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WELCOME Founding Editor Simon Broughton Publisher & Managing Director Paul Geoghegan Editor Russ Slater Johnson Assistant Editor Emma Rycroft Art Director Juliet Boucher Advertisement Manager James Anderson-Hanney Online Content Editor James McCarthy Listings Editor Tatiana Rucinska Assisted this issue by Spencer Grady, Benjamin Kilian Marketing Manager John Barnett Marketing Assistant Oscar Faulkner Cover Image Dayong Zhao Contributing Editors Jane Cornwell, Mark Ellingham & Nigel Williamson Subscriptions Director Sally Boettcher Editorial Director Martin Cullingford CEO Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: 0800 137 201 Overseas: +44 (0)1722 716997 subscriptions@markallengroup.com ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7501 6683 The world’s magazine? Having a young family, it has been hard of late to see live music regularly, so it was a joy to get along to WOMAD and seize my f ix. There were many highlights that I’ve tried to capture on p14, though on a shameless level, hearing Emicida break into Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ for just a couple of bars is a memory that will live on, especially for the 15-year-old music fanboy inside me! For a variety of reasons I’ve been thinking about the tag ‘world music’ a lot lately. After all, it’s disappeared from WOMAD’s marketing, the event now refers to itself as ‘The World’s Festival’. Though he doesn’t use the particular phrase, Balimaya Project’s Yahael Camara Onono rages against the use of ‘African music’ on p26, a term with similar problems. Can we really put the music of a whole continent in one box, while record shops have specialist sections for drum’n’bass, new wave and indie pop? Of course, ‘world music’ can be even more problematic, after all, the term can be seen as a way of keeping nonEnglish-speaking music at a distance, labelling it as ‘the other’. It’s what David Byrne meant when he said “it ghettoises most of the world’s music.” Yet, the term is still popular. This issue we have a live review of the new ‘world music stage’ at Bulgaria’s A to JazZ Festival (p67) and we announce public voting for a new award from UPBEAT, which is ‘The European Showcase Platform for World Music.’ It’s a term also intrinsic to this magazine, a shorthand that our writers regularly use to describe the music you may f ind within it. And this is where the problem lies. The term has been appropriated, by listeners, by journalists and by the music industry at large. When WOMAD arrived in Chile in 2015 it introduced the term there, and artists began using it. Chilean musicologist Simón Palominos says that musicians there, distanced from national musics, began using it to frame ‘a more holistic approach to music making, emphasising cultural contact and exchange, a closer link with nature, and [using ] it as a platform for international circulation and economic sustainability for local musicians.’ With Songlines’ 25th-anniversary year approaching (it’s next year!), it feels like now more than ever it’d be great to be at peace with this term. However, as there is no obvious alternative (a catch-all term like ‘global music’ would only serve the same function) and as its use is so widespread, its hard to know the answer. What are your thoughts? Do you like the term? Or hate it? Or do you possess the Holy Grail, the culturally-sensitive successor that concisely describes the contents of this here magazine? Tell me you do! Russ Slater Johnson, Editor CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE Part of www.markallengroup.com Songlines is published by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Rd, London, SE24 0PB, UK +44 (0)20 7738 5454 info@songlines.co.uk songlines.co.uk © MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2023. All rights reserved. No part of Songlines may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publishing director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Songlines advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised. Please read our privacy policy, by visiting privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data. ISSN 1464-8113. Printed by Pensord Press Ltd, Dowlais, CF48 3TD Record trade distribution Songlines 020 7738 5454 Newstrade distribution Marketforce 020 3787 9101 Erin Cobby Erin is a music and culture journalist who has written for Boiler Room, Alternative Press Magazine and Clash. She is also the Senior Editor of shado magazine. This issue she speaks to Balimaya Project (p26). Wif Stenger Wif grew up in Asia, Scandinavia and the US and now lives on the Finnish coast. He contributes to Jazz Journal, The Guardian and Monocle and this issue picks out ten of his favourite Finnish albums on p82. Karolina Jeppson With a background in anthropology, Karolina focuses her journalism on music, literature and poetry in West and Southeast Africa. She unravels Thomas Sankara’s legacy and passion for music on p40. Songlines was launched in 1999 and is the definitive magazine for world music – music that has its roots in all parts of the globe, from Mali to Mexico, India to Iraq. Whether this music is defined as traditional, contemporary, folk or fusion, Songlines is the only magazine to truly represent and embrace it. However, Songlines is not just about music, but about how the music f its into the landscape; it’s about politics, history and identity. Delivered in both print and digital formats, Songlines, through its extensive articles and reviews, is your essential and independent guide to a world of music and culture, whether you are starting on your journey of discovery or are already a seasoned fan. @SonglinesMag facebook.com/songlines instagram.com/songlinesmag songlines.co.uk OCTOBER 2023 › SONGLINES 03

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