Episode 163: African Folk Influence

Today we are back to Africa… the theme will be folk music from Africa. The folk music from Africa I most commonly play is the ancient songs of the Niger River valley area, including Mali. Here folk music has survived in the modern era on the strength of the griot tradition, in which music is passed down through generations of musician families. In other parts of Africa, however, folk music traditions have often struggled to survive the past half century of social and cultural change. Folk music is often pushed aside in favor of more modern and foreign-influenced sounds. Today we are going to hear some folk-influenced sounds from all around the continent: Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Angola… folk music as well from the continental powerhouses Nigeria and The Congo… even unusual destinations such as Gabon and South Africa on the show today.