// PORTRAITS

Banksy
Now world-famous, the street artist Banksy has always protected his anonymity. The only thing for sure is that he was born in 1974 in the Bristol area, where his first pieces of graffiti began appearing on walls in the 1980s. He quickly developed his...

Jean-Michel Basquiat
Born in 1960 to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father, Jean-Michel Basquiat loved art and design from a young age. His mother took him to all the great New York museums, and instilled in him a deep curiosity about all kinds of art. His childhood...

Wilson das Neves
Samba, the talismanic soundtrack of Rio de Janeiro, is part of Wilson das Neves’ DNA. And this charming 73 year old has made a unique and treasured contribution to Brazilian music since he started playing professionally in 1954. His fascination...

Gotan Project
Gotan Project, or Jectpro Tango. Back to front slang is one of the common denominators between French and Argentinean urban culture. Gotan Project is a three-forked dream, a dream come true for Argentinean composer and guitarist Eduardo Makaroff, who...

El Hijo de la Cumbia
He’s got the perfect b-boy look, with a twist. There under his XL Tshirt the tattoo of an accordion and a guiro are a sign of this young Argentinian musician’s commitment to cumbia, a rhythm etched into Latin America’s DNA. You can...

Carlinhos Brown
Antonio Carlos Santos de Freitas, alias Carlinhos Brown, was born in the Candeal favela (slum) in Salvador do Bahia, (Brazil) during the 60s. He learnt to play the candomble rhythms (of the Afro-Brazilian religion) with the musicians from the poor...

Mercedes Sosa 1935-2009
The Argentinian singer Mercedes Sosa, an icon of popular Latin American song, has died on 4 October 2009 aged 74 in a Buenos Aires clinic following a long struggle with liver disease. Singing impassioned protest songs in her rich contralto voice made...

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
They are one of the best kept secrets of West Africa. While Bembeya Jazz, Konono N°1 or Orchestra Baobab have triumphed on European stages, it looked like this mythical Beninese band would go into retirement without ever playing outside Africa. Happily...

Lila Downs
With a Mixtec [indigenous Mexican] mother and an American father with Scottish roots, Lila Downs has always drawn on myriad cultural influences without ever losing her identity. Having sung with Mariachi bands and studied opera, she released her debut...

Pernett
Citing Joe Arroyo and Toto La Momposina as influences, Pernett also enjoys Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers and Mari Boine. Looking outward and forward doesn’t mean he is unfamiliar with the roots of Colombian music, and especially the Afro-Colombian...

Puglia Sounds
It will be the window of Puglia Sounds in France and in all Europe. This blog will show all the i...

AFRO by SOUL
Africa is the future and the future is now…as the prophecy unfolds Eric Soul is as always ahead o...

The Center for Black Music
The Center for Black Music in Salvador, Bahia, and the International Exhibition of Black Music in...

Charlie Gillett
Charlie Gillett was one of the UK's leading World Music journalists. For years he presented a wee...

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