World Music with Deirdre Saravia

Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM

World Music with Deirdre Saravia takes you on a musical journey to some of the world’s most fascinating places.   From China to Brazil and the Balkans to Indonesia, World Music will introduce you to sounds from a world far from your own.  A world traveler herself, the Belfast, Northern Ireland native introduces each piece with details about the music, the musicians and the culture that produced them.

Saravia credits the work of performers like Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon for bringing world music to the attention of American audiences, but she has also seen a change in attitude in America towards foreigners.

Today foreigners feel more comfortable in celebrating their uniqueness, and as a result, there is a burgeoning interest in world music. "Not understanding the language is no longer a problem," says Saravia. "People enjoy the music for the beat, the instrumentation."

Though each World Music show is built around a central theme, it will rarely center on one type of music. Saravia strives for variety, though there will always be a connection between the songs she plays; music from as many as 15 countries can be represented in the same show.

"You come to learn that people are basically the same throughout the world," she says. "They sing about the same things."

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see Deirdre's World Music Picks, a closer look at some of the most notable world musicians.

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Playlist

December 22, 2012

8:07 PM
On Grafton Street
Artist : Frances Black
Album : Talk To Me
Label : Dara Records
8:12 PM
Medley
Artist : The Chieftains
Album : The Bells Of Dublin
Label : RCA Victor
8:21 PM
Here We Come A Wassailing
Artist : Kate Rusby
Album : A Family Christmas
Label : Putumayo
8:25 PM
Noite Para Festejar
Artist : Ivan Linns
Album : Around The World: Christmas
Label : National Geopgraphic
8:28 PM
Jardin d’Hiver
Artist : Keren Ann
Album : Paris
Label : Putumayo
8:28 PM
Jardin d’Hiver
Artist : Keren Ann
Album : Paris
Label : Putumayo
8:31 PM
Famille
Artist : Lokua Kanza
Album : Nkolo
Label : World Village
8:35 PM
Nieu Bethesda
Artist : Nibs Van der Spuy
Album : A House Across The River
Label : SheerGroup
8:38 PM
Praying
Artist : Beijing Angelic Choir
Album : Praying
Label : Wind Records
8:42 PM
Ukhismuz E-Africa
Artist : Brian Rodford
Album : African Christmas
Label : JPMC Records
8:46 PM
Duerme Negrito
Artist : Unknown
Album : Christmas From Around The World
Label : Mistletoe Music
8:49 PM
Salmou Ku Pekele
Artist : Boy Dap
Album : ABC Island Primer
Label : Network
9:07 PM
Knalle Juls Vals
Artist : Triakel
Album : Wintersongs
Label : Northside
9:10 PM
Walking In The Air
Artist : Phil Coulter
Album : Phil Coulter Christmas
Label : Shanachie
9:13 PM
O Cometido
Artist : Chouteira
Album : A Putumayo World Christmas
Label : Putumayo
9:17 PM
The Sun Shines Down (On A Christmas Day)
Artist : Niel Solomon/Ian Rathbone
Album : African Christmas
Label : EMI
9:21 PM
Los Peces
Artist : Lhasa
Album : La Llorona
Label : Atlantic
9:24 PM
Ave Maria
Artist : Soweto Gospel Choir
Album : Grace
Label : Shanachie
9:29 PM
El Burrito De Belen
Artist : Grupo Folklorico Navideno
Album : Around The World: Christmas
Label : National Geographic
9:33 PM
Misa Oaxaquena
Artist : Lila Downs
Album : Pecados Y Milagros
Label : Sony
9:36 PM
Venid Fieles Todos
Artist : Liuba Maria Hevia
Album : Christmas Around The World
Label : Putumayo
9:39 PM
Mele Kalikimaka
Artist : Debbie Davis & Matt Perrine
Album : A Family Christmas
Label : Putumayo
9:42 PM
Christmas In New Orleans
Artist : James Andrews
Album : New Orleans Christmas
Label : Putumayo
9:46 PM
The Christmas Blues
Artist : Topsy Chapman
Album : A Jazz and Blues Christmas
Label : Putumayo
9:51 PM
My My Time Flies
Artist : Enya
Album : And Winter Came
Label : Reprise Records

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World Music At SXSW
10:02 am
Tue March 26, 2013

Japan's Shugo Tokumaru Is In Control And 'In Focus'

For his latest album, "In Focus?," Shugo Tokumaru maintained complete control over the creative process and played all the instruments on the recorded disk. In order to perform live, however, he needed some help, and had his band to back him up.

While the band delivered the songs with energy, complete with the subtle textural nuances that give Shugo's songs a little something special, he was visibly focused on the other two musicians during their performance the afternoon of March 14.

