Bibliolore

by rilm | June 18, 2025 · 6:00 am

Francis Bebey globalizes African music

The Cameroonian composer, writer, sculptor, and musicologist Francis Bebey was widely recognized as one of Africa’s foremost songwriters. His talent, however, reached far beyond music. Bebey earned a B.S. in mathematics from a college in Douala and later pursued further education at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was deeply influenced by classical guitarist Andrés Segovia. He studied broadcasting at the Studio-école de la Radiodiffusion Outre-Mer in Paris and at New York University. Although known mostly for his literary work, Bebey was also an accomplished classical guitarist and composer. His musical journey began in his youth with a band in Cameroon, where he composed original music noted for its poetic lyrics and emotive vocal delivery. By 1967, he had recorded several pieces and performed in major cultural hubs, including New York City, Paris, and across Africa. His style was notably experimental, blending elements of Latin American, Western, and African musical traditions with rolling synthesizer patterns looped over drum machines. Among his most acclaimed recordings are Akwaaba (1985), Amaya (1987), and Dibiye (1998).

Francis Bebey toured extensively across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Africa, offering solo recitals and lecture concerts. His repertoire was a blend of African folk songs and original compositions, often rooted in traditional African musical elements. Among his most acclaimed works are The Ashanti doll is sleeping (1967), Black tears (1963)–a wordless poem dedicated to the participants of the March on Washington, D.C.–The Poet’s virile prayer (1973), which features text by Aimé Césaire, and Concert for an old mask (1965).

La Condition Masculine

Bebey and his son, Patrick, perform Esok am and Mon secret.

Francis Bebey was also a distinguished literary figure, leaving behind a diverse body of work that includes poetry, short stories, novels, and essays. His first novel, Le fils d’Agatha Moudio (Agatha Moudio’s son, 1971), published in 1967, was widely acclaimed as a masterful work of burlesque and was awarded the Grand Prix Littéraire de l’Afrique Noire. In 1968, he released Embarras et cie: Nouvelles et poèmes, a collection of nine short stories, each paired with a poem. Bebey noted that his extensive experience as a radio broadcaster significantly shaped his storytelling style, which he wrote with listeners, rather than readers, in mind. His later literary works include La poupée Ashanti (1973, The Ashanti doll) and Le roi Albert d’Effidi (1973). Bebey also contributed a book on broadcasting in Africa and two important texts on African music, most notably Musique de l’Afrique (1969). By 1972, he had joined UNESCO in Paris as the head of the music department, where he continued to champion African music traditions–traveling extensively, primarily in Africa, studying, recording, and filming musicians across the continent. In a 1982 interview, Bebey explained, “What I’m aiming to do is to use Western technology to invigorate African music and spread its message internationally.”

This according to the entry on Francis Bebey by Eileen Southern in the Biographical dictionary of Afro-American and African musicians (1982). Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

Bebey’s book *Musique de l’Afrique* was published in 1969.

Montréal’s rich musical and intellectual life

As the capital of Québec, Montréal is home to around 40% of the province’s population—approximately 2 million people, as of 2021. The city was originally settled by the Iroquois along the Saint Lawrence River before being established as Ville-Marie in 1642 by Catholic missionaries. Nearly a century earlier, in 1535, Jacques Cartier documented his visit to the Indigenous village of Hochelaga, a thriving community of around 1,500 inhabitants at the foot of Mount Royal. However, by the time the missionaries arrived, no trace of Hochelaga remained. Montréal’s location, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Outaouais Rivers in southwestern Québec, was ideal for settlement due to its access to natural resources.

Aerial view of Montréal in 1930. Photo courtesy of Archives de la Ville de Montréal.

Montréal’s Jacques Cartier Square, circa 1900. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Cartier Square today. Photo credit: Taylor McIntyre

By the late 18th century, Montréal’s cultural landscape had begun to flourish with the construction of theaters, organized tours, and a growing concert-going audience. In 1789, composer and poet Joseph Quesnel, along with painter Louis Dulongpré, established the Théâtre de Société, where Quesnel premiered Colas et Colinette, recognized as the first Canadian opera, in 1790. The city’s theatrical development continued in 1825 with the opening of the Théâtre Royal, located on the site of today’s Marché Bonsecours, which attracted talented singers from Europe and the United States.

