world

Paddy Keenan (b.1950) is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes. Keenan was born in Trim, County Meath. His father and grandfather were both uilleann pipers, and his father, Johnny Keenan, spent many nights playing along with piper Johnny Doran. He began playing at the age of nine, and at the age of fourteen he played at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. He then turned towards blues and rock and toured England and Europe when he was seventeen.

Manu Chao is a French Latin folk singer of French and Spanish (Basque/Galician) origin. Manu Chao was a well-known member of the Parisian alternative music scene, in bands such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos. In 1987, Chao, his brother Antoine Chao and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Mano Negra met with success in France first with the hit single Mala Vida, then toured South America. The band split in 1995.

Besh o DroM was formed in 1999 in Budapest, Hungary. This Hungarian band combines Hungarian folk elements with Balkan music into waves which are meant to collapse all our senses. The band does not confine itself to the Balkan category, but draws its musical inspiration from Jewish, Afghan, Egyptian, Lebanese, Armenian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek tunes, presenting folk and electronic instrumentals simultaneously. More: www.beshodrom.hu.

Susheela Raman (b. 1973) is a singer of Indian descent. Raman was born in London, later emigrating to Australia with her family. In Australia she studied classical South Indian song and began giving performances. She then began working with Western forms including rock and soul, while continuing to study classical Indian music with Shruti Sadolikar. Her desire to mix Indian with Western music resulted in her first album, Salt Rain, in 2001, followed by Love Trap in 2003.