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World Music At SXSW
12:44 pm
Mon March 25, 2013

Marianne Dissard's Latest, 'The Cat, Not Me,' A "Strange Album"

Marianne Dissard is an artist in every sense of the word.

She is a filmmaker, a poet, a singer, and not a single word or movement is wasted. When she plays live, all these elements combine on stage to deliver a story of depression, exhaustion, frustration, intrigue and joy.

The Tucson Music Factory showcase on March 12 at SXSW was the debut of her live collaboration with Budo, a Seattle-based producer and multi-instrumentalist who is known more for his work in Hip Hop circles than World Music.

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World Music (& Film) At SXSW
3:50 pm
Fri March 22, 2013

Award-Winning Documentary Takes A Punk Rock Look At Intellectual Disabilities

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka's Name Day), a punk band from Finland, is the subject of the documentary "The Punk Syndrome," which won the SXGlobal Audience Award at this year's SXSW Film Festival.

The documentary provides a sincere and honest look at the lives of the four band members, who are all adults living with varying degrees of mental intellectual disabilities.

The band is made up of Pertti Kurikka (guitar), Kari Aalito (vocals), Sami Helle (bass) and Toni Välitalo (drums).

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World Music At SXSW
11:21 am
Fri March 22, 2013

The Drifting, Laid-Back Sway Of Bordeaux's Alba Lua

Credit Chris Eudaily / TPR
Benoit (left) and Clement talk about life in Bordeaux and the difference between French and American men.

Clément, the lead singer of Paris-based French band Alba Lua, still calls Bordeaux his hometown and loves to talk about life in southwest France. Though they are proudly French, the name of the band is actually a mixture of Spanish and Portugese.

"Alba is the dawn (in Spanish), and Lua is the moon in Portugese... I like the association of the two words and sometimes you can see the moon in the daylight and it has always been beautiful to me."

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World Music At SXSW
3:25 pm
Thu March 21, 2013

The Meteoric One-Year Rise Of Iceland's Asgeir Trausti

Credit Chris Eudaily / TPR
Ásgeir Trausti has a bright future with his English language album a few months from release.

Iceland's Ásgeir Trausti has taken the music charts in his native country by storm since his debut album, "Dyrd I Daudathogn," came out in September of last year. The presale of his album broke records on Icelandicmusic.com, reached gold sales in six weeks and has since gone platinum.

While some of the musical backing in his songs may sound familiar, the vocal stylings in his native Icelandic make the vocal feel more like a participating instrument than a means to deliver the lyrics.

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World Music At SXSW
12:07 pm
Thu March 21, 2013

An Independent Musical Voice From Chile: Diego Peralta

Credit Chris Eudaily / TPR
Diego Peralta was in the U.S. for the first time at this year's SXSW.

With undisputable pop leanings and an ear for a sweet vocal melody, Diego Peralta is one of the leading independent voices on the Chilean music scene in his hometown of Valparaiso.

Diego was one of only a few musicians representing Chile at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW), and this was his first time in the United States.

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World Music At SXSW
11:08 am
Thu March 21, 2013

Lisa LeBlanc And Her French-Canadian "Folk Trash"

Credit Lisa Leblanc facebook photo
Lisa Leblanc is from Rosaireville, a town of 49 people in New Brunswick, Canada

Lisa LeBlanc's musical idols are from the world of classic rock and metal. They're big rock stars with charisma, many of them men. Her approach to folk music is bold and confrontational, a style that she has deemed "folk trash."

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World Music Pick
1:57 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Bajofondo: South American Landscapes

Credit Sony Masterworks

Bajofondo started as a loose collective of musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, but over time formed a solid core of players that have since become a cohesive band. Their latest release, "Presente," consists of twenty one tracks and has a massive sound.

For this CD the group augmented their sound with an enormous orchestral section, giving each of their songs a full and well-rounded sound.

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SXSW Music Festival
1:36 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Look & Listen: World Music At SXSW 2013

With so many music groups in Austin for SXSW it is easy for any of them to get drowned out by all the noise, but luckily for World Music artists, their foreign musical stylings give them a uniqueness that audiences tend to stop and pay attention to.

The language barrier doesn't seem to matter

Many world groups sing in English in order to tap into the English-speaking market, but there is still a healthy demand for music sung in foreign languages.

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World Music
1:47 pm
Fri March 15, 2013

World Music Celebrations: St. Patrick's Day

Credit Wikimedia Commons

Each week on World Music (Saturday nights from 8-10 on KSTX 89.1 FM), I take a look at celebrations happening around the world. This weekend, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated not just in Ireland, but now around the world. 

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