It's Island Night on Global Ginga!

There is an "island" element in today's episode that I hope will leave you mesmerized.  To our local listeners, the best part is that you can watch these artists live here on our Stanford campus!  

Small Island Big Song is a music, film, live project featuring over a hundred musicians across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, creating a contemporary and relevant musical statement of a region in the frontline of cultural and environmental challenges. 

The album & film were composed, recorded, shot and overdubbed in nature, on the artists' custodial land.

The 2022 tour shares their new album "Our Island!"

Drawing on a roster of respected first nation islander artists, the concert features musicians performing irresistible oceanic grooves to soulful island ballads. Combining music, spoken word and live cinema with AV projections featuring footage collected during a 3-year film trip across 16 countries guided by the artists on their homelands. They will be here on Feb 9th!

Nella is a new voice hailing from the island of Margarita in Venezuela.

She graduated from Berklee College of Music to immediately become the  winner of the 2019 Latin GRAMMY® Award for Best New Artist. That same year, her full-length debut, Voy (I Go) written and produced by Javier Limón for Casa Limón Records, received acclaim from NPR and yielded the hit “Me Llaman Nella” (They Call Me Nella) which surpassed 1.4 million Spotify streams and 1.4 million views on YouTube. In addition, the title track was named the 14th best song of 2019, in any genre, by the New York Times. Nella’s music is a meeting place for the folklore roots of her native Venezuela, contemporary influences, and the music of Andalusia, Spain.

At the beginning of 2020 Nella signed with Sony Music Records and released her new album “Doce Margaritas” on 2021 which you can hear on today's episode of Global Ginga.

You will also hear "Me Llaman Nella," her signature hit, "Volaré," her 2022 release with Pedro Capo, plus a couple of songs more from her Voce Margaritas album and the single, Mi Guitarra, a sweet bolero with Juan Luis Guerra.

I finish off with an album by World renowned BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson, Gilles Peterson, on Far Out Recordings, released initially on vinyl in 2009.  A bit of jazz, funk, soul and electronic. World renowned BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson compiles a spectacular collage mix tape from the vaults of Far Out Recordings for this fifteenth anniversary celebration. A close friend to Joe Davis for 25 years, Gilles Peterson has been a constant supporter of the original and best UK based Brazilian record label. The pair released the original ‘Brazilika’ compilation on Gilles’ Talking Loud label 15 years ago and now go full circle with the fourth installment in Far Out’s series following block party mixes from Kenny Dope, 4 Hero and Andy Votel. Brazilian music aficionados Peterson and Davis introduced a new generation to the cream of Brazil’s bossa and post-bossa artists and here expertly blend the timeless with the new breed from Far Out’s vast catalogue. Gilles Peterson’s ‘Brazilika’ includes five exclusive unreleased tracks and is the definitive collection of Far Out’s work, taking us on a breathless ride through a beautiful and barmy Brazil.

Stretch the circle wider!  There are many music genres and artists coming to Stanford from all corners of the world!