LINK CATEGORIES:
SAHARA DESERT / TOUAREG
TAMASHEQ.NET: www.tamasheq.net
The best website on the net for Touareg music run on pure love and devotion by Sedryk, who also produces a radio show and regular compilations of Saharan music. You can download his show as a podcast from the site. An essential link for all lovers of Saharan music.
SAHARAN ARTS: www.saharanarts.com
A great site selling Touareg jewellery made by the hereditary artisans of the southern Sahara desert. The site is run by my wife Kate, so I’m plugging the family interest shamelessly. But you won’t regret a visit to see the incredibly fine and elegant work of the Kel Inedan.
WORLD MUSIC MISC.
AFROPOP WORLDWIDE: www.afropop.org
Their strap line says it all: Music and stories from the African planet. I really like Afropop because they seem to get themselves everywhere and bag the stories that count. They also produce great radio features AND some incredibly in depth articles on subjects that interest me. I often find myself on this site when I’m doing research on, let’s say, the music of the Berbers of North Africa or the origins of Congolese rumba. Sometimes I even make the mistake of printing the articles out, and felling a few trees in the process!
fROOTS: www.frootsmag.com
The original roots and world music magazine in the UK, run with total dedication and determination by Ian Anderson for over 25 years. fRoots has the great advantage of allowing people to pursue their passions, however obscure, and to write about them at length and in depth.
SONGLINES: www.songlines.co.uk
A dynamic and classy monthly magazine about world music, with authoritative features, guides, reviews and loads more. It’s well laid out, easy to navigate, snappy, colourful and ambitious! It has that look of a publication that’s going places.
WOMEX: www.womex.com
WOMEX is the world’s premier ‘fun’ fair for all those whose business it is to play, record, make, sell, promote and generally support world music in all its forms. I say ‘fun’, but the three day shindig can also be a gruelling marathon of flesh-pressing, deal-brokering, business-card swapping and showcase watching. But, yeah ok…it’s fun too. I mean, imagine finding yourself in some foreign land with a convention hall full of like-minded people with stories to tell and music to sell. Like speed dating with a good soundtrack!
WORLD MUSIC NETWORK: www.worldmusic.net
The home of the UK’s oldest and most prolific world music compilation label. It’s hard to think of a country, a genre, even a sub-genre which they haven’t covered. I compiled compilations of music from Morocco, the Sahara, and the Arabic club scene for them. Also the place to check out WMN’s innovative imprints Introducing (which showcases new global talent) and Riverboat.
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