Since the 19th century, Montréal’s vibrant musical scene has thrived through clubs and organizations dedicated to enriching public performances. The Ladies’ Morning Musical Club, established in 1892, welcomed legendary performers such as Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould, Isaac Stern, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and Pierrette Alarie. In 1919, Elizabeth Griswold Waycott founded the Delphic Study Club, which hosted an annual music week from 1923 to 1937, featuring free concerts in theaters, shops, schools, churches, and other public spaces. Another significant contribution came in 1948 with the founding of Société Pro Musica by Gertrude Constant Gendreau, known for its diverse programming of local and international musicians.

Ernest Lavigne and his Orchestra, Sohmer Park, Montreal.

Beginning in 1979, the Prix Gertrude Gendreau has recognized outstanding Montréal students, while several major music institutions have made the city their home–including Youth and Music Canada (since 1949), the Canadian Music Center’s Quebec branch (since 1973), the Quebec Music Council (since 1987), and the World Musicians’ Centre (since 2017). From 1965 to 1980, the Montréal International Music Competition awarded a special prize for the best interpretation of a compulsory piece composed by a Canadian artist.

The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (Quebec National Library and Archives) in Montréal.

Montréal has hosted major international events, including the 1967 World’s Fair (Expo 67) and the 1976 Summer Olympics, further cementing its reputation as a global cultural hub. Today, the city is home to four universities and numerous research centers, as well as key institutions like the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (Quebec National Library and Archives) and the Radio-Canada Museum. Montreal’s rich arts scene includes a network of cultural centers, theaters, event spaces, and museums. The city also boasts two symphony orchestras and a prestigious opera house, reinforcing its status as a thriving center for artistic and intellectual life.

This according to MGG Online’s featured article of the month by Ariane Couture, entitled Montréal.

The Chilean guitarrón

The guitarrón, an instrument of central Chile, is known as one of the most complex stringed instruments in the Americas due to its unique string arrangement and quantity. Shaped like a guitar, the guitarrón features a total of 25 strings–21 arranged in five courses, with an additional four strings positioned along the sides. The guitarrón is customarily used to accompany sung poetry in décimas, a Spanish stanza form consisting of ten lines.

The cover of Hugo Arévalo’s album *El guitarrón y el canto a lo pueta* (1970).

In performance, the guitarrón is held similarly to a guitar, with the left hand muting the strings along the neck and the right hand plucking them over the body. The instrument’s position can vary from horizontal to vertical, depending on the musician’s preference and their proximity to other performers. Guitarrón players, known as guitarroneros, are often also proficient guitarists, capable of executing a wide range of strumming techniques–though these are never applied to the guitarrón. Instead, the instrument is played exclusively with plucking techniques. Occasionally, one or two notes are struck rapidly with the index finger as an ornamental flourish, but traditional guitar strumming is avoided. When guitarrón repertoire is performed on guitar, musicians typically imitate the plucked pizzicato style.

The history of the Chilean guitarrón remains largely unclear. Its origins can be traced back to the Spanish guitar, rather than the more refined vihuela favored by the urban elite. The guitarrón shares the general body shape and structural features of the guitar, though with certain variations. Its development mirrors the evolution of the Spanish guitar introduced to the Americas from the 16th century onward. Early guitars of that period typically had four strings, arranged in single or double courses. By the late 16th century, the five-course guitar emerged and remained prevalent in rural regions, even after the seven-course guitar gained popularity in urban centers toward the end of the 18th century. Interestingly, the modern six-string guitar is sometimes still used as a five-course instrument, either by loosening the sixth string or tuning it in unison with the fifth.

This according to DEUMM Online’s featured article of the month by José Pérez de Arce, entitled Chilean guitarrón.

Hugo Arévalo performs on the guitarrón below. The video after it, featuring Santos Rubio on guitarrón, was made by Daniel Sheehy, the ethnomusicologist and future director and curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, in 1973 during his fieldwork in Chile.

