Stories about Music from May, 2023
Poet Galal El Beheiry’s poetic protest and the perils of expression in Egypt
Imprisoned Egyptian poet Galal El Beheiry, detained since March 2018 for a poem, smuggles a letter from prison, vowing to escalate his 81-day hunger strike with a water strike starting June 1.
‘Almost all famous artists have left or will leave [Russia], and those who remain will be blacklisted and banned’
For Russian rock, the “golden era” was the years of the underground, the end of the 70s and the first half of the 80s. The question is, will this “new underground” emerge?
The future of the Thai music industry after COVID-19
Thai musicians and those working in the music industry are still suffering economic and professional consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic and are largely left without any state or institutional support.
The Caribbean mourns resilient rock and roll legend Tina Turner
Her decision to go public about her abuse made Turner even more relatable. This was especially true in the Caribbean, which struggles with high rates of domestic violence and femicide.
Cultural diplomacy, LGBTQ+ rights, and Ukraine in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest
On the evening of the Eurovision Grand Final, Ternopil, the home city of Ukraine's 2023 Eurovision contestant, TVORCHI, was brutally shelled by Russian forces.
For Moldovan singer, Eurovision results are a bit of a ‘déjà vu’
Both the winner, Swedish singer Loreen, and Moldova's Pasha Parfeni participated in Eurovision 2012. In 2012, Loreen won the contest, too.
The long 1980s: Belarusian dark wave band Molchat Doma takes its music to the US
"Even though the band hasn’t felt safe declaring their political views directly, their music seems like an oblique commentary on the persistence of totalitarianism."
‘You gave me wings': Moldovan Eurovision finalist thanks his fans
Along with the Moldovan singer, musicians from nine other countries qualified from the fist semi-final for the Grand Final: Croatia, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway.
Creative initiatives add new content from Central and South Eastern Europe to Wikipedia
From the Baltic to the Balkans, enthusiastic groups from Central and Eastern Europe are finding innovative ways to enrich the Wikipedia, which serves as a primary source of educational content in the region.
This new, trending Cuban song calls for artists to speak out against the island's regime
Cubans don’t just suffer in silence, they also sing and dance to lyrics calling upon one another to pursue their much sought-after freedom.
Rewritten, recorded, reframed: Ukrainian wartime songs
Home, mothers, and soil are frequent symbols in Ukrainian wartime songs. These themes have deep roots in Ukrainian folklore — which is frequently referenced in Ukrainian contemporary music.
In Turkey, a raki commercial goes viral for its political undertones
As Turkey heads into general elections, it was not the 100th-anniversary that came to mind, but rather the celebrations that will take place if the ruling AKP loses.
Moldova's Eurovision participant makes humorous plug for support on official Instagram
Pasha Parfeni, a Moldovan singer who was chosen during the national round to participate in this year's Eurovision, posted a picture of his car which he wants to sell
The rise and fall of linguistic diversity at Eurovision
Eurovision performers are opting out of their countries' official languages to sing in English in order to gain popularity with judges and fans. But is this a successful strategy?
