Lopa's Music Planet

[johncorrigan]

I just caught up with Saturday's show - some absolutely wonderful voices on display this week - Portugal's Sara Correia for starters, Serbia's Tijana Stanković (stunning piece of Balkans with a difference), the ever-reliable Rhiannon Giddens to name but three. The live guest was Kazakhstan's dombra player Yerlan Ryskali who also had a wonderful voice, as had his partner who was there to help with the translations. The show finished in Andalusia with some great Flamenco voices from Ana Polanco & Victor Rosa - a most enjoyable and unusual MP, I thought.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001s5j1

[Globaltruth]

Hmm... I'm almost tempted.

[LeWoiDeWeigate]

Yep - really enjoyable show and the Kazak music was exactly the stuff I want to hear more-and-more of on Radio 3.

{For those of us who love Lopa's playlists (yes, I know they are selected by a producer as well as LK) can I suggest searching out DJ Ritu (Ritu Khurana) and her fabulous programme on Resonance FM "A World in London" which is basically unchanged from the days since she left BBC Radio London}.

[johncorrigan]

I suppose if we have to have a repeat we could do a lot worse than Lopa's programme dedicated to Angelique. I'm enjoying listening to that energy again.

[Globaltruth]

As Lopa plays her show out, just a quick post to say I’m glad to have given it a listen today.

firstly the Scottish piper - you’ll be able to point me in the right direction for more of her work I’m sure JC and, the highlight, which was the Sámi road trip. I’ll be going back to listen to that properly but one of the best for a while. Let’s hope Lopa stays in the same vein. Alternatively I’m maybe getting more tolerant. Gah.

what did you think JC?

[johncorrigan]

As Lopa plays her show out, just a quick post to say I’m glad to have given it a listen today.

firstly the Scottish piper - you’ll be able to point me in the right direction for more of her work I’m sure JC and, the highlight, which was the Sámi road trip. I’ll be going back to listen to that properly but one of the best for a while. Let’s hope Lopa stays in the same vein. Alternatively I’m maybe getting more tolerant. Gah.

what did you think JC?

I was going to encourage you to have a listen, GT, but unnecessary, it turns out. The Sami Road Trip was outstanding - I had been talking to Mrs C about Yoyking the other night when we were watching a Scandi natural history programme. She also enjoyed the road trip as we were coming up the road after a trip to Edinburgh.
We need more Yoyking on Radio 3, I would suggest.

I have 'The Feeling' by Brìghde Chaimbeul.and keep thinking I should avail myself of 'Carry Them With Us' - she was a guest on MP earlier in the year and it she showed amazing maturity for one so young on that occasion. I have been swithering about February 3rd's programme for Celtic Connections, but I keep being swayed away from Lankum and Fatoumata Diawara by the thought that Brighde is playing in the beautiful Macintosh Church - not sure whether there's still tickets available - that may be what makes the decision in the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLZMLj-XYW0

[johncorrigan]

I very much enjoyed catching up with Lopa's MP this afternoon - some cracking tracks and an enjoyable road trip to Argentina courtesy of Betto Arcos. I particularly enjoyed the sound of the new record from Aziza Brahim due out soon, and a great bit of Mongolian overtone singing from Kiledjian. And having heard my first skylarks of the year this morning, it was beautiful to hear the flamenco guitar/pipa combo on 'Skylark Call'. Not all great, but enough to keep me tuned in for the final track from Ghana via Bamako's Halima Kissima Toure. Keep it up, Lopa.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001w8pw

[LeWoiDeWeigate]

9th March and this is the first MP of the year that has felt like a proper MP. For me, LK has a much better radio voice than KT and the playlist was much wider than we tend to get from KT. Particularly enjoyed a bit of Femi Kuti even though the recording quality was quite meh - brought back fab memories of four glorious days at WOMAD last year for me - but the Ousoul Oud/Riqq track from Tarek Abdallah and Adel Shams El Din was great. We took in Niger, Quebec, Afrobeat, etc... Music from all over the Planet.

[johncorrigan]

9th March and this is the first MP of the year that has felt like a proper MP. For me, LK has a much better radio voice than KT and the playlist was much wider than we tend to get from KT. Particularly enjoyed a bit of Femi Kuti even though the recording quality was quite meh - brought back fab memories of four glorious days at WOMAD last year for me - but the Ousoul Oud/Riqq track from Tarek Abdallah and Adel Shams El Din was great. We took in Niger, Quebec, Afrobeat, etc... Music from all over the Planet.

Enjoyable show, LWDW. As you say the sound wasn't great from WOMAD - which made the sound of drums having the beejeezus battered out of them a bit off-putting for me. I'm sure it must have been great to be there. I'm disappointed that there doesn't appear to be any playlist available so far. I also enjoyed the Egyptian piece, and the Portuguese piece, and the bit of Transylvania, and it was wonderful to hear Abdallah Oumbadougou.

[johncorrigan]

Listened to last Saturday's 'Music Planet' on catch-up this morning. It was all Colombia's Meridian Brothers live in concert from the Songlines Festival. I'm sure it was fun to be there, but few of the tunes stood out for me - didn't think it quite merited a whole hour, but there you go. This week has a repeat of tabla player Zakir Hussain in conversation with Lopa. Doesn't seem that long ago.

[Globaltruth]

Good but yes, back too soon. shan’t bother.
Hopefully their new budget year starts in April & they’ll be able to spend a bit more on programming. Especially when it’ll be r3 listeners Big Saturday Nite show….

[johncorrigan]

Good but yes, back too soon. shan’t bother.
Hopefully their new budget year starts in April & they’ll be able to spend a bit more on programming. Especially when it’ll be r3 listeners Big Saturday Nite show….

I hadn't realised MP was being shifted to another graveyard slot, Global. Not much info about next week except that it's got 'New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Ganavya' in the studio. It doesn't tell me which presenter is staying up past their bedtime to present.

[Globaltruth]

Music Planet moves to Saturday night (Saturdays 9.30pm-10.30pm).

Full deets of all the changes here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/new-classical-music-programming-tv-radio

Watch out for Jools H. on a Sat. afternoon. I shall be watching a fascinating shade of paint harden.

[johncorrigan]

Full deets of all the changes here:

Thanks for the deets, Global. However, I didn't get round to listening to this week's MP with LK till this morning - I found it very difficult to turn off my B***ocks aerial. There was a lot of it talked along the way which got me more and more irritated - especially with Lopa and the guests, Fran and Flora (is it only me who thinks this is an awful name for a music act?)...nevertheless, I stuck it out and enjoyed the piece by Marewrew, singing acapella in the Japanese Ainu style. There was also a fine bit of Mongolian fiddle from Batsükh Dorj, and then a very moving piece commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the carnation revolution with the actual piece which was played on the radio and was the signal to Portuguese soldiers that day that the coup was on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLWqy4e7ls

So it wasn't all a complete waste of time.

[johncorrigan]

Spanish singer-songwriter Buika was the guest in the studio with Lopa last week - powerful voice, some might say shouty...me in fact. Won't be going looking for more, but Lopa was clearly loving having her there.