Music about Water and Oceans

This week’s show celebrates water. Given climate change, rising oceans, and the horrible drought in California, I thought it would be timely and maybe even refreshing in some odd way. We begin with the sounds of surf on a coastline in Tonga in the South Pacific from a new collection of Pacific Islander music from Arc Music. A fun cut from years back from the group Papa’s Culture comes next. I wonder what ever happened to them?

Next up, the French vocal group Louis Philippe covers Claude Nougaro’s song “La Pluie Fait des Claquettes” (The Rain is Tap Dancing), about the sound of rain falling on the sidewalks during a midnight stroll. Herbie Hancock‘s beautiful song “Dolphin Dance” from the evergreen 1966 Blue Note album Maiden Voyage is our next pick. We follow with Afrobeat giant Fela Kuti’s song “Water Get No Enemy,” a typically long (11′) song with a lengthy intro.

Brazilian singer Joyce gives us a lovely version of Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell’s Brazilian classic “Canto de Iemanjá.” Iemanjá is the African goddess of the oceans and rivers, and is a deeply worshipped deity in the African diaspora. Fado diva Mariza comes next, with a song called “Chuva,” which is Portuguese for rain. It’s pronounced “shoo-vah.”

We continue with Syrian poet Abed Azrié’s song “Pariel a l’Eau” (Like Water), a song I’ve always loved and put it on Trance Planet Volume 3. It originally came from his album Lapis Lazuli.

The last track is minimalist and fascinating: John Luther Adams‘ composition “Become Ocean” performed by the Seattle Symphony. (The “Luther” is so we don’t confuse him with the composer John Adams). We read in his 2 disc set (a CD and a DVD):

“Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. Today, as the polar ice melts and the sea level rises, we humans face the prospect that we may once again, quite literally, become ocean.” The track is 43 minutes long so I had to excerpt it, but you’ll get the picture. There is also a video of it:

Rhythm Planet Playlist for 8/5/16:

1. Tonga / “The Singing Reef” / Discover Music from the Pacific with Arc Music / Arc Music

2. Papa’s Culture / “Swim” (CD Single) / Elektra

3. Louis Philippe / “La Pluie Fait Des Claquettes” (The Rain is Tap Dancing) / Minutes / LTM V:XV

4. Herbie Hancock / “Dolphin Dance” / Maiden Voyage / Blue Note Records

5. Fela Anikulapo Kuti / “Water No Get Enemy” / Expensive Shit / MCA/Barclay

6. Joyce / “Canto De Yemanja” / Wave – Nos E O Mar: Brazilian Music Inspired by the Sea/ Universal Music Brasil/Dubas Musicas

7. Mariza / “Chuva” / Concerto Em Lisboa / Times Square Record

8. Abed Azrie / “Like Water” / Trance Planet Volume 3 / Triloika

9. Seattle Symphony conducted by Ludovic Morlot / “Become Ocean” by John Luther Adams (composer) / Become Ocean / Cantaloupe