// PORTRAITS

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...

Bomba Estereo
Aimed at the dancefloor, and using electronica and dub stylings, Bomba Estereo are one of the hot new acts in Bogota taking Colombian roots music into the 21st century. Like label mate Pernett, they plug into Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as cumbia,...

Yma Sumac
The extraordinary Peruvian singer Yma Sumac has died on Saturday 1 November, she was 86 years old. She will be buried in Hollywood where she lived for many years. Said to be the direct descendant of the last Inca emperor Atahualpa, her incredible vocal...

Sara Tavares
A Cape Verdean artist based in Portugal, Sara Tavares charms all her listeners with her voice and guitar playing. Singing in Portuguese, Creole and English, she connects Cape Verdean and Lusophonic influences through diverse rhythms. Born in 1978 in...

Saban Bajramovic
Finally, here he comes. In the sparse dressing room of the Bataclan, Saban appears in a shiny white tracksuit. The Gypsy King of Serbia is in Paris, one of a very few concerts before London: this is no insignificant event. The door to the backstage...

Zong
The meeting between Yann Costa and Drean did not seem immediately apparent, given their different backgrounds. Costa trained as a classical pianist before plunging into the electro scene of the Nineties. Drean spent twenty years in a folklore ensemble...

Cachao Lopez
Born into a family of musicians in Havana, Israel Lopez joined a children’s septet as a bongo player at the age of eight. In 1927, he turned to the bass, an instrument that has become something of a family tradition amongst the Lopez’ (there were...

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Rich Mix
Rich Mix celebrates cultural diversity in the arts with a packed programme of music, film, theatre, dance and more.

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