Music
20 Nov 2021
Thousands of musicians are hoping to have set a record by performing as part of the world’s largest orchestra.
20 Nov 2021
US singer-songwriter Natalie Bergman has just released "Keep Those Teardrops From Falling", a follow-up EP to her debut solo album "Mercy" on Jack White's prestigious label Third Man Records. She tells Marjorie Hache why writing this gospel folk music was cathartic following her father's death and about taking her music on the road. We also check out new tracks by Sting, Tanzania's SinaUbi Zawose and Beyoncé.
14 Nov 2021
This week, we chat to Australian jazz singer, pianist and composer Sarah McKenzie, who is currently touring France with a mini residency at the prestigious Duc des Lombards jazz club. She tells us more about the creative way in which she connected with musicians from around the world at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. We also meet young Parisian artist Yoa, whose bedroom pop-filled debut EP "Attente" has just been released.
6 Nov 2021
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. French indie rocker H-Burns has paid tribute to him in his latest album "Burns On The Wire", which focuses on Cohen's folk era and features guest appearances from Lou Doillon, Kevin Morby and more. H-Burns joined us in the studio to tell us more.
5 Nov 2021
Anni, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha are back. Four decades after they were last in the charts, the Swedish superstars are releasing their new album "Voyage". The foursome will also be staging a virtual concert in a custom-built arena in London in the spring of 2022.
23 Oct 2021
Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) has started hosting its five-day dance music festival after the Dutch government lifted restrictions on the entertainment sector, as well as clubs and bars. The event has been scaled down compared to previous years, while measures are in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19, including on-site testing.
20 Oct 2021
Hailing from the Netherlands, artist Tessa Douwstra performs under the name Luwten, which means "a place without wind" in Dutch. Her music channels traditional indie songwriting through a kaleidoscope of modern pop and experimental R&B. She recently released her second LP entitled "Draft", which features 11 complex and well-crafted tracks. She tells FRANCE 24’s Florence Villeminot about wanting to writing about the transition from introspection to a more outward-focused life.
21 Sep 2021
British electronic duo Jungle appeared out of nowhere in late 2013 as a mystery group, but their slick funk-pop singles quickly propelled them to fame. Their 2014 self-titled debut album was certified Gold in the UK and their follow up album "For Ever" confirmed their success around the world. This summer, they released their third studio album "Loving in Stereo", a collection of wall-to-wall bangers bursting with life. Josh Lloyd-Watson sat down with FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot to talk about what inspired this 13-track bundle of love.
2 Aug 2021
One of America's largest events -- Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago -- is underway this weekend, to the delight of fans and to the despair of others. The four day music festival is expected to draw more than 100,000 people to downtown Chicago each day, at a moment when coronavirus cases are on the rise and vaccinations have plateaued. Lollapalooza has said their policy is for unvaccinated people to wear masks and show a recent negative Covid test.
13 Jul 2021
As a teenager, she had to perform in the Auschwitz girls' orchestra. But Esther Bejarano never stopped loving music — or fighting against racism.
29 Jun 2021
Blufunk legend Keziah Jones, who became a global superstar at the turn of the 1990s after he was noticed busking in the streets of Paris and London, is back in the French capital to take part in a series of artistic events at the Pompidou Centre over the next three weeks. Along with choreographer Qudus Onikeku, a fellow Lagos native, Jones popped by the FRANCE 24 studios to tell us more about the "Fly by Night" events that celebrate African art, dance and music with creatives from Nigeria, Rwanda and DR Congo.
Latest
32 mins ago
Whether you like it or not, the term "woke" has entered our vocabulary. Born out of the anti-racist struggles of African Americans in the 1950s, it initially meant awake or politically aware. More recently, its meaning has morphed into a derogatory term, often used by right-wing commentators, for people who fight for a cause. Here in France, the term le wokisme is also emerging, but nearly always in its negative connotation. In Perspective, we spoke to Alex Mahoudeau, author of "La panique woke, anatomie d'une offensive réactionnaire", or "Woke panic, anatomy of a reactionary offensive".
32 mins ago
Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.
32 mins ago
The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.
1 hour ago
Strong inflation headwinds could deny Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a second term, with the incumbent also facing a new corruption scandal. Lula says citizens want to "get rid" of the current government.
1 hour ago
The top ten most neglected displacement crises in the world are all in Africa. It's a worrying first for the annual report of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Also, "Supreme Remains" is a haunting play that has premiered at the Dakar Biennale, inviting audiences to step back through time as an African mask narrates her turbulent past. And in Liberia, the town of Robertsport is at the heart of a swell surf scene; we take a closer look.
1 hour ago
Relatives of murdered Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba attend a sombre ceremony in Brussels as Belgium returns his tooth. It's all that remains of him after his assassination in 1961. Also, Kenya has no reproductive health legislation but the public is going to have its say on a regional bill that could make a big difference to national sexual health services. And the refugee status of hundreds of thousands of Ivorians who fled post-electoral violence in the country in 2011 is coming to an end.