WELCOME

Editor-in-chief Simon Broughton Publisher & Managing Director Paul Geoghegan Editor Russ Slater Johnson Assistant Editor Emma Rycroft Art Director Juliet Boucher Sub Editor & Online Content Writer Spencer Grady Advertisement Manager James Anderson-Hanney Online Content Editor James McCarthy Reviews Editor Alexandra Petropoulos Listings Editor Tatiana Rucinska Marketing Manager John Barnett Marketing Assistant Oscar Faulkner Cover Image Pooneh Ghana Contributing Editors Jane Cornwell, Mark Ellingham & Nigel Williamson Subscriptions Director Sally Boettcher Editorial Director Martin Cullingford CEO Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen SUBSCRIPTIONS UK: 0800 137 201 Overseas: +44 (0)1722 716997 subscriptions@markallengroup.com ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7501 6683

Home sweet home?

EXILE. It wasn’t the intention, but this issue has undoubtedly taken exile as its motif. For the musicians of Dur-Dur Band Int., exile is the genesis of their collective story. The band’s members were at the heart of a thriving music scene in Somalia in the 70s and 80s, until civil war dispersed them across Europe. Reunited, the album they’ve made together is incredibly the first studio album of Somalian music for three decades. That is only part of what they want to achieve though, Abdinoor Allale tells us that the plan is to return “and bring live music back to the scene,” with one big caveat: “until the country’s safe, it is diffi cult to do anything.” The Tashi Lhunpo monks are also in exile, part of a wave of Tibetans who fled to India from 1959 onwards. Their outlook sits differently to the Somalians; there is a sense that the monks may never return to Tibet but have been able to create a new spiritual home that, for our Simon Broughton, shows ‘a lightness of being and optimism in the here and now .’ For our cover star, Pakistan-born Arooj A‡ab, exile takes on a less obvious form. Her new album, Love in Exile, sees her team up with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily, two other USA-based musicians whose ethnic roots lie elsewhere. She says that their album together “points to our three journeys as immigrants, or as people who have had homes in multiple different places and have inherited many heritages.”

For them the question of ‘exile’ takes on an altogether different connotation. “Is it an exile that was forced? Is it self-exile? How do you find identi˜?”

Reading these stories at the same time as seeing news flashes about the UK government’s illegal immigration bill has been galling, to say the least. This bill will deny refugee status to those who are willing to risk their lives in seeking exile. For the sake of so many people whose lives have been ( or will be) turned upside down by circumstances outside of their control, I hope that our politicians take more responsibili˜ for an international landscape in which they are implicitly involved.

EVOLUTION. In the last issue I spoke about the evolution of both myself and music. There is one other evolution we should be talking about, and that’s the evolution of this here magazine. Since I took over as editor I’ve been looking to freshen things up, with new features and design changes (and there’s more to come). Hopefully you’ve liked what you’ve seen so far. If you have any ideas for what we can do to improve the magazine please complete our new readership survey at songlines. co.uk or feel free to send me an email (russ@ songlines.co.uk) with your suggestions or thoughts. We’re all in this together, right!

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE

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Songlines is published by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Rd, London, SE24 0PB, UK +44 (0)20 7738 5454 info@songlines.co.uk www.songlines.co.uk

© MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2023. All rights reserved. No part of Songlines may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publishing director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor or Songlines advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised. Please read our privacy policy, by visiting privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data. ISSN 1464-8113. Printed by: Pensord Press Ltd, Blackwood, NP12 2A Record trade distribution Songlines 020 7738 5454 Newstrade distribution Marketforce 020 3787 9101

Kevin Bourke Kevin has enjoyed nearly fi‡y years of adventures in music, film and theatre as a writer, broadcaster and presenter. This

issue he speaks to Catriona Price (p16) about her Orkney-inspired latest album.

Anita Bhadani Anita is a Glasgow-based freelance writer

and journalist, interested in the arts, culture and politics. For her Songlines debut she has chosen 10 of her Raga

Fusion favourites (p82).

Gonçalo Frota Gonçalo is a Lisbon-based music journalist, who writes for Público. An expert on all things fado, he was the perfect candidate to speak to the genre’s

latest star, Duarte (p19).

Songlines was launched in 1999 and is the definitive magazine for world music – music that has its roots in all parts of the globe, from Mali to Mexico, India to Iraq. Whether this music is defined as traditional, contemporary, folk or fusion, Songlines is the only magazine to truly represent and embrace it. However, Songlines is not just about music, but about how the music fits into the landscape; it’s about politics, history and identi˜. Delivered in both print and digital formats, Songlines, through its extensive articles and reviews, is your essential and independent guide to a world of music and culture, whether you are starting on your journey of discovery or are already a seasoned fan.

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M Y 2023 › SONGLINES 03