This is one of my few blog posts that is not in some way connected to Anatolian music..the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson is one of the most inspirational singers I have ever heard and there is a short programme about her on the Conjuring Halie show on Radio 4  - which you can listen to if you are quick.  She was an important figure in the American civil rights movement and brought a her own unique style to gospel music. Her incredible voice  reflects her indomitable  spirit and she will always be a great inspiration for me. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvn23 Mahalia Jackson on yotube

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A simple love song… Lyrics: Paula Darwish Music: The Country and Eastern Band   My love is a wave rising high on the ocean high Your breathe is like sun on my skin Wave When I feel you sigh I look up in awe when I see the stars above No song is good enough for the one I love Everything looks like I never saw it before Everything tastes like the sweetest fruit of all Every sound rings like a symphony from the gods No song is good enough for the one I love When I was young and

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There’s often  no way to explain why certain ideas come into your head at certain times and that was certainly the case, when I first heard  ’yıldızların altında’ , a song written by Kaptanzade Ali Rıza Efendi (1881 -1934) and immortalised by the great Turkish singer Zeki Müren in the 1950′s. As I sat on the veranda of  a pansiyon  in Karaburun about 8 years ago the song came on the radio and I  immediately asked friends  what the song was. Probably becasuse of the era it was recorded in, the song reminded me of Marlene Dietrich recordings my parents used to play, and

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Newroz or Nowruz,  is a new year celebration on 21st March ( Spring Equinox).  It celebrates the first day of Spring and is the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar. It is a very old festival and is celebrated in many countries in the Middle East  and Central Asia by Kurds, Iranians, Afghans, Uzbeks, Azeri’s to name but a few. It is also celebrated  in many countries across the world including  parts of Pakistan, and  by the Uyghurs in North China, who call it Noruz. In history it celebrates the legend of  a blacksmith called Kawa who overthrew an evil tyrant. The legend

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New live video on youtube…  

Dilgeş Amedi is a singer and saz player from Amedi in Iraq who now lives in the UK. He sings traditional Kurdish music and will be playing at the Manchester Newroz Party 2012.