TRANSGLOBAL WORLD MUSIC CHART: AUGUST 2024

This time, the title “Maisha” by the Tanzanian duo Zawose Queens reached the top position of the Transglobal World Music Chart.

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There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens j. There’s the vibra:ons of the ancestors, coming through on tradi:onal instruments and voices that go deep, high and out there. There’s the connec:on to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their danceinspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic. There are lyrics that tell, in their na:ve kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradi:on. In their East African roots.

Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania. The most famous exponent of this musical tradi:on is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose
(Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).

Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first :me that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by workshops in songwri:ng and music produc:on with visi:ng UK-based producers Oli Barton-
Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collecton of songs range from the stripped back and tradi:onal-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.

Top albums August 2024:

1. The Zawose Queens · Maisha · Real World [3]
2. Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko · Djudjon, l’Oiseau de Garana · One World [4]
3. Bab L’ Bluz · Swaken · Real World [2]
4. Dobet Gnahoré · Zouzou · Cumbancha [10]
5. Ali Doğan Gönültaş · Keyeyî · Mapamundi Música [1]
6. Vigüela · We · Mapamundi Música [-]
7. Landless · Lúireach · Glitterbeat [-]
8. Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou · L’Bnat · Ajabu! [6]
9. Huun-Huur-Tu, Carmen Rizzo & Dhani Harrison · Dreamers in the Field · Dark Horse / BMG [5]
10. Jyotsna Srikanth · Carnatic Nomad · Naxos World [-]

11. Varijashree Venugopal · Vari · GroundUP Music [-]
12. Tiganá Santana · Caçada Noturna · Ajabu! [-]
13. Russudan Meipariani featuring Ensemble Anchiskhati · Voices & Mountains · Timezone [-]
14. Meridian Brothers · Mi Latinoamérica Sufre · Les Disques Bongo Joe [-]
15. Bhutan Balladeers · Your Face Is Like the Moon, Your Eyes Are Stars · Glitterbeat [-]
16. Olcay Bayir · Tu Gulî · ARC Music [8]
17. Hamed Sadeghi · Empty Voices · Hamed Sadeghi [-]
18. Ahmed Moneka · Kanzafula: Afro-Iraqi Sufi Soul · LulaWorld [12]
19. Söndörgő · Gyezz · GroundUP Music [21]
20. Bedouin Burger · Ma Li Beit · PopArabia [30]

21. A Cantadeira · Tecelã · Repasseado [15]
22. Okwy Osadebe and Highlife SoundMakers International · Ifunanya · Palenque [-]
23. Maré · Maré · Sons Vadios [35]
24. Aziza Brahim · Mawja · Glitterbeat [9]
25. Aynur · Rabe · Dreyer Gaido [7]
26. Dobranotch · Vander Ikh Mir Lustik · CPL-Music / CPL-Musicgroup [26]
27. Sam Lee · Songdreaming · Cooking Vinyl [11]
28. Dario Muci · Talassa · Zero Nove Nove [19]
29. V.A. · Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora 1980-1993 · Soundway [39]
30. Marta Topferova · Sombras · Moravia Publishing [-]

31. Quintet Bumbac · Héritages · Collectif Çok Malko [13]
32. Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra · 7 · Satélite K [18]
33. Kristin Asbjørnsen · Hjemveier · Kirkelig Kulturverksted [-]
34. Nancy Vieira · Gente · Galileo Music Communication [28]
35. Céu · Novela · Urban Jungle / ONErpm [24]
36. La Falfula Groove Iraqi · Walla Ajabni Jamalak · La Falfula Groove Iraqi [38]
37. Arooj Aftab · Night Reign · Verve [-]
38. Suzumeno Tears · Sparrow’s Arrows Fly So High · Doyasa! [32]
39. Gidiki · Perasma · Gidiki [-]
40. Marjan Vahdat · The Eagle of My Heart · Kirkelig Kulturverksted [23]

NMR (foto: Michael Mbwambo)

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Founder members and administrators Transglobal World Music Chart: 

Ángel Romero (US), Araceli Tzigane (ES), Juan Antonio Vázquez (ES)

Current active members:

Alexis Herrería (MX), Rosângela Britto (BR), Ula Nowak (PL), Liana Cisneros (PE), Banning Eyre (US), Magda Tejchma (PL), Seth Jordan (AU), Tony Hillier (AU), Charlie Crooijmans (NL), Nigel Wood (IE), Dore Stein (US), Roger Holdsworth (AU), Madan Rao (IN), Gil Medovoy (US), Chris Heim (US), Ciro De Rosa (IT), Scott Stevens (US), Hendrick T S Foh (MY), Cliff Furnald (US), Rob Weisberg (US), Toni Polo (FR/ES), Nicolás Falcoff (AR), Masakazu Kitanaka (JP), Jordi Demésenllà (ES), Rafael Mieses (DO/US), Luís Rei (PT), Jean Trouillet (DE), Evangeline Kim (US), Willi Klopottek (LU/DE), Alejandro López (ES), Jon Kertzer (US), Ken Stowar (CA), Jiří Moravčík (CZ), Mu Qian (CN), Carlos Ferreira (PT), Gil Rouvio (IL), Bouna Ndiaye (SN/US), Kutay Derin Kuğay (TR), Robert Gregor (SK), Yatrika Shah-Rais (IR/US), Armen Manukyan (AM), Rolf Beydemüller (DE), François Bensignor (FR), Eleni Ziliaskopoulou (GR), Marija Vitas (RS), Jaïr Tchong (BE), Enrique Blanc (MX), Tiago Lucas Garcia (BR), Zekeriya S. Şen (TR), Benjamín Muñiz (PR), Daryana Antipova (RU), Mika Kauhanen (FI), Luisa Piñeros (CO), Toni Pennacchia (US), Chen Hanzi (CN), Takuya “Salam” Unagami (JP), Janaína Ávila (BR), Roger Short (UK), Ankur Malhotra (IN)

More at: https://www.transglobalwmc.com/