You Gotta Have Faith: Teofilo Chantre and "Nha Fe"

We go back to Cape Verde for today's random song by Teofilo Chantre. Known for his long association with Cape Verdean music legend Cesaria Evora, for whom he composed many songs, as well as other musicians, he has since found his own popularity and following. Working from a base of Cape Verdean music, mornas, and caladera, he also draws on his love of Brazilian and Cuban music such as bossa nova and charanga, as well as bolero, blues and jazz. He uses traditional instrumentation such as guitar, cavaquinho, violin and piano and sings in Portuguese, Creole and French. This song, Nha Fe, can found on the 1999 compilation Putumayo Presents: Cape Verde, and on his 2011 album Di Alma. The lyrics translated are a song of faith:

Make me feel

Your sweetness

Sing a song

My way

Fulfilll your dream

And mine

No longer be afraid

Of the world's mouth

Love your love

Swim in your

Own Happiness

Each day

Getting bigger

Until your light

Spreads

Throughout the world

Until your light

Spreads

Throughout the world

Taken from http://lyricstranslate.com/en/nha-fe-my-faith.html#ixzz3fCuT0a8t

Back and Forth: Lurdez da Luz and "Ping Pong"

The random song for today is by Brazilian rapper, singer and hip hop artist Lurdez da Luz. She is a member of the Mamelo Sound System who began her solo career in 2009. Her video for I Walked was nominated for best Brazilian music video in 2011. This song, Ping Pong, was released as a single in 2013 and can be found on the compilation album Rolê: New Sounds of Brazil (2014).

Blind Blues: Amadou & Mariam with "Coulibaly"

The random tune for today is by blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. Vocalist Mariam Doumbia lost her sight at age 5 due to untreated measles, while guitarist and vocalist Amadou Bagayoko lost his sight at age 15. They met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind and discovered that they had similar interests in music. Their music has developed from early sparse recordings consisting of guitar and vocals to a mix of traditional Malian sounds combined with rock guitars, Syrian violins, Cuban trumpets, Egyptian ney, Indian tablas and Dogon percussion. This style has been dubbed "Afro-blues." This song, Coulibaly, appears on their 2005 CD Dimanche à Bamako (Sunday in Bamako), which was produced by world and Latin music star Manu Chao.

The Cup of Life: Richard Souther and "The Chalice (O Vas Nobile)"

The beautiful sound for today's random tune is from Richard Souther with help from vocalists Emily van Evera and Sr. Germaine Fritz, OSB. Richard Souther is a composer, producer, arranger, sound designer and multi-keyboardist working in the areas of New Age, smooth jazz and contemporary Christian music. A child prodigy who studied piano from the age of three, he eventually became an in-demand session musician until his career was almost derailed by a near-fatal bout of botulism. During his four year recovery, he began to delve into electronic music. In 1994, he recorded his groundbreaking album Vision: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen with van Evera and Fritz. Von Bingen was a German 12th century writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath who created one of the largest repertoires of any mediaeval composer and who stretched the boundaries of traditional monastic chant. Her music frequently had themes centering around the Virgin Mary, the heavenly in earthly life, and a desire to know the divine. This song, The Chalice (O Vas Nobile), can be found on Souther's 1994 album Vision: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen.

Pop Legend: Sezen Aksu and "İstanbul Hatırası"

The random song of the day is from a Turkish legend. Sezen Aksu is a pop singer who has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. She has been a tremendous influence on Turkish pop and on world music in general. She has also been a patron and collaborator of many other famous Turkish musicians, and has also collaborated with Tarkan and Goran Bregović, which further broadened her worldwide appeal. Aksu is largely credited, along with her close friend Ajda Pekkan, with laying the groundwork for Turkish pop in the 1970s, as well as spreading the popularity of Turkish music across Greece and the Balkans. She has also been an outspoken champion of rights and reforms in Turkey. She is considered a gay icon by the Turkish LGBT community and often has a rainbow flag onstage during her performances. This song, İstanbul Hatırası, can be found on the soundtrack to the film Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. The video is from the movie.

Anything but Plebian: The Pleb with "One for Senegal"

Our random tune comes from Italy by way of Africa. The Pleb is one of the performing names of Moreno Visini (He is also known as DJ Zeb). From Northern Italy, he left home at age 14 and ended up in London, where he learned electronic programming and sequencing, and where he was heavily influenced by Asian and Arabic music. In the mid 1980s, he was invited to join the American alt-rock band The Indians, but after they disbanded in 1994, he went back to experimentation with electronica and world music. This song, One for Senegal was inspired by the song Amadou Tilo by Senegalese band Touré Kunda in honor of a fallen brother who had died of a heart attack on stage in 1983. Visini heard it late one night in his apartment and was transfixed. He sampled the song, a mostly a capella, rootsy style of track, and put a funky Afrobeat drum rhythm and guitar riffs under it. The surviving members of the band have greatly admired Visini's interpretation of their song. You can find One for Senegal on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: African Groove (2003).

Not Your Ordinary Ice Cream: Buckwheat Zydeco and "Tutti Frutti"

Today's tune is by Buckwheat Zydeco, a zydeco riff on an old rock standard, Tutti Frutti. Buckwheat Zydeco is the stage name of Stanley Dural, Jr. He got the name "Buckwheat" from his childhood resemblance to a character on the Our Gang film shorts. Dural's father was an accomplished Creole accordionist, but Dural preferred rhythm and blues, and actually started out backing artists such as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Joe Tex. He started his own funk band in the early 70s with some success, but then began backing zydeco legend Clifton Chenier as an organist and discovered the popularity of zydeco. His relationship to Chenier led him to take up the accordion, and after a year he felt confident enough to start Buckwheat Zydeco in 1978. Buckwheat Zydeco has opened for and collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, and it is one of the few zydeco bands to achieve mainstream success. Tutti Frutti is on his 1992 album Turning Point.