Project Okurase, Harpaphonics and great fun

All featured on rootsandshoots yesterday as we welcomed to the studio Gris Sanderson (nyckelharpa), Sam Powerful Yeboah (percussion) and Louis Bingham (percussion): the Harpaphonics Ensemble.
Sam gave an eloquent description of Project Okurase (Opportunity, Knowledge, Understanding, Renewed Health, Arts-Based, Skills Training and Education), addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in Ghana by helping vulnerable and orphaned children who are impacted by HIV/AIDS in their family and their village. Read more about it and how you can help here. In Devon you can show your support by going to a fundraising event on Saturday 14th February at the Civic Hall in Totnes where Sam and others will be leading drumming and dance workshops from 14:00 and Harpaphonics will play for an evening concert.

Back in the studio, we all had a party. It's great to have such high quality live music. We feel very priveleged to be able to showcase it. Find out more about Harpaphonics here. You can now buy their new CD (I showed my age by calling it an LP at one stage!) featuring the wonderful music Gris has put together, playing nyckleharpa with an array of talented percussionists. A donation from each sale is given to Project Okurase.
Sam, by the way, makes the drums he plays. He teaches at regular workshops at Exeter Phoenix: Fridays 19:00: African Drumming and Songs with Sam Yeboah.
Pics: from top to bottom, Gris, Sam and Louis in the studio yesterday. Pictures taken by Rich Cooke. Text by Martin Hodge

Harpaphonics played live Alpha, Erdély Reels, The Charmer and Treadnightly March. From their album we heard Exordium and Skånklåt For Thursa.

Other recordings played: Artist..Album..Track
Gotan Project..La Viguella..Lunatico
Renaud Garcia-Fons..Entremundo..Entremundo
Yo Yo Ma..Andante..Soul Of The Tango
Otros Aires..Rotos En El Raval..Otros Aires
EST..Mingle In The Mincing Machine..Ballad Of The Unborn
Angel Brothers..Black Waterside..Forbidden Fruit
Spyka..The Duke Of Argyle's/The Climbing Wall..Spyka
Karine Polwart..Thou Hast Left Me Ever Jamie..Fairest Floo'er
Apagya Show Band..Kwaku Ananse..Ghana Sounds Vol 1
Zhu Changyao..Love Song of Kang Ding..Hifi World of Chinese Music
Cheb Mami..Ma Vie 2 Fois..Dellali
Tania Maria..Sangria..The Very Best Of Tania Maria
Azis..Haide Pochvai Me..The Best 2
Medeski Martin Wood..Note Bleu..New Blue
Juan Luis Guerra..El Primo..Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual

Gris & Harpaphonics on Roots and Shoots!

Griselda Sanderson & the Harpaphonics are a new ensemble performing traditional & original music with roots in Scotland, Sweden and West Africa, and featuring the Swedish Nyckelharpa. Gris (nyckelharpa) plus Sam Powerful Yeboah (percussion) and Louis Bingham (guitar, percussion) from Harpaphonics will be coming into the studio to play on rootsandshoots this Monday 26th January. They will talk too about their music and their new album Harpaphonics - which they are launching on our show! The music on the album has been described as an aromatic mix combining the strange and beautiful resonances of the Swedish nyckelharpa and fiddle with an array of percussive accompaniment. A donation from each album sale will go to Project Okurase, addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in Sam's country, Ghana.

Listen in on Monday and email studio@phonic.fm to tell us how much you are enjoying the experience! In the meantime, watch a video and listen to the music of Gris & the Harpaphonic Ensemble here.

Two halves

For practical reasons, Martin and I cut this Monday's show up and did an hour each (roughly, as we actually start as 18:03!) Some communication with people online, which we always like. Great to hear from one of our most loyal listeners, Özgür from Turkey, and a special thanks to her for the pronunciation lesson. If you wonder how we have listeners abroad (and Özgür is not the only non-UK listener), they are mostly people who want a reminder of good times spent in Exeter. One local listener (fairly local: out-in-the-sticks beyond the Exeter boundary) won the competition. Congrats to Pam, who wins 2 tickets for comedian Robin Ince at Exeter Phoenix this Wednesday. Martin Hodge

What did we play? Here's Martin Henning's playlist:
Artist..Track..Album
Gotan Project..Domingo..Lunatico
Trio Pentango..Mano Brava..Trio Pentango
Otros..Molonga Sentimental ..Aires
Astor Piazzola..Milonga Del Angel..Luna
Osvaldo Momtes Y Anibal Arias..Molonga De Mis Amores..Think Global - Tango
Arvest..Ma Ranadenn..Fantazi
Hamon Martin Quintet..Les Drops De Lite..L'Habit De Plume
Wig a Wag..Son Lakato..Sarah Ha Safer
Karma..Place Plume..Mouvement(s)
EST..Did They Tell Cousteau?..Tide Of Trepidation
Rabin Abou-Khalil..Ornette Never Sleeps..Arabian Waltz
Alice Jemima..Technicolour Postcard..Alice Jemima Alice is pictured right

Martin Hodge's playlist: Artist..Track..Album
Griselda Sanderson with Toby Morgan, Sam Yeboah & James Dumbleton..Erdély Reels..Harpaphonics Gris is pictured left
Teddy Thompson..Everybody Move It..Separate Ways Click on Teddy's name for details of his concert at Exeter Phoenix
Troika..Mi Yeteni Of..A Whole Lotta Lvov
The House Band..The Pit Stands Idle..The Very Best Of The House Band
?..Aci Payam Yollan
Griselda Sanderson with James Dulberton..Alpha..Harpaphonics
Baba Maal..Yeriyaro..Nomad Soul
Bidinte..Kecu Minino Na Tchora..Putumayo Presents African Odyssey
Fantcha..Cinderela..Putumayo Presents Cape Verde
Christine Collister..Two Time Tango..Live
Truco & Zaperoko..A Ti Na Má..Fusión Caribeňa
Griselda Sanderson..Exordium..Harpaphonics

Only a snatch of this last one played us out. Much more from Gris, Sam Powerful Yeboah and Louis Bingham live on rootsandshoots next Monday.