Selena shines in music, fashion, and design

Although Selena Quintanilla Pérez, better known as Selena, followed in the footsteps of pioneering Tejana (Texas-Mexican) women solo singers such as Lydia Mendoza, Chelo Silva, Laura Canales, and Patsy Torres—as well as influential duos like Carmen y Laura, Las Hermanas Cantú, and Las Hermanas Gongora—she made the most significant impact in transforming both the sound of Tejano music and popular culture. Selena began singing at the age of 6, after her father, Abraham, recognized her remarkable vocal talent. Although she loved singing, performing did not come naturally to Selena. As she recalled in an interview, “I started singing when I was six and a half and we’d perform for relatives. My father would do this show-off-the-kids type of thing. I was very shy, and I hated it. I used to cry and throw my little tantrums. I didn’t want to sing in front of anybody because I was too shy.”

Selena tribute mural in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.

A former member of the doo-wop band Los Dinos, Abraham served as the family’s primary musical influence and quickly involved Selena’s older siblings in her musical journey. Her brother, A.B., became the lead guitarist and producer of much of her music, while her sister, Suzette, stood out as the only prominent female drummer in contemporary Tejano music. Originally, the group performed under the name Southern Pearl and was deeply influenced by country music. Selena’s early performances took place in the family’s restaurant, Papagallo’s, where she regularly sang for customers, and one of her first live performances on television was on the local program The Johnny Canales show in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Although Selena’s performances at local venues launched her career as a vocalist, she faced significant challenges finding audiences in larger venues. As she explained in an interview, “When we started performing . . . we struggled because when you’re a new group, no one’s going go pay money to see you, especially if you’re not with a large recording company, if you don’t have distribution, or publicity, or any promotion. You’re just there. It’s very difficult. Another problem was that I was so young and a girl. And, with a lot of promoters–and it still exists, although not as much as before–there’s the issue of machismo. They would tell my father straight to his face, ‘Not only is she too young, but there’s no way she could draw like a male artist.’ And, with that my father, the more the people shut doors on him, the more determined he becomes to prove them wrong.” By 1994, estimates of Selena’s net worth exceeded $5 million, yet she continued to live in the working class Molina neighborhood of Corpus Christi, next door to her parents.

A 1994 performance in San Antonio, Texas. Photo credit: Yvette Chavez.

One of Selena’s greatest accomplishments was the remarkable success she achieved within the Tejano music genre. Not only did she open the door for a new generation of young women to enter the field, but she also expanded the reach of Tejano music to audiences it had never previously reached. While established Tejano groups like La Mafia and Mazz had built followings in northern Mexico and Mexico City, Selena y Los Dinos brought this distinct cultural sound to Puerto Rico, Central America, and across Mexico. At the time of her death, the group had scheduled tours in Chile, Brazil, and Venezuela. Unlike any Tejano artist before her, Selena both transformed the genre and brought its regional identity to a wider international stage.

Selena’s remarkable creative talents also extended into the realms of fashion and design. From a young age, she devoted herself to clothing design, often creating and sewing many of the outfits she wore during her concerts. Early sketches and drawings reveal her ambition to launch her own fashion line, which she initially named Moonchild–a reference to the Greek origin of her name. In 1992, Selena realized that dream by launching her own clothing line and opening the first Selena Etc. Boutique-Salon in Corpus Christi, Texas. She later expanded with a second boutique in San Antonio.

This according to the entry on Selena by Deborah Vargas in Latin music: Musicians, genres, and themes (2014). Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

Below, Selena performs Fotos y recuerdos in 1994, a reworked version of The Pretenders song Back on the chain gang.

Asian American music teachers’ experiences

Asian Americans hold distinct positions across various professions, experiencing both significant underrepresentation in some fields and notable overrepresentation in others. The Asian population in the United States has grown substantially–an 88% increase over the last two decades. Despite this growth, disparities persist, with Asian Americans remaining underrepresented in numerous sectors. For instance, they comprise only 2% of teachers in the public school system. Some argue that Asian Americans have overcome racial discrimination by embodying the so-called “model minority” stereotype, often associated with higher levels of affluence and educational attainment compared to other minority groups, such as Black and Hispanic communities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a troubling trend emerged, with one in six hate crimes against Asian Americans involving physical violence and another one in six incidents reflecting social exclusion or avoidance. Additionally, more than one in nine cases suggested potential civil rights violations, such as workplace discrimination. Despite these challenges, the role of Asian American educators in advancing social justice remains largely understudied. While multicultural music education has occasionally incorporated their perspectives, comprehensive research on their experiences as minorities is limited. Applying the lens of Asian critical theory (AsianCrit) uncovers some of the distinct obstacles faced by Asian American music teachers and evaluates their impact on educational practices and policies.

