Music Life

By BBC World ServiceSociety & Culture

Music Life episodes

March 20, 2020 Singing in the dark with Niariu, Dyo, Lady Donli and Marla Brown
This week’s episode of Music Life is an absolute powerhouse of the some of the greatest talent in contemporary music right now.
Led by Tiguidanké Diallo, AKA Niariu, originally from Guinée, they'll talk about why it’s easier to sing in the dark, why musicians need to be rebels, and finding your own voice in your music.
Niariu is a multidisciplinary artist and singer with the band Les Amazones d'Afrique. They’re a supergroup with members coming from all over the continent, with the aim of raising awareness of violence against women.
Joining her is Dyo, an Ivor Novello nominated artist of Nigerian heritage, who’s worked with everybody from Maroon 5, Chip,and Wiley, to Mr Eazi, Iggy Azalea, Adekunle Gold, and Luis Fonsi. The first “pan-African rock star”, Lady Donli, is also here; she grew up in Abuja, Nigeria, and released the Enjoy Your Life album last year, which featured the huge track Cash. And finally, Marla Brown, a dancer and performer, and the daughter of the “crown prince of reggae”, Dennis Brown.
26 min
March 13, 2020 Musical identity with Sinkane, Emel Mathlouthi, Laima Leyton, and Shirley Tetteh
This week on Music Life Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab) is joined by Emel Mathlouthi, Laima Leyton, and Shirley Tetteh.
With such an eclectic mix of musicians it’s only right they talk about straddling multiple cultures, the role spirituality plays in their music, how you turn an idea into a song, and the all-important question of who their biggest fan is. Macaulay Culkin may get mentioned.
Sinkane returns to host his second show of Music Life. He’s a Sudanese-American musician who blends krautrock, prog rock, electronica, free jazz and funk rock with Sudanese pop. Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisia-born, New York-based singer-songwriter, who gained popularity after a video of her performing during a Tunisian street protest went viral online during the Arab Spring. As a result, her music was banned from Tunisian radio airwaves, which earned her the title "voice of the Tunisian revolution". Brazilian music producer Laima Leyton has been DJ-ing around the globe as one half of Mixhell, and has played with Igor Cavalera, as well as producing her own music and remixing and collaborating with artists such as Moby, Buraka Som Sistema, Soulwax, and Diplo. And finally, Shirley Tetteh AKA Nardeydey is one of the most exciting guitarists in the UK right now. As part of the band Nerija, they released their debut album Blume last year.
34 min
March 06, 2020 Delving into the subconscious with Jon Hopkins, Anna Meredith, Holly Herndon and Max Cooper
Four behemoths of the current electronic music scene - Max Cooper, Anna Meredith, Holly Herndon, and Jon Hopkins – join the BBC World Service to talk all about creativity.
They’ve made some of the most influential music of the 2010s, and that continues into the new decade. Led by Irish composer, producer, and former geneticist Max Cooper, the group discuss how much their subconscious plays a part in their music, their composition likes and dislikes, and – the biggest question of all – the reasons why they became a musician in the first place.
Answering those questions are: one of the most innovative voices in British music, the contemporary-classical composer Anna Meredith, who released the album Fibs last year; American composer and sound artist Holly Herndon, who developed her sound in Berlin, and released the excellent album PROTO last year; and keyboardist, producer, and 'sonic technician' Jon Hopkins. Fresh from releasing various offshoots of the album Singularity, he’s been touring the world, and has played with everybody from Brian Eno and Coldplay to King Creosote.
34 min
February 28, 2020 Playing to people who don't look like you with Sarathy Korwar, Damien Escobar, Fehdah and Osman Gerein
Music Life is led this week by percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar. He was born in the US and grew up in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India, and began playing tabla at the age of 10. His album More Arriving was released last year; featuring rappers from Mumbai and New Delhi, it was described as “an honest reflection of [the] experience of being an Indian in Britain”.
Joining him is the American violinist, author, and entrepreneur Damien Escobar from New York; Irish, by way of Sierra Leone, future-Afro soul vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Fehdah; and percussionist Osman Gerein, who plays with The Scorpios, of whom several members are originally from Central Sudan but are now based in the UK after fleeing the fundamentalist takeover in that region.
They’ll be finding common ground in the music they make by discussing relationships with their instruments, how much they need to practice, whether audiences look like them, and what rituals they go through to perform.
28 min
February 21, 2020 'Playing live is scary' with Marika Hackman, Eliza Shaddad, Dino D'Santiago and Ayo Odia
On this globetrotting episode of Music Life we are taken into the mind of the artist with Portuguese singer of Cape Verdean descent Dino D’Santiago. A singer, guitarist, and beat-boxer, he bridges the traditional sounds of Funaná, Batuku, Morna with modern recording techniques and sounds.
He's joined by half-Finnish vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Marika Hackman; singer and writer of Sudanese and Scottish heritage Eliza Shaddad, who's a frequent collaborator with UK chart toppers Clean Bandit; and Ayo Odia, a saxophonist and singer of many guises, who currently plays with the collective Yung Afrika Pyoneers.
