Magic on 21 Strings: Ashwin Batish and "Sitar Magic"

Ashwin Batish, an accomplished sitar and tabla player, brings us today's random tune. Originally from Mumbai, India Batish is the son of composer and Bollywood playback singer Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. Ashwin Batish was a child prodigy who started playing music on the dholak drum, then the tabla at age 10, but he fell in love with the sitar at age 12. He began to learn sitar through lessons taught by his mother and by listening to Ravi Shankar albums. He also learned some guitar and enjoyed playing Western music by The Beatles, Pat Boone, Cliff Richard and others of the 60s era. After joining his father in England, he began to learn North Indian classical music and composition. His training was rigorous, but Ashwin realized he had to study diligently because he found himself uncomfortable playing in front of audiences. Batish moved to the US in 1973 with his father, and played music with him at their family restaurant. In 1986, he released his debut album called Sitar Power #1. A sitar fueled fusion of Indian and Western rock music, it brought him much attention and a recording contract. He currently runs his own record label that focuses on publishing all of his family's music, and he teaches music in Santa Cruz, California at his Batish Institute of Music and Fine Arts. This song, Sitar Magic, can be found on his 1986 release Sitar Power #1.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwin_Batish

Ganesh Is Fresh: MC Yogi and "Elephant Power"

Our random tune for today is by MC Yogi, the stage name of Nicholas Giacomino, a yogi (yoga practitioner) and instructor who is based out of Point Reyes, California. As a hip-hop artist, MC Yogi focuses his music around the tenets, philosophy and spirituality of Hinduism. His songs are often bhajans, or devotional songs, celebrating one or another of the Hindu deities. At other times, he provides interesting history lessons on the lives of important historical figures within Hinduism, such as Gandhi. At times, even when he is doing nothing but beatboxing, his songs can sound like mantras or prayers. Currently, MC Yogi has two released albums, Elephant Power (2008) and Pilgrimage (2012) and there is also a remix album called Elephant Powered Remixes (2010). This song, Elephant Power, is off of his first album of the same name, and provides some insight into the Hindu god Ganesh. The song features Bhagavan Das, a bhakti yogi who is also a singer and teacher and who was the guide for Ram Dass in his spiritual journey in India.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Yogi

Shredding the Sitar: Ashwin Batish and "Sitharmony"

Today's random global tune is by Ashwin Batish, an accomplished sitar and tabla player. Originally from Mumbai, India Batish is the son of composer and Bollywood playback singer Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. Ashwin Batish was a child prodigy who started playing music on the dholak drum, then the tabla at age 10, but he fell in love with the sitar at age 12. He began to learn sitar through lessons taught by his mother and by listening to Ravi Shankar albums. He also learned some guitar and enjoyed playing Western music by The Beatles, Pat Boone, Cliff Richard and others of the 60s era. After joining his father in England, he began to learn North Indian classical music and composition. His training was rigorous, but Ashwin realized he had to study diligently because he found himself uncomfortable playing in front of audiences. Batish moved to the US in 1973 with his father, and played music with him at their family restaurant. In 1986, he released his debut album called Sitar Power #1. A sitar fueled fusion of Indian and Western rock music, it brought him much attention and a recording contract. He currently runs his own record label that focuses on publishing all of his family's music, and he teaches music in Santa Cruz, California at his Batish Institute of Music and Fine Arts. This song, Sitharmony, can be found on his 1986 release Sitar Power #1.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwin_Batish

Start of the Work Week: Gaelic Storm and "Hello Monday"

Today's random song is called Hello Monday by Gaelic Storm. Gaelic Storm is an American Irish band formed in 1997 in Santa Monica, California. They play traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as original music in the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Gaelic Storm got a huge break in 1997 when they were cast as the steerage band in the blockbuster movie Titanic. They have burnished their resume by touring aggressively and adding new instrumentation to their ensemble, such as Uileann, Highland and Deger (electronic) bagpipes. Hello Monday can be found on their 2006 album Bring Yer Wellies

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Storm

Not Sharing You: Mystic Roots and "One for Me"

