Silvia Balducci
Silvia Balducci and the Sounds of Chilean Resistance on A World in London! Click: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-5th-february-2020/
It was a joy to welcome back Silvia Balducci to AWIL! A prime mover and shaker within the capital’s world music family for decades, Silvia updated us about her journey into music, left wing activism and Chilean protest, and presented her fantastic repertoire of live music and poetic lyrics! Growing up in 1970s Italy, Silvia was struck by the Chilean band Inti Illimani, who had fled Pinochet’s dictatorship and were amassing a pan-European following of radicalised students who supported their struggle. Through attending their concerts, meeting the band members and learning about Chilean music, Silvia was drawn particularly to the charango, and her passions for equality, justice and music were set alight. Her voice has enormous depth of tone, which echoes the intensity of feeling and emotion that’s poured into the fabric of her creativity. You can hear this in the live songs she performed for us, like ‘Que Dira el Santo Padre’, a cover of the legendary Violeta Parra track, which Silvia has arranged in the tarantella style from Naples - so called because it was said a person bitten by a tarantula could be cleared of the venom by the quick footwork of the tarantella dance. Before 1973, Chile was flourishing under the Allende government, with musicians such as Violeta Parra and Victor Jara revered as central figures of a left wing local folkloric music scene. When the brutal US-sponsored military coup arrived installing General Pinochet, both Allende and Victor Jara were killed. Since then, unknown numbers of people were ‘disappeared’ under the Pinochet regime and the harsh neoliberal economic policies implemented in the early 1980s have ground down on the Chilean populace. However, last year the student movement exploded in frustration and demands for justice came to the fore. Women challenging the entrenched rape culture and sexist laws of Chile have spoken out and their voices have been heard all over the world, adopting the song ‘El violador eres tu’ as an anthem of resistance and its accompanying dance being performed in solidarity across cities worldwide. Silvia pays tribute to the long standing Latin American revolutionary scene through her songs and music, particularly figures such as Parra, Jara, Margot Loyola and Gabriela Pizarro. She has also collaborated extensively with Osvaldo Torres, who we were honoured to learn was listening in from Paris whilst we were broadcasting this AWIL! Silvia’s commitment to music combined with social activism shines through in her performance. From her early days in London with the Flasiantronico project - in which, alongside Amin Ali Khan and Christian Cutuli, she conjured up a fantastic mix of flamenco, Asian Underground and electronic sounds - to her later outspoken activism and Latino folk vibes, Silvia has been an important and integral voice of the world music scene and it’s a pleasure to hear her sing as well as speak. We're looking forward to Silvia’s forthcoming album, and indeed, what she will do next - in Silvia’s own words, “One lifetime is not enough for everything!” You can find Silvia’s music on Spotify (search for her name or ‘MiMundoMiniProfundo', a record made with Osvaldo Torres) and on www.selloalerce.cl. Her new album "Calle Esperanza” will be out very soon!
Joji Hirota - Hiten Ryu II - Japan/UK
Lokkhi Terra – Kala Re – UK/Bangladesh/Cuba
Aga Ujma – Night – Poland/Indonesia
Silvia Balducci – Que Dira II Santo Padre (Violeta Parra) – Italy/Chile/UK
‘ ‘ Manifiesto
‘ ‘ No Podran (Osvaldo Torres)
‘ ‘ Cuanto Me Duele Este Pais
5/2/20 – AWIL 239. Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-5th-february-2020/ Production & pics by Tanbir Johal, Norman Druker, Sophie Darling, Lucas Keen, artist Alban Low. Also this week Aga Ujma at SOAS Radio – listen here: https://www.mixcloud.com/SOASradio/a-world-in-london-323/ Next week Caspar Melville at SOAS Radio 4pm and The London Lucumi Choir at Resonance 104.4fm at 6.30pm
Going Global Gigs Guide: Feb 12 Olcay Bayir at TunedIn London, Feb 13 Errol Linton at Hideaway, Feb 21 The Sages & Aga Ujma @SOAS Concert Series @ Brunei Gallery SOAS, Feb 29 Kuch Kuch Bollywood Nights @ The Alice EC3A, Mar 2 Lokkhi Terra @ Jazz Café, Mar 7 Kan Beng @ Trades Hall E17, Mar 13 WOMED feat. Marina Deligianni, Katerina Clambaneva, Olcay Bayir, Pavlos Carvalho @ SOAS Concert Series, Mar 24 Bilja Kristic @ Union Chapel, Mar 27 Let Drum Beat @ Rich Mix
#AWorldinLondon #TheSoundofDiverseLondon #ConnectingCulturesThroughMusic – thirteen years. Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4 https://www.resonancefm.com/ & 4pm SOAS Radio https://soasradio.org/ Online worldwide at #Mixcloud. Join us on Twitter & Instagram @aworldinlondon @djritu1 http://www.djritu.com
