Apr 7/08
Coming soon… a new direction?
A few of you have noticed that I’ve been away for quite a while. Thanks for the e-mails and comments urging me back.. it won’t be long now.
I’ve been traveling a lot over the past couple months to England, Austria, Turkey, Denmark, Canada and soon Syria, Ireland, China and who knows where else. Needless to say, all that plus a busy schedule whenever I’ve been back in Paris has kept me off the blog.
With all the travels lately I’ve been thinking of changing Benn loxo a bit. I’d like to hear your thoughts: would you still read/listen to Benn loxo if it expanded beyond Africa?
I’ll be in China for two months this summer, for example. What about a series on contemporary Chinese music as I see it live in Beijing? Or recordings straight from the souks of Syria? …or even electro-pop from Copenhagen and Turkish hip-hop. You see where I’m going here?
African music would still feature on the site, sure, but Benn loxo would no longer be exclusively African.
I leave it with you: good idea?
See you soon. I’ll throw something together tonight.
Cheers
Matt
Good idea.
Matt,
when it comes to me, this is pretty a beautiful idea. I have always been into music from countries and cultures all around the world, with a strong focus on Africa, that is — hence this would match my personal interests a lot.
Keep going with that and best wishes,
Mateo
Hey Matt,
I think it’s a fantastic idea, and I’d guess it would reflect the musical interests (and curiosity) of most of your readers anyway. It certainly would for me.
Cheers!
Jed
Hi Matt,
I think your idea is great. I must admit that I am bummed to have found your blog oly recently, as I missed out on so many seemingly terrific downloads in the past. My current focus is on African music, as I am spending time there right now and have a reggae musician friend in Senegal, but I’d be open to other great music. Still, any wonderful African finds are very much appreciated!
Jamm rekk,
Kelley
Matt, I have trusted your judgment on African music for the past few years, so I think I would trust your judgment on music from China, Syria, etc.
I would maybe even listen to Turkish hip-hop…
TWM
Matt — I heartily endorse the expansion. Unless, of course, it serves to make SoundRoots obsolete. There’s no way I can keep up with your level of travel, alas!
Keep up the good work — looking forward to the expanded scope.
Yes. I would definitely be into that.
I have been a longtime lurker and have thoroughly enjoyed all that you have written so far. I am quite sure that any extension of the site beyond the sounds of Africa will be excellent and I for one will certainly continue to tune in.
Go for it Matt! Looking forward to having you back
Can’t wait to hear what you manage to dig up during the travels, but don’t forget the African stuff
Can’t wait to hear what you manage to dig up during the travels, very good idea! But don’t forget the African stuff
I’ll throw my vote in with everyone else’s: I’ll go along on whatever ride you would like to take us.
definitely into that. wouldn’t want all of your accumulated african musical knowledge to go to waste, but i trust you’ll keep up your chops enough in that regard.
so yes, please, broaden the horizons here. i’m all for it.
I´ve been visiting this blog for quite some time and I REALLY enjoyed getting to know african music a little bit better. Having lived on the continent for 8 years, I am still very much attached to it. Still, I´d be more than happy to discover any other type of music that you would be willing to share.
Javejavor
I love your blog. You open up my ears to some of the sweetest, funkiest African music that I would never find without you. As long as you promise not to abandon Africa, I would love to hear even more sweet and funky music from other parts of the world. I’m going to China this summer too, so music from there would be extra exciting.
I can’t wait to hear/read whatever you decide to post in the future.
Love,
– A
It’s a great idea. Go for it full force.
Ha ouais, ça dépote, élargit ! Du hip hop chinois par exemple, ou du punk. J’en ai plus écouté depuis 2003. Si tu passes par l’Am du sud, tu es bienvenu à Medellin, j’y pars un ou deux ans, tu peux débarquer là-bas, ok. Adishatz !
Seconded.
Better to write about the music that one is listening at the moment.
Sharing the love for song is afterall what a music blog is about.
Already curious.
Welcome Matt,
I think it’s a good idea to show different styles of music, to hear and learn other musical cultures,
Thanks,
Fabian-
Amanda summed it up: “As long as you promise not to abandon Africa, I would love to hear even more sweet and funky music from other parts of the world.”
Always great stuff, Matt!
J.R. back in T.O.
I just want to thank you . As long as you keep Africa close, it’s a wonderful idea… The more the merrier
Great to know you are not going too far away (from your blog). I actually like the Africa focus, but have grown to highly value your taste so not opposed at all.
sold!
looking forward to whatever you’ll post.
tumi and the volume. tropidelico. (ok, the first is south-african, but still) the world is big, the world is going global, so are you.
no idea why the hell you’re going to china. anything happening there soon?
I’m with the mass consensus here. You allured me with Africa and as long as there is still an influx of it on top of music from other cultures i’m totally down. just remember your and benn loxo’s roots man! cheers
I say go where ever the music takes you and bring us along whenever you can…
spread wide and thanks for all the tunes and knowledge
i’d almost given up hope on benn loxo, “there goes another music blog”, but that is a GREAT idea. turkey & syria are two of my favourite countries in the world (put on a regular feature about nights out in taksim/beyoglu!), so you’d make at least one reader (me) very happy! & danish folk tunes, maybe?
i hope you never abandon africa, much less west africa, completely though! the sounds here, they are too sweet.
I was lured here by African music, but I’ve got Turkish hip-hop, K-pop, and more on my mp3 player. So, the inclusion would be really nice.
I started listening to this music when I realized that my selections were somewhat homogeneous. I work in a very international setting, and one day it occured to me that my musical taste didn’t reflect this.
It would be nice if more people expanded beyond the familiar.
Thanks for bringing this music to us, Matt.
GREAT ABSOLUTELY YES. FULL SUPPORT HERE.
How could I not trust the guy who gave me Mahmoud Ahmed and Super Biton and Mariem Hassan.
Dear Matt,
of course that’s a great idea. How could it not be?
Marc Schmidt
Global Village! ….. we are living in…. go for it, thanks for all the wonderful music …
Do what you feel you need to do. I trust your judgement – and will continue to be here and appreciate all you do for the expansion of our musical horizons – whereever they may be.
ciao
I gotta say I was mixed with the idea. I’ve come to rely on your website for everything African and when I heard you went global I was scared that I would have to find a new source. And I thought I knew Chinese music. But your unique ear has made me learn a new side of Chinese music, a new side of Argentinian music, … You have a formula for finding talented artists in a world of pop-crack, and I can’t wait to hear what all you discover from every corner of this planet.