The random song for today is a reggae number by Mystic Roots, a Chico, California born band that is now based in San Diego. Mystic Roots embraces roots reggae with a feel that brings up echoes of No Doubt, Sublime, The Police, Sean Paul, The Fugees and Cypress Hill with a spirit and consciousness of Bob Marley or Spearhead. This song, One for Me, can be found on the CD compilation Island Roots 3 (2002).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: http://mysticroots.com/

Whole Lotta Love: Los Rakas and "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero"

Born in the youth centers of Oakland, California in 2006, our performers today are Los Rakas, a pair of cousins of Panamanian descent that perform in both English and Spanish and, even better, teach Spanish through their music. National Geographic said that their music is bringing reggaeton back to its Panamanian roots, while the New York Observer wrote that Los Rakas is changing how we think of hip hop - two genres that show how broad Los Rakas' repertoire is. Bringing the pride of the pueblo forth in their music, the band uses "raka" as their name, where a raka is a person who is proud of who he or she is. This song, Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero, can be found on their 2009 album PanaBay Twist 2: La Tanda Del Bus.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://losrakas.com/

They Might Be Hangry: The Wicked Tinkers and "The Rant"

This song, The Rant, is by the Wicked Tinkers, an American Celtic group formed in 1995 at the Celtic Arts Center in Los Angeles. They appear to often incorporate a didgeridoo into their Celtic music. They have appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (Ferguson accompanied them on drum during that performance) and on the show Arrested Development. In addition, MMA fighter Keith Jardine has used one of their songs as his entrance music. They have released nine studio albums. The Rant can be found on their 2007 album Rant.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Tinkers

Don't Jump on the Bed: Asheba and "No More Monkeys"

We have fun little song today, but don't jump on the bed to it! No More Monkeys is performed by Asheba, a musician who according to his website, strives "to encourage hope and happiness in children of all ages, abilities and background." Originally from Trinidad and now based in Oakland, California, he tells stories of hope and happiness through his music which is inspired by the musical and folkloric tradition of his homeland's calypso. He performs original lullabies as well as uptempo remakes of classic children's songs such as Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You can find No More Monkeys on his 2004 CD of the same name, and on the 2015 Putumayo various artists release Animal Playground.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Shredding Sitar: Ashwin Batish and "Sitharmony"

Today's random global is by Ashwin Batish, an accomplished sitar and tabla player. Originally from Mumbai, India Batish is the son of composer and Bollywood playback singer Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. Ashwin Batish was a child prodigy who started playing music on the dholak drum, then the tabla at age 10, but he fell in love with the sitar at age 12. He began to learn sitar through lessons taught by his mother and by listening to Ravi Shankar albums. He also learned some guitar and enjoyed playing Western music by The Beatles, Pat Boone, Cliff Richard and others of the 60s era. After joining his father in England, he began to learn North Indian classical music and composition. His training was rigorous, but Ashwin realized he had to study diligently because he found himself uncomfortable playing in front of audiences. Batish moved to the US in 1973 with his father, and played music with him at their family restaurant. In 1986, he released his debut album called Sitar Power #1. A sitar fueled fusion of Indian and Western rock music, it brought him much attention and a recording contract. He currently runs his own record label that focuses on publishing all of his family's music, and he teaches music in Santa Cruz, California at his Batish Institute of Music and Fine Arts. This song, Sitharmony, can be found on his 1986 release Sitar Power #1.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Worse than the Vandals and Vikings Combined: Gaelic Storm and "Girls' Night in Galway"

Gaelic Storm performs today's random song called Girls' Night in Galway. Gaelic Storm is an American Irish band formed in 1997 in Santa Monica, California. They play traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as original music in the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Gaelic Storm got a huge break in 1997 when they were cast as the steerage band in the blockbuster movie Titanic. They have burnished their resume by touring aggressively and adding new instrumentation to their ensemble, such as Uileann, Highland and Deger (electronic) bagpipes. Girls' Night in Galway can be found on their 2015 album Matching Sweaters. The song is a warning to those who would be out on the town in Galway when the girls are out and about.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Appeasing the Spirits: Mariana Sadovska with Kitka and "Lamentation"