In this context, educators of color navigate a dual challenge: resisting stereotypes tied to their heritage while preserving their cultural identities in educational environments that often push conformity to dominant white cultural norms. Building on critical race theory (CRT), S.D. Museus and J.S. Iftikar (2014) developed AsianCrit, a framework that merges CRT with insights from Asian American studies to address the complexities of Asian American experiences. AsianCrit has revealed the model minority myth as a tool of racial subjugation and illustrated how Asian Americans are strategically positioned in political debates, such as those surrounding affirmative action. The AsianCrit framework is deliberately pan-ethnic, recognizing that, despite their diverse backgrounds, Asian Americans experience racialization as a collective group. This shared racialization manifests through common challenges faced across Asian communities in the U.S., including racial isolation in educational settings, hostility, assimilation pressures, and racial silencing. By prioritizing race over ethnicity, AsianCrit facilitates a deeper exploration of how white supremacy and systemic racism shape broader racial dynamics, providing a critical lens for analyzing Asian American experiences.

Through the AsianCrit lens, racial dynamics reveal that many Asian American music educators struggle with identity and belonging in a system that often renders them invisible. The deeply ingrained perception of Asian Americans as perpetual outsiders challenges their legitimacy as Americans. Establishing affinity networks is not merely beneficial but essential for the empowerment of Asian American communities in educational spaces. These networks serve as more than safe havens–they act as catalysts for resistance and change, fostering solidarity and transforming dialogue into actionable progress and transformative action. Moreover, such networks should be integrated into educational leadership at multiple levels to promote culturally responsive teaching and dismantle monolithic narratives within curricula.

This according to “In/visible voices: Investigating Asian American music teachers’ experiences through the lens of AsianCrit” by Katy Ieong Cheng Ho Weatherly (Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education [spring 2024] 25–46; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2024-8288).

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Filed under Music education, North America, Pedagogy, Politics, Theory

Tagged as Asian Americans, AsianCrit, cultural identity, educators, model minority, Music education, networks, pan-ethnic, Pedagogy, racism, stereotypes

by rilm | May 26, 2025 · 6:00 am

Riot grrrl zines: Translating experience into expertise

The rise of the riot grrrl movement can be traced to musicians and zine creators Tobi Vail, Allison Wolfe, Molly Neuman, and Kathleen Hanna–founders of the bands Bratmobile and Bikini Kill, respectively. From its inception, riot grrrl was ideologically rooted in the concept of a girl-led collective and actively resisted the elevation of individual figureheads. Instead, its founders encouraged young women to create their own music, art, writing, and forms of protest. This DIY ethos empowered those who had never played an instrument or written creatively to pick up guitars or pens and express themselves. Women punk enthusiasts crafted fanzines that quickly evolved into interactive platforms for radical political dialogue and genre-defying creative expression by self-identified riot grrrls, fostering a vibrant culture of subversion and solidarity.

Through their music and textual productions, riot grrrls launched a pointed critique of capitalism and consumer culture while foregrounding feminist issues such as rape, assault, and the physical and psychological abuse of women. Riot grrrl zines frequently featured confessional autofiction, satirical graphic art, exchanges between creators and readers, and discussions of gender and emerging queer theory. This loosely connected, nomadic community, typically composed of individuals between the ages of 13 and 25, often experienced marginalization and alienation from the mainstream cultures in which they lived. Zines played a critical mediating role, facilitating consciousness-raising encounters between writers and readers that transcended regional and national boundaries. These exchanges fostered a sense of intimate solidarity–or, in riot grrrl terms, “girl love”–among participants. The movement’s emphasis on revealing lived, personal experience as a marker of authenticity echoes strands of second-wave feminism, particularly those that championed realistic and autobiographical writing as key tools for feminist consciousness-raising.

As Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna explains,

“In writing [zines], I have had to think a lot about how to share information without acting all bossy or being condescending. … Just cuz I’m an addict/alcoholic (what-fuckin-evah) doesn’t mean I think I can speak for everyone in terms of addiction. It seems to me that each addict functions within his/her own context in terms of race, gender, location, class, personality, access, etc. . . . So it would be ridiculous for me to try and write a ‘manifesto’ or a ‘universal account’ of how addiction works.”

Here, Hanna anticipates and pre-empts external critique that she speaks from a privileged, universalist position as a white woman. Crucially, however, this acknowledgement follows her revelation of personal experience—and indeed, her claimed expertise—regarding addiction. The culture of privilege-checking cultivated in riot grrrl zines, while rooted in a desire for accountability and inclusivity, gives rise to what Mimi Thi Nguyen (2012) describes as a “troubling politics”. In this framework, traumatic experience—when reframed as the product of systemic oppression—serves to bolster claims of authentic marginality, effectively translating lived experience into a form of expertise. This dynamic complicates the relationship between personal narrative, political authority, and identity within the riot grrrl movement.

This according to “Killing ourselves is not subversive: Riot grrrl from zine to screen and the commodification of female transgression” by Emily Spiers (Women: A cultural review 26/1-2 [2015] 1–21; RILM Abstracts with Full Text, 2015-83472).

In the video below, zine publishers and artists describe riot grrrl (and zines in particular) as their entry point to different forms of activism and expression in the 1990s–the video was part of the Alien she exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) introduces its latest product at the special event Sites + Sounds + Scenes

Just a reminder that on May 27, 2025, at 4:30 pm, at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) will unveil its latest product, the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines (RAPMM), at a special launch event titled Sites + Sounds + Scenes.

The RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines (RAPMM) is a continuously expanding digital collection that currently includes over 125 independently published popular music magazines and fanzines from the late 1960s to the present. This internationally scoped archive covers a diverse range of popular music genres, from punk and rock to indie, hip hop, and country, serving as a multilingual and interdisciplinary resource for music research. By preserving rare and historically significant publications, RAPMM safeguards essential elements of cultural heritage.

In line with RILM’s global mission the content of RAPMM spans multiple languages and countries–currently from Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The zines in RAPMM cover a wide range of popular music genres, including punk, rock, indie music, post-punk, grunge, hip hop, women’s music, world music, psychedelia, noise, alternative music, jazz, and country music. There are articles on the history of musical movements and their relation to politics, society and social movements, underground and subcultures, stylistic shifts, and feminism; interviews with widely recognized and unknown artists at different stages of their careers; band profiles; and album reviews and history of record labels.

Watch the RAPMM trailer above.

Accessible through RILM’s Egret platform, RAPMM offers advanced browsing, searching, and translation features across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Additionally, the platform provides a networked research experience, linking directly to other scholarly resources such as RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and external services like the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF). RAPMM underscores RILM’s broader mission as an NGO accredited to provide advisory service to UNESCO’s Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Speaking on the project’s significance, RILM Executive Director, Dr. Tina Frühauf, states:

“In alignment with UNESCO’s initiatives to protect cultural diversity, RAPMM represents a vital node in an international effort to safeguard and preserve information about the sonic history of our times. It fosters community-centered archiving practices that foreground the lived experiences and material traces of popular music magazines. By bridging the analog and the digital, the local and the global, RAPMM not only preserves endangered media artifacts but also reimagines archives as dynamic spaces of cultural memory, equity, and engagement.”

The launch event, hosted by The Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation and RILM, is cosponsored by the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning. In addition to unveiling RAPMM, the event will also celebrate the release of two groundbreaking publications: Inside the Studio Spaces of Electronic Music Production: Berlin/Cairo by Dr. Matthias Pasdzierny and Gero Cacciatore, and Gear: Cultures of Audio and Music Technologies by Dr. Eliot Bates and Dr. Samantha Bennett.

Held in the William P. Kelly Skylight Room on the 9th floor of the CUNY Graduate Center, the event will feature discussions with key contributors, moderated by Finn Cohen (The Sun). A reception will follow.

Admission is free. Please RSVP to cmrd@gc.cuny.edu. The event will be live-streamed by the CUNY Graduate Center–RSVP to receive the link.

For more information, please visit https://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/event/sites-sounds-scenes/.

