I've recently become more interested in what I guess is termed world music. I get the impression that the bands fellow member Jazzyvee plays in might fall under this category. For those of you who know more about this music than I, examples of what I'm listening to are Rara Avis and Jai Uttal.
The point of my saying this is to segue into an
article I read in this morning's New York Times. The article, written by Gautam Malkani, a novelist who works as an editor at the Financial Times, talks about the role of music, and in particular I type of music called Desi Beats, in helping to integrate an increasingly multicultural British population. The article talks about the recent London Mela, an annual festival that celebrates British South Asian culture. And the article talks about the Desi Beats in the wider context of perceived successes and failures of government policies regarding multiculturalism in Britain.
I don't know anything about Desi Beats and I've probably never heard an example. My guess is that club members who live in Britain might have a greater appreciation of the article I've cited. However, the idea of music, of world music, as a bridge between people of differing cultures, if very appealing to me.
In a world where many political and religious leaders seem to believe that violence is the only response to violence, the idea of picking up guitars and drums and dancing together at street festivals seems revolutionary.
