Manhu: Voices of the Sani

The Sani people are part of China’s ethnic landscape but the fine detail of their culture is often obscured behind mythology and rock. The rock is from the Stone Forest: Sani villages dot the area around the spectacular limestone pillars, densely clustered like trees across 500 km² (200 mi²) of Yunnan province. The myth surrounds Ashima, a folk heroine who escapes a forced marriage, only to drown and turn into the forest’s most prominent monolith … More Manhu: Voices of the Sani

Romano Drom: Give Me Wine

Millennials, baby boomers, GenX and Z—today’s vocabulary suggests that each generation is a world unto itself, with distinct attitudes and values. Romano Drom’s Give Me Wine is all about generations, but in the classic sense of culture transmitted from parents to children, from antiquity to the twenty-first century. The Budapest-based band was founded in 1999 by the late Antal Kovács and … More Romano Drom: Give Me Wine

Anandi Bhattacharya: Joys Abound

Avatar, shampoo, pyjama, bungalow, veranda, nirvana—all words from India adopted into an array of western languages. Sharing works both ways: Kolkata-born singer Anandi Bhattacharya observes, “I do not believe I was meant to imbibe my own culture alone.” A child prodigy who began studying Indian classical music at age three, she was also exposed to the global sound spectrum through … More Anandi Bhattacharya: Joys Abound

Eugenia Georgieva: Po Drum Mome

Eugenia Georgieva knits together instruments, cultures and generations with her graceful, soul-stirring voice. As a member of two ensembles she has performed Slavic and Japanese folk songs and also fused Bulgarian, Indian and English Renaissance sounds. On Po Drum Mome (A Girl on the Road), her first solo album, she explores her musical DNA. Although she grew up in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s … More Eugenia Georgieva: Po Drum Mome