Contact:
Michael Lupo (he/him/his), Marketing & Media
RILM International Center
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3108 • New York, NY 10016-4309
Michael Lupo • Phone 1 212 817 8601 • www.rilm.org

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Filed under Popular music, RILM, RILM news

Tagged as Archive, Country music, cultural heritage, grunge, Hip hop, Hip hop music, indie music, interdisciplinary, multilingual, Music magazines, Noise, Popular music, Post-punk, Psychedelia, Punk, Rock

by rilm | May 17, 2025 · 6:00 am

Musicology’s global expansion

The global expansion of musicology beyond Europe and North America in the latter half of the 20th century was shaped by several key factors. Alongside the structure of each country’s higher education system, its connection to the so-called West and engagement in Western-oriented modernization played a significant role. The presence of European music within a nation’s cultural landscape, as well as the distinct character and status of its own musical heritage, has further influenced developments. In this context, countries with direct historical ties to European musical and academic traditions–either through colonization or European immigration–generally aligned their approach with the European model of musicology. Conversely, former colonies without large European-descended populations primarily focused on studying their indigenous musical traditions, incorporating European influences only sparingly. This pattern was particularly evident in India and various Muslim-majority countries. In these regions, musicology evolved in response to national independence, secularization, and modernization efforts.

Countries that underwent partial Western colonization but embraced cultural Westernization centered their studies on Western music while also applying musicological methods to analyze their own music traditions. The selection of musical subjects in each region reflects the enduring influence of colonial history. In Western Europe and North America, ethnomusicology continues to engage with musical traditions from across the globe. However, in other regions, research tends to prioritize indigenous musical traditions, with Western music playing a role only when it is explicitly recognized as culturally significant.

In Latin America, the institutional development of musicology has followed diverse paths, with varying degrees of formalization. In its early stages, research primarily focused on indigenous musical traditions, aligning closely with ethnomusicology. It was not until the 1950s that academic musicology began to take root in universities, emerging sporadically as music history and ethnomusicology–first at the Universidad de Chile in 1952 and later at the Universidad Católica Argentina in 1959. This growth accelerated from the 1990s onward. Despite this progress, most universities typically offer only one level of an academic musicology program–either a licentiate (at conservatories) or a master’s degree (at universities). In many cases, musicological studies are embedded within interdisciplinary programs rather than established as standalone departments. Full doctoral programs in musicology remain rare, available at only a handful of institutions, such as Argentina’s Universidad Católica and Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma and Universidad de Guanajuato.

Studying Indian classical music at Banaras Hindu University.

In India, university arts faculties with dedicated music departments provide opportunities to study both North (Hindustani) and South (Karnatak) Indian music. While theoretical, aesthetic, and academic perspectives complement practical training, they are seldom structured as standalone degree programs, despite India’s rich tradition of music and arts scholarship spanning over two millennia. One notable institution is Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, which established its musicology institute in 1966. This institute offers a doctoral program in musicology and has produced some of India’s most distinguished musicologists. Beyond universities, several other institutions contribute to music research, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi, founded in 1953, and the independent ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. The Sangeet Natak Akademi plays a crucial role not only in promoting musical practice but also in documenting, studying, and funding research on Indian music.

The institutionalization of musicology in the Arab world, Turkey, and Iran remains relatively limited, with formal degree programs appearing only sporadically–primarily within Christian universities. One notable initiative is the Académie Arabe pour la Musique, founded in Amman in 1971 under the auspices of the Arab League. This institution organizes conferences, awards prizes, and actively promotes musical practice. Other music research institutes in the region tend to focus on national and regional musical traditions, serving primarily as centers for collection, documentation, and study.

This according to this month’s free article titled Musicology by Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann in MGG Online.

The image at the beginning of the piece is of students visiting the Gallery of Musical Instruments at Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi, India.

