The music you can hear on Sunday, July 14th beginning at 5 p.m. on Bonn’s Museum Square is definately worth listening to:

Chamber music of the steppes – the group EGSCHIGLEN from Mongolia

A country’s music is shaped by its landscapes, and how its people live. Mongolia, deep in the heart of Asia, is a vast country, about five times the size of Germany. Endless grasslands merge in the south with the barren beauty of the Gobi desert. From the snow-topped mountains of the Altai and the Khangai, clear rivers flow through the forests to the plains. A large part of the more than two-million Mongolians still lives as nomads, in harmony with nature and in community with their "five jewels": horses, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Mongolia’s music breathes the freedom and vastness, the power of this elemental way of living with nature. The Mongolian group Egschiglen (melodious sound/beautiful melody) brings the sound of the steppes to Germany. In 1991, the ensemble was founded at the university of Ulaanbaatar. Their music vascillates between traditional songs and more contemporary Mongolian music. With a horse-head violine, lutes, percusssion and throat singing, they transport us to the vastness of their homeland. At times you think you can hear the hooves of the tough little Mongolian horses, from whose backs Chingis Khan founded the largest world empire that ever existed. Then again, the music takes you to the clear silence of the Gobi desert, where only the wind sighs in the dunes.

Western Africa meets electric jazz – Mamani Keita (Mali) and Marc Mineli (France)

Electro Bamaco

is a musical fusion project that gives impressive proof of how fertile the coming together of total opposites can be. Frenchman Marc Mineli was basically a rock musician with a tendency toward experimenting, but with no ties to Africa. The singer Assitan Mamani Keita is a native of Bamako (Mali), who grew up with traditional western African music. For many years, she toured as accompaniment to several popular Mali musicians, such as Salif Keita. On their joint album Electro Bamako, both worlds meet, and really form new exciting music. This is how they made it work: Mamani Keita wrote the music, then Marc Mineli added his world of sounds, and tried to electroically enhance the essence of the music. They allowed themselves all styles, ranging from strings over reggae beats and different loops to alot of jazz. This exciting musical concept will be presented live by Mamani Keita, Marc Mineli and band at the Oye Listen festival . Electro Bamako, at the intersection of western African tradition and European club culture.

Brazil meets Reggae – Gilberto Gil and his Bob Marley project

Tropicalismo was a musical movement in Brazil in the late 1960‘s. Artists such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso added electric guitars, elements of rock music and all manner of folk music to the classic repertoire of Brasilian popular music. The representatives of Tropicalismo proclaimed a new openness – in music as well as in politics --, a movement which on one hand resulted in problems with the then ruling military government, and on the other hand laid the foundation for Brazil’s extremely creative pop music scene.

For 37 years, vocalist and guitarist Gilberto Gil has been active in Musica Popular Brasileira, and he is no doubt one of its superstars. His melodies are catchy, his lyrics are philosophical and politiclly engaged, and his music contains elements of funk as well as Caribbean rhythms or folk music from Brazil‘s north-east.

Gil’s songs are played by his Brazilian colleagues as well as international pop or jazz stars. Whether at the Carneval in Salvador, or the Montreux Jazz Festival, his music is always greeted with standing ovations.

At the Oye Listen Festival, Gilberto Gil will present his Bob Marly Project, his personal bow to the most important reggae musician of all times. The CD and DVD titled "Kaya N’Gan Daya" are now available.

The Deutsche Welle World Music Award will again be awarded this year, in the framework of the DW World Music Festival --.an award that is designed to honor radio shows that have what it takes to present World music to a broad audience.