Stories about Music from September, 2012
Japan: Petition to Release Violin from Frankfurt Customs
On August 16, 2012, German customs officials at Frankfurt Airport seized a Guarneri violin from Japanese professional musician Yuzuko Horigome when she failed to present correct documentation. They demanded that she pay nearly US$ 500,000 in order to get it back.
Mozambique: Musician with a Cause
Ruben Mutekane invented Ndjerendje, a musical instrument that he uses to accompany social intervention songs while singing around Maputo, Mozambique. In the following video by Miguel Mangueze (@FotoMangueze)…
The Netherlands: Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012
Balkan Buro, a Dutch non-profit “dedicated to providing a platform for artistic and cultural encounters between Western and Southeastern Europe,” announces the Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012, which will take place in Amsterdam on Sept. 21-23: “three nights of music, creativity, movies and inspiring debates!”
Tajikistan: Singer Praising Putin Draws Anger
Since the beginning of the year, Tajik singer Tolibjon Kurbonkhonov has recorded three songs that extol the virtues of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The songs have become hits on YouTube and made the singer famous in Russia. Back in Tajikistan, however, the songs anger Kurbonkhonov's compatriots who accuse him of "sycophancy" and "disgracing the country".
Croatia: Promoting Solar Energy at Terraneo Music Festival
UNDP's Voices from Eurasia blog reports on the ecological education program of this year's Terraneo music festival in Šibenik, where guests, among other things, could “test-drive Croatia’s only solar-powered car and bicycle.” In charge of the festival's “solar booth” were Marko Capek and Robert Pašičko, who “also sang songs about...
IndieChina, a Website for Indie Music in China
Ruby from Beijingdaze interviewed the webmaster of IndieChina [zh], an online platform started in 2004 for introducing western indie music to China and helping Chinese indie music band to promote their works.
Puerto Rico: “Ragga Muffin Style”
DJ Nature and SPIK Records present the latest musical production of Young Ragga, “Ragga Muffin Style”. In the music blog Puerto Rico Indie, DJ Nature comments [es]: For me it's a very different style compared to what has come out of the reggae scene here on the island – Ragga brings...
Colombia: Guerrilla Group's Peace Negotiation Rap Video
The Colombian government has accepted the start of peace talks with the longest lived guerrilla group in Latin America, FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces), and in response the group has released a musical rap video.