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Filed under Ethnomusicology, Musicology, World music

Tagged as Ethnomusicology, global musical heritage, higher education, Musicology, Pedagogy, Western music, World music

by rilm | May 13, 2025 · 6:00 am

Acholitronix: Fusing electronic and traditional music in Uganda

In contemporary Africa, new electronic music can generally be classified into two distinct categories. The first involves artists who adapt mainstream genres like house, techno, or electronica, giving them a local twist. These artists incorporate samples of traditional music into the structural framework of these genres, creating a fusion that resonates with specific social groups and aids in creating cultural identity. This approach often includes elements such as traditional or Afrofuturist stage costumes, further reinforcing the connection to local heritage. The second category stems from technical limitations. These artists, often working without access to live musicians, turn to digital tools to create traditional-sounding music that aligns with the structures of electronic genres. Their goal is not to target global club scenes, but rather to address the need for musical accompaniment in traditional performances. Many of these genres emerged at weddings, where they blended respect for cultural traditions with a desire for innovation, reflecting the celebration of the couple, their families, and the community.

In northern Uganda, the fusion of Acholi music with electronic elements has led to the emergence of a new genre called Acholitronix. The term is a blend of “Acholi” and “electronic,” and it has gained significant traction in global alternative electronic music circles, largely due to two influential albums released by the Kampala-based Nyege Nyege Tapes label: Otim Alpha’s Gulu city anthems (2017) and the compilation album Electro Acholi’s kaboom (2019). Another key figure in the Acholitronix movement is Akena P’Layeng Okella, better known as Leo Palayeng (pictured above). Palayeng began playing the inanga harp at the age of six, shortly after his father was killed during the war between the Ugandan government and various armed factions in northern Uganda. His early experiences as a musician shed light on how musical traditions transform in societies affected by trauma and sociopolitical upheavals, both during the colonial era and more recently through the civil war.

As an Acholi musician, Palayeng’s life has mirrored the changing dynamics of his community, as he has been an active participant in its cultural evolution. In the late 1990s, Palayeng joined a theater group where he performed dance routines set to rumba and rap music. During this time, he began recording his first rap songs and became a radio announcer. He also explored music production using early sound software like Fruity Loops 3.45, eventually producing his first Acholi electronic tracks.

Palayeng performs Acholitronix in Mexico in 2019.

Since beginning his career as a producer in the early 2000s, Palayeng has embraced a musician-researcher approach to his work. He actively records and archives the musical traditions of various Acholi instruments, often incorporating them into his own compositions. To document and preserve Acholi musical heritage, Palayeng travels to the outskirts of Ugandan cities to capture the sounds of traditional music and instruments. This archival effort holds deep significance for Palayeng–not only does it instill a sense of pride in his own Luo cultural heritage, but it also serves as a wellspring of inspiration for his future work. His creative process typically begins with acoustic samples, which he then layers with an electronic aesthetic. This aesthetic is defined by the integration of MIDI instruments and additional samples alongside the traditional recordings. One of the defining features of Acholitronix is the use of call-and-response, a central element of Acholi music. Another notable aspect of this genre is the shift in tempo—where traditional rhythms are often sped up, with tracks rarely dipping below 160 beats per minute, marking the transition from acoustic to electronic with a noticeable acceleration.

Cover art for an album by Emiliano Motta and Leo Palayeng.

Cover art for Otim Alpha’s *Gulu city anthems* album (2017).

Reflecting on this creative adaptation, Palayeng explains, “I decided to blend traditional Acholi rhythms with electronic patterns. The process of creating the first larakaraka loops wasn’t easy—it took a lot of time. I started by recording traditional drums and calabash sounds to create samples for Fruity Loops add-ons, which I then installed onto my computer. I was able to capture the true essence of Acholi sounds with a focus on quality. One night, after a long session in the disco hall, the club closed, and I found myself deep in thought. I decided to create a simple project using a Fruity Loops sequence. I cranked the BPM up to 158, then dropped the calabash samples into the MIDI sequence, making them feel like they were being played live on stage. Boom! That was it. The loops for wedding celebrations and other electronic Acholi tribal patterns I used to play on the inanga came rushing back to me.”

This according to “Leo Palayeng: Bridging the gap from traditional to electronic Acholi music” by Rémy Jadinon (African music: Journal of the International Library of African Music 11/4 [2022] 90–106; RILM Abstracts with Full Text, 2022-22008).

