norwegian Cartozoologic Society. What exactly is cartozoology? The society’s website defines it as, “The science or practice of discovering and studying animals outlined paradigmatically by street layouts as they appear on maps, especially with reference to physical evidence of the animals’ presence in the corresponding terrain.” There’s a list of animal shapes they have found, mostly in Oslo. However the society also accepts submissions of cartozoological findings, given it meets three conditions, one of which is “the animal should emerge.”
Featuring exclusive performances by Peter Gabriel, Andrew Bird, Billy Bragg, and Har Mar Superstar, the Voice Project presents artists covering other artists in aid of the women of Northern Uganda.
In a region where soldiers abducted as children are afraid to return home because of what they’ve been forced to do, the women have banded together to sing songs of forgiveness. Inspired by their undertaking, the Voice Project initiated “cover chains,” with musicians covering their favorite acts and passing the baton for that act to do the same.
Featuring contributions from Mos Def, Bat for Lashes, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Norah Jones, charity compilation Raise Hope for Congo aims to raise awareness of the plight of abused Congolese women and children.
Curated by KCRW radio staple Nic Harcourt, the album includes 18 tracks from a diverse range of artists, with all proceeds going toward efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by the demand for conflict minerals in the African nation. Raise Hope for Congo is an initiative of Enough, a charity project with the goal of putting a stop to genocide and human-rights violations.
Garnering comparisons to the likes of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, international star Nneka is ready to make her mark on the US.
Making music that blends soul, hip-hop, and global grooves with a positive political message, Nneka bridges the divide between her homeland of Warri, Nigeria and her adopted home of Hamburg, Germany. The striking singer/songwriter has two albums under her belt overseas, and makes her US debut this week with a four-song EP, The Uncomfortable Truth.
You’ve heard the buzz: three novels by age 25, raised in the warm embrace of old-school New York media, toast of the Harvard crowd, handsome, mannered, well-traveled. What you may not know is that Nick McDonell, author of campus novel-cum-spy thriller An Expensive Education, has the work ethic to back up his admittedly blessed existence. After stints reporting from Iraq, Sudan, and Mongolia for the likes of TIME and Harper’s, McDonell is back in New York planning his next adventure and witnessing the film adaptation of an old one (Twelve, the book he wrote at age 17, is being directed by Joel Schumacher and stars a rapper, a Gossip Guy, and Pretty Woman‘s niece). Our interview after the jump. Read More »