Time...

...was the theme for this week's rootsandshoots.

Artist..Track..Album
EST..7 Days Of Falling..EST
Rumbajax..Craziest Nights..Deja View
Tom Waits..Time..Rain Dogs
Bob Dylan..The Times They Are A-Changin'..The Times They Are A-Changin'
Ray Baretto..Time Was -Time Is, Time Was - Time Is
Fairport Convention featuring Sandy Denny..Who Knows Where The Time Goes..Unhalfbricking
We said it was from the album Liege & Lief. It wasn't. We said it was from the 70s. It was from 1969. We hope you believe other things we told you!
Jean Luc Ponty..Modern Time Blues..Open Mind
Angel Brothers..Days Like Diamonds..Forbidden Fruit
Poisson Rouge..5 Time Waltz..Made In Dawlish not commercially available
De Dannan..Do It In Jig Time..How The West Was Won
Some Sort Of Threat..Track contributed by our guest Young Tom. Some Sort Of Threat pictured right
Pennou Skoulm..A Dix Heures A Saint Vincent..Trinkan
Milton Nascimento..Nada Sera Como Antes..Clube Da EsquinaSouad Massi..I Don't Have The Time..Raoui
Tarika..Vavaka..Son Egal
James Hollingsworth..Sooner Or Later..Coming Home To Stay
Arcoluz..Garcice Fons..Aroluz
Alice Jemima..For A While..Alice Jemima Rock on, Alice!
Mongo Santamaria..Last Tango In Paris..The Best Of The Fania Years
Oscar D' Leon..Por Que Sera..Infinito
Incantation..Antiguous Duenos De Flechas..The Meeting
Michelle Shocked..5am In Amsterdam..The Texas Campfire Tapes
James Taylor..Little More Time With You..Hourglass
Youssou N'Dour..Sabar..Set
Stéphane Delicq..La Discréte..Les Amitiés (Valse à 8 Temps)

Looking ahead

Under the rootsandshootslive! banner, we are planning some exciting events in Exeter. To give you a taster of what's to come, we are working on a series of free concerts (to which you will be cordially invited) with top class local musicians to be broadcast on rootsandshoots on Monday evenings. Watch this space!

We'll also continue to showcase local musicians through broadcasts of music and interviews live in the studio, including the wonderfully talented Gris Sanderson, who'll be playing the Swedish instrument, the nyckelharpa. She'll be joined by compelling percussionist Sam Powerful Yeboah from Ghana. They have an exciting new album out soon, Harpaphonics which we've been playing on rootsandshoots. A donation from each album sale will go to Project Okurase addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in Ghana. See a video of the Harpaphonics musicians here. Gris and Sam are pictured above. Scheduled for 26 January on rootsandshoots.

And we'll feature events in and around Exeter - one coming up is the IVFDF (InterVarsity Folk Dance Festival) at Exeter University from 27 February to 1 March with a full range of dance events plus concerts by the renowned Kate Rusby, Jim Causley (who sang and played for us before Christmas on rootsandshoots) and Jackie Oates (who we hope can find time to pop in and see us sometime). rootsandshoots presenter Martin Hodge will be leading a workshop, East Meets West: dances from different parts of Europe on Saturday 28 Feb from 17.45 at IVFDF. He's managed to get one of Britain's best border pipers Lawrence Morgan-Anstee plus ace harmonium player Tracey Baker to play for the occasion. Full details of IVFDF, Exeter here.

Thank you, Alice...

...for entertaining us yesterday in the studio. We were starstruck by your performance and impressed by your self confidence. You write some good songs too. Well done.

Alice's songs were For A While, Something Clichė and On My Mind.

If you missed Alice Jemima's singing and guitar playing, that's a shame. But you can hear more on these links: Alice on myspace and Alice on reverbnation

Recordings played... Artist..Track..Album

The Watersons..Here We Come A-Wassailing..Frost & Fire

Griselda Sanderson with James Dumbleton..Alpha..Harpaphonics

Jolie Holland..Mad Tom Of Bedland..Escondida

Teddy Thompson..The Things I Do..Piece Of What you Need

Fairport Convention..Farewell, Farewell..Liege & Lief TeddyThompson & Fairport Convention are amongst artists performing in January at Exeter Phoenix

Jackie Oates..Lark In the Morning..The Violet Hour
Davy Spillane..Moyasta Junction..Shadow Hunter

Kroke..River Of Shadows..Seventh Trip

Gadologie..Blessed Relief..Gadologie

The Tango Band..Escatila..Berlin Nights

Arvest..Ma Flanedenn..Fantazi

Wig A Wag..Serjeant Major..Sarah Ha Safar

Hamon Martin Quintet..La Fontaine Des Amants..L'Habit De Plume

Sitan.. Pennou Skoulm..Trinhai

Alice Jemima..1234..Alice Jemima

Karma.La Classe Armoricaine...Mouvements

EST..Elevation Of Love..EST

Mahmoud Ahmed..Bèlomi Bènna..Ethiopiques – Erè Mèla Mèla

Maria Buza with Tanaful Ciuleandra..Anicuta Neichii Draga..The Gypsies Of Wallachia

Taksim Trio..Biҫare..

Lila Downs..La Cantina – Entre Copa Y Copa

Lau..Gallowhill..Lau Live