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Filed under Africa, Instruments, Mass media, Performers, Popular music, World music

Tagged as Acholitronix, Afrofuturism, Electronic, Globalization, Leo Palayeng, syncretism, Uganda

by rilm | May 8, 2025 · 6:00 am

Music and the Vietnam War

Following the fall of Sài Gòn (now Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) on 30 April 1975, the experiences and contributions of South Vietnamese war veterans were largely erased from public memory. In recent years, efforts to address this erasure have included the rediscovery of pre-1975 Vietnamese music, particularly Nhạc vàng (“yellow music”), which refers to popular songs of South Vietnam, many of which were composed before 1975. Capturing the realities of war and the lives of Vietnamese soldiers (người lính), Nhạc vàng offers a valuable historical perspective, shedding light on the struggles and hardships faced by South Vietnamese soldiers. Deeply embedded in the Vietnamese diaspora, its enduring melodies provide a crucial link to their ongoing struggles and memories within today’s geopolitical landscape. Over time, Vietnamese music—ranging from contemporary popular songs to poignant war ballads—has evolved into a powerful tool for preserving the voices of those silenced by history. For many South Vietnamese veterans, music became an emotional refuge, helping them navigate fading nostalgia and the painful memories of the Vietnam War.

Pre-1975 Nhạc vàng album cover art. Courtesy of Saigoneer.com

For many U.S. soldiers, popular music played a crucial role in shaping their experiences of the war. A Kentucky rifleman who spent his tour trekking through the central highlands of Vietnam recalled Nancy Sinatra‘s These boots are made for walkin’ as a defining song. A tunnel rat, who used to blow smoke into Viet Cong tunnels, remembers Jimi Hendrix’s Purple haze. For an African American marine reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it was Aretha Franklin’s Chain of fools. And for countless others, songs like Country Joe and the Fish’s I feel like I’m fixin’ to die, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Who’ll stop the rain, and The Animals’ We gotta get out of this place became anthems of their war experience. Popular music was central to the American experience in Vietnam, bridging the gap between troops and the home front, while providing a soundtrack to the emotional complexity of the war they were thrust into. Music was an often overlooked yet crucial part of the conflict, influencing the experiences and memories of every group of Vietnam veterans.

Music also played a crucial role in shaping public perception of the Vietnam War in the United States, as songs reflected both support and opposition to the conflict. Unlike the professionally produced music of World War II, Vietnam-era songs were embraced by the public and became central to cultural gatherings such as folk festivals, college dorm sing-alongs, and peace rallies. The war exposed deep societal divisions, with music serving as an emotional outlet for discontent, anger, and the desire for peace–contrasting sharply with the patriotic themes of previous conflicts. Both anti-war and pro-war movements used music to express their sentiments, with supporters of the war favoring country music while opponents turned to folk and rock to amplify their voices. The powerful emotions embedded in these songs made the Vietnam War distinct in its musical and cultural impact.

Furthermore, activist musicians like Phil Ochs (pictured above) provided a more nuanced and critical perspective on the war than what was typically found in mainstream media. His songs often addressed controversial aspects of the Vietnam War that were otherwise overlooked or suppressed. Ochs’ music was raw and uncompromising, standing out among his contemporaries. Despite being a key figure in the 1960s anti-war movement and a prolific writer of topical songs, Ochs remained less commercially recognized than other folk icons like Bob Dylan or Joan Baez. His most productive years coincided with the peak of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, a time when his popular music served as a powerful critique of the war.

This according to “Échos rescapés: Redocumenter la musique vietnamienne d’avant 1975–Pistes sonores historiques et mémorielles [Rescued echoes: Redocumenting Vietnamese music from before 1975–Historical and memorial soundtracks]” by Kathy Nguyen, Lieux de mémoire sonore: Des sons pour survivre, des sons pour tuer, ed. by Luis Velasco-Pufleau and Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (Paris: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 2021, 137–172; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-107659), and We gotta get out of this place: The soundtrack of the Vietnam War by Doug Bradley (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2015; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2015-18652).

The 50th anniversary of the fall of Sài Gòn, marking the end of the Vietnam War, was celebrated on 30 April 2025.

The track below exemplifies the sound of pre-1975 Nhạc vàng.

Below is a link to Phil Ochs performing on Canadian television on 27 September 1965.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPFl8pOx9Zo

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Filed under Asia, North America, Performers, Politics, Popular music, Reception, World music

Tagged as conflict, Memory, Nhạc vàng, nostalgia, Popular music, Protest music, Vietnam, Vietnam War, war ballads