Our random tune for today is a beautiful lament by Mariana Sadovska and Kitka. Mariana Sadovska is a Germany-based Ukrainian actress, singer, musician, composer and recording artist. Emerging from the theater world in Lviv, Ukraine, Sadovska worked in theater and theater production and led ethnomusicology trips and arranged cultural exchanges with numerous countries. She moved to New York in 2001 to be a music director with theater company La Mama. During this time she also began working on her own solo performances. She released her first solo CD in 2001. Kitka is a California-based group of all female singers that focuses on Eastern European women's vocal traditions. Their name means "bouquet" in Bulgarian and Macedonian. Begun in 1979, they have contributed to major motion pictures such as Braveheart, Jacob's Ladder and Queen of the Damned and have appeared on many national radio shows around the world. This song, Lamentation, can be found on the 2007 album The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between the Worlds, a vocal theater project and collaboration between Kitka and Sadovska that addressed the horror of the Chernobyl accident. The Rusalki are spirits of women who have died untimely or unjust deaths that reside uneasily in the earth. The project's theme is a summoning of these spirits to appease them and ask for their mediation between living humans and their environment.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

You Could Put an Eye Out: Gaelic Storm and "Slingshot"

Performed by Gaelic Storm, today's random song is a medley of tunes called Slingshot. Gaelic Storm. Gaelic Storm is an American Irish band formed in 1997 in Santa Monica, California. They play traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as original music in the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Gaelic Storm got a huge break in 1997 when they were cast as the steerage band in the blockbuster movie Titanic. They have burnished their resume by touring aggressively and adding new instrumentation to their ensemble, such as Uileann, Highland and Deger (electronic) bagpipes. Slingshot can be found on their 2006 album Bring Yer Wellies.

Right to the Moon, Alice: Gaelic Storm and "Me and the Moon"

Me and the Moon is our song for today, performed by Gaelic Storm. Gaelic Storm. Gaelic Storm is an American Irish band formed in 1997 in Santa Monica, California. They play traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as original music in the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Gaelic Storm got a huge break in 1997 when they were cast as the steerage band in the blockbuster movie Titanic. They have burnished their resume by touring aggressively and adding new instrumentation to their ensemble, such as Uileann, Highland and Deger (electronic) bagpipes. Me and the Moon can be found on their 2006 album Bring Yer Wellies.

Now More Than Ever: Mariana Sadovska and Kitka with "To the Lake"

The haunting random tune for today is by Mariana Sadovska and Kitka. Mariana Sadovska is a Germany-based Ukrainian actress, singer, musician, composer and recording artist. Emerging from the theater world in Lviv, Ukraine, Sadovska worked in theater and theater production and led ethnomusicology trips and arranged cultural exchanges with numerous countries. She moved to New York in 2001 to be a music director with theater company La Mama. During this time she also began working on her own solo performances. She released her first solo CD in 2001. Kitka is a California-based group of all female singers that focuses on Eastern European women's vocal traditions. Their name means "bouquet" in Bulgarian and Macedonian. Begun in 1979, they have contributed to major motion pictures such as Braveheart, Jacob's Ladder and Queen of the Damned and have appeared on many national radio shows around the world. This song, To the Lake, can be found on the 2007 album The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between the Worlds, a vocal theater project and collaboration between Kitka and Sadovska that addressed the horror of the Chernobyl accident. The Rusalki are spirits of women who have died untimely or unjust deaths that reside uneasily in the earth. The project's theme is a summoning of these spirits to appease them and ask for their mediation between living humans and their environment.

A Big Wet One: Gaelic Storm and "Kiss Me, I'm Irish"

A repeater song for today by Gaelic Storm, an American Irish band formed in 1997 in Santa Monica, California. They play traditional Irish and Scottish music, as well as original music in the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Gaelic Storm got a huge break in 1997 when they were cast as the steerage band in the blockbuster movie Titanic. They have burnished their resume by touring aggressively and adding new instrumentation to their ensemble, such as Uileann, Highland and Deger (electronic) bagpipes. This song, Kiss Me, I'm Irish, can be found on their 2006 album Bring Your Wellies.