Together, they discuss the first songs they ever wrote, whether they feel most comfortable as artists in the studio or on the stage, and how they get away from the limitations of a genre.
31 min
February 14, 2020 'Write about what you know' with Yuna, mxmtoon, Shakka and Alex.tbh
The weekly show Music Life returns with Malaysian singer Yuna, guiding us through a number of musical topics with British singer and record producer Shakka, 19-year-old Chinese American YouTube star mxmtoon, and self-taught Malaysian Queer Pop icon Alex.tbh.
We’re all over the musical dial with this one, in which our stars talk about how they write their music, the things they can and can't say in their lyrics, and the artists they'd most like to meet and collaborate with.
Yuna has worked with everybody from Usher to Tyler The Creator, and her latest album Rouge – released last year – featured the likes of Little Simz, Masego, and G-Eazy. Her experience in the music industry is unique and we look forward to finding out the truly amazing stories she has to tell.
24 min
February 07, 2020 Soul v technology with Raphael Saadiq, Moses Boyd, Denai Moore and Samm Henshaw
In this week’s Music Life, singer-songwriter and Pharrell Williams collaborator Samm Henshaw gets inspired by the thoughts of Raphael Saadiq, Denai Moore, and Moses Boyd.
Raphael Saadiq is a Grammy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné!, as well as being a critically acclaimed solo artist, and has worked with the likes of D’Angelo, Kelis, Mary J Blige, Solange, Whitney Houston and John Legend.
Jamaican-born, London-based singer and songwriter Denai Moore is newer on the scene, but has worked with the likes of SBTRKT and released two solo albums to date. She’s also the founder of Dee’s Table, a weekly food pop-up and supper club serving vegan Jamaican food.
And Moses Boyd is one of jazz's most exciting upcoming artists. He’s a multi-award winning drummer, composer, producer and radio host, who fuses jazz, grime and electronic sounds.
Led by Samm Henshaw, the group tells us what colour would best describe the music they make, which of their songs they’d want to be remembered for, and how they find the balance when they use technology to create soulful music.
33 min
January 31, 2020 Strange fan encounters with Nabihah Iqbal, Nilüfer Yanya, Laura Lee and Gaye Su Akyol
This week’s episode of Music Life gets personal with musician, producer and black belt in karate Nabihah Iqbal, who is joined by Khruangbin’s Laura Lee, as well as singers Nilüfer Yanya and Gaye Su Akyol.
Laura Lee was a maths teacher turned bass player who started her musical journey 8 years ago in the three-piece band Khruangbin. The band have toured with the likes of Bonobo, Father John Misty, Massive Attack and Leon Bridges, and are known for blending global music influences, classic soul, dub and psychedelia.
London-born singer-songwriter of Turkish and Barbadian descent Nilüfer Yanya started writing songs at the age of 6, and has since toured alongside The xx, Interpol and Mitski. Last year she released her debut album Miss Universe, a semi-conceptual project that blends rock, pop, electronica, R&B, and soul.
And Turkish singer, songwriter, producer and audio-visual artist Gaye Su Akyol rounds off the panel. She blends traditional Turkish melodies and structures with psychedelia, surf rock and grunge.
Led by Nabihah Iqbal, they’ll be discussing strange fan encounters, dating as a musician, and using music as an escape.
27 min
January 24, 2020 Drumming for legends with Tony Allen, Billy Cobham, Femi Koleoso and Dele Sosimi
Ezra Collective drummer Femi Koleoso and Dele Sosimi of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80 are joined on Music Life by two of the greatest drummers of all time: Billy Cobham and Tony Allen.
Billy Cobham is a Panamanian-American jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis in the 60s and 70s, before forming the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He's gone on to play with Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones, James Brown and many more.
Nigeria's Tony Allen was once described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived". With his band mate Fela Kuti, he founded the Afrobeat sound - as Fela once said, "Without Tony, there would be no Afrobeat".
Dele Sosimi is a Nigerian-British musician who also played with Fela Kuti, playing keyboards in his Egypt 80 band, before forming Positive Force with his son Femi Kuti.
Femi Koleoso gets to put questions to his musical heroes, those who have done a great deal to inspire his work with Jorja Smith, Loyle Carner and London jazz group Ezra Collective.
25 min
January 17, 2020 Composing naked with Christophe Chassol, Sudan Archives, Emmanuel Jal and Ala.Ni
Parisian pianist Christophe Chassol has written music for Frank Ocean, Solange, Sebastian Tellier and Phoenix, as well as releasing a string of successful solo releases. On this episode of Music Life he talks to Emmanuel Jal, Ala.Ni, and Sudan Archives.
Sudan Archives AKA Brittney Denise Parks is a violinist, singer, and producer from Los Angeles whose debut album Athena is out now. Ala.Ni is a London-born, Paris-based singer influenced by the music of her uncle, the Grenada-born cabaret singer Leslie Hutchinson. Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese-Canadian musician, actor, and former child soldier, whose latest album, Naath, is a collaboration between him and his sister.
These great musicians get together and discuss their composition process, their musical heroes, and the challenges of collaboration.
32 min