It’s been three months of World Music Wednesdays on the Katrinka Abroad Facebook page—can you believe it?
The idea first came to me when I was leaving my Czech friends in Armenia. As my marshrutka weaved through the dusty Armenian countryside, I plugged in my headphones and put on a mix of Balkan music, leaned against the window, and sank into a reverie. I thought about my friends, how lucky I was to spend time with them, how strange to make connections with more Czechs in Armenia, and how perfectly the music in my ears captured my feelings. It was this juxtaposition of Armenia rushing past, the Czechs I’d left behind, and the Balkan beats, that inspired World Music Wednesday.
Music can transport us to a different part of the world, even if we’re already in one—sure, Armenia isn’t the Balkans, but somehow it all fit together, into a strange mishmash of travel dreams. I thought about the times stuck in traffic in Istanbul listening to Legends of Benin… the late Saturday nights in Boston dancing to salsa music on the radio in my apartment… long train rides listening to classic Arabic ballads or Indian bhangra or Brazilian electronica… there are so many times in my life when the soundtrack was mismatched to the surroundings, and both benefited.
I wanted to share the music that lets my ears travel all over the world, even to places I haven’t yet been.
So here we are—three months in, at the first official Katrinka Abroad World Music Wednesday Mixtape! From Afrobeat to French hip hop to German-Macedonian mash-ups to Japanese indie pop, it’s been all over the globe… and there’s so much left to explore! So enjoy this mix, and keep checking in on Facebook every Wednesday. Make your ears happy!
Do you have any recommendations for songs I should use for World Music Wednesday? Post them in the comments!
WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY MIXTAPE, I
1. Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy (Nigeria, 7/31/13)
2. Goran Bregović – Ne Siam Kurve Tuke, Sijam Prostitutke (Bosnia/Serbia/Croatia, 8/7/13)
3. Gulsen – Yatcaz Kalkcaz Ordayim (Turkey, 8/14/13)
4. Toto La Momposina – Mile (El Hombre Borracho) (Colombia, 8/21/13)
5. Alim & Fargana Qasimov – Bardasht (Azerbaijan, 8/28/13)
6. Louis Armstrong and His Hot Fives – Struttin’ With Some Barbecue (USA, 9/4/13)
7. Le Super Borgou De Parakou – Gandigui (Benin, 9/11/13)
8. Abd Al Malik – Gibraltar (France, 9/18/13)
9. Os Mutantes – A Minha Menina (Brazil, 9/25/13)
10. Señor Coconut vs Kocani Orkestar – Usti, Usti Baba (Germany vs Macedonia, 10/2/13)
11. Marta Sebestyen – Hindi Lullabye (Hungary, 10/9/13)
12. Shugo Tokumaru – Katachi (Japan, 10/16/13)
13. Bendaly Family – Do You Love Me (Lebanon, 10/23/13)
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