Lopa's Music Planet

[johncorrigan]

I've probably said it before, but I am always suspicious when broadcasters say they have a programme 'specially curated', but that's what we got from MP on Saturday - I suppose I should be glad to just have a bunch of records shoved on the turntable with minimum DJ interruption. Some nice tunes in there, I have to say which had some curative effect in allaying my general cynicism.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001b5jn

Mind you, not so well curated as they missed out one of the tracks on the playlist. Sounded like it was one of those Spiers/Boden efforts.

[johncorrigan]

Lopa presented Prom 45 by Sarod Master, Amjad Ali Khan and his two sons, Amaan and Ayaan, and Sanju Sahai on tabla. I'm sure it will have been mentioned elsewhere in the Forum, but for me I cannot recommend it highly enough. It was a complete delight. Wish I'd been in the Albert Hall to see it last Sunday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001b5lf

Available for a year...think I might be going back for another listen or two.

[Globaltruth]

Good call - I’d have missed this otherwise. Such intensity.

[Globaltruth]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?24165-Prom-45-Amjad-Ali-Khan-%E2%80%93-Sarod-Master-(21-08-22)

Well, as you can read, there’s no rave reviews over on the Proms board JC which is a shame.

[johncorrigan]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ter-(21-08-22)

Well, as you can read, there’s no rave reviews over on the Proms board JC which is a shame.

Actually, GT, I only found the Prom because I read a review in the paper during the week. Thanks for not killing off LK permanently, by the way.

[Globaltruth]

LK will never know how close she came…

In fact the forum Proms board is worth a browse - I usually do but missed that one.

[johncorrigan]

Lopa took us on a jaunt round the music of Brazil this afternoon to help celebrate a couple of hundred years of independence from Portugal. Some great tunes in there, as well as a few dodgers, which you would expect, I suppose, it being Brazil. Lopa was enthusiastic, as you would expect, Brazilian music being one of her passions. Quite an entertaining hour really. Somehow I feel I'm not selling this very well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bzb6

[DracoM]

[Globaltruth]

Lopa took us on a jaunt round the music of Brazil this afternoon to help celebrate a couple of hundred years of independence from Portugal. Some great tunes in there, as well as a few dodgers, which you would expect, I suppose, it being Brazil. Lopa was enthusiastic, as you would expect, Brazilian music being one of her passions. Quite an entertaining hour really. Somehow I feel I'm not selling this very well.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bzb6

I managed 30 mins then gave up. She was knowledgable, enthusiastic but somehow...meh.

Not a sale here.

[LeWoiDeWeigate]

So... as a newbie (I've only been listening to Charlie Gillet's World of Music and then the various incarnations on World Service, BBC Radio London and R3 since about 1984), what is the problem with LK?

I actually prefer LK to KT because I just find KT's voice not that "radio-friendly" and I find her selections a little too folky at times. I used to LOVE MAK of course and she is sorely missed.

Now the 'world' music presenter that I think is really good is the ex World in London presenter Ritu Khurana ('DJ Ritu') - her programme on Resonance FM is unmissable and she just oozes radio professionalism in a way that neither LK or KT manage.

So, educate me - what gives with LK here?!

[johncorrigan]

what gives with LK here?!

Hi LeWoi, Good to hear from you. I just had a read through the eighty-odd posts on this string trying to work out what the beef was with LK. She's been around a long while on Radio 3 now - almost fifteen years by my reckoning. My problem with her initially was that she has often sounded like she was reading from an autocue, but I never think that she has improved over the years. Mary Ann, to me anyway, always sounded fresh and lively and I bought a few records on her recommendation...I can safely say that I have never done that from listening to LK; not something that happened with Kershaw and Charlie who cost me a fair bit money down the years. Perhaps I just have a different taste from Lopa. But she is also very inconsistent for me, which I never felt with Charlie, and I don't tend to find with Kathryn Tickell where I enjoy her liveliness, although I should say that I do enjoy a spot of folk music. I notice from the posts that I tend to be disappointed if I turn up and she is presenting - maybe not fair, but I still turn up most weeks because it's what's on offer on BBC R3.

[Globaltruth]

She's part of the fixtures and fittings at R3. The consistent reduction of focus on specific WM has meant the loss of quite a few good broadcasters in the last few years.
As well as Andy Kershaw and Charlie Gillett (now sadly no longer with us) Dr Lucy Durán was a notable loss - an excellent and adventurous ethnomusicologist. Last heard of at SOAS where she recently won an award. I will always remember her as the producer of New Ancient Strings by the duo of Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko.
Others include Max Reinhardt - now at Soho Radio where he has in the past presented jointly with DJ Ritu, and Nick Luscombe. You can find his latest news here
Kershaw also has a podcast.
Nick has popped back to r3 for a couple of programmes on Japanese music

On the upside, I have noticed that more broadcasters now include the occasional WM track as part of their programme - a quota system that is better than the alternative (i.e nothing).

That doesn't really explain the a(nti)pathy towards LK - to my ear she lacks the passion which all the above, without exception, brought to the turntable.
She also often lacks empathy when interviewing which makes for awkward listening.

[LeWoiDeWeigate]

Thank you JohnCorrigan and GT!

Avid listener to DJ Ritu and I still see Duran quite frequently at SOAS. In fact she's running the '50 years of Mande studies' day there on the 30th November including a Ballake Sissoko gig in the evening. Absolutely dire loss to R3 IMvHO. https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/b...e-studies-soas

MAK was fab as far as I was concerned but never as good as dear, dear Charlie - oh how we miss him.

GT I do agree with you when I've seen LK MC-ing at WOMAD and the same was true with Max Reinhardt but I actually like the sound of her voice which I think is far more radiogenic than KTs (or the best for me, DJ Ritu who I think has a superb presentational style). I started really liking Kershaw's podcast but have found more and more R&B/folk (last one had tributes to Jerry Lee Lewis and Loretta Lynn neither of which float my boat) and I've switched off from them; maybe I should try again.

Johncorrigan - interested in what you say about not buying records because I find the exact opposite! I do like folk music but I don't think of it as 'world' music in the broader terms. Maybe folk deserves a programme all to itself; maybe I'm a dreamer...

[johncorrigan]

Johncorrigan - interested in what you say about not buying records because I find the exact opposite! I do like folk music but I don't think of it as 'world' music in the broader terms. Maybe folk deserves a programme all to itself; maybe I'm a dreamer...

I suppose that Mark Radcliffe has the BBC's folk show on radio 2, but I keep forgetting it because I don't much listen to BBC R2. I occasionally hear BBC Radio Scotland's folk show, but it doesn't play very much World Music, though we were promised it would after MAK's excellent 'Global Gathering' was axed many years ago...'music from around the world and around the corner' was how it was sold back then, an idea that appealed to me. I still listen to Kershaw's podcast though he doesn't play as much world music as he may have at one time...nor as much folk. Thanks for the update on Dr Duran...much missed on the BBC indeed.

On a slightly different issue, LeWoi, you might enjoy this programme where John Heneghan shares old 78s - the site is difficult to navigate, but this programme called 'African Guitar Dreams' was particularly enjoyable, and there's lots more programmes of 78s from around the world in there, if you feel like digging through it. I enjoy dipping in most months
https://eastriverstringband.com/radi...x.php/2021/10/ - features R Crumb and his amazing 78 library, by the way.

[Globaltruth]

Generally we try and avoid defining what may or may not be WM - that ways lies madness and, previously, produced an awful lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Please don't mind if I, in host mode, take a backseat observation role on this topic.

WM was a marketing phrase in the beginning....now it's shorthand on here for something indefinable