Music

U.K. producer and composer Nitin Sawhney recently made a rare U.S. visit for a live performance in downtown Los Angeles, and we were thrilled to grab him for an in-studio session during his time here. He was joined by vocalist Nicki Wells and tabla player Arev Dervish for a stunning set of music. Wells sang beautifully in multiple languages, helping to make their entire set feel like a globe-spanning journey.

Having already found success as the singer of the Irish band The Frames and as half of the folk-pop duo The Swell Season, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard is venturing out as a solo artist.

Everything I've ever written about Sam Phillips has been a cheat.

As a radio producer, I've been trained to never let a piece begin with the sound of a person's breath; it's sloppy. So when I first heard the remix of Hot Chip's "Look At Where We Are" by Four Tet, the tape-cutter in me dove for the delete button. Right before the music starts, you can clearly hear a sharp intake of air from singer Alexis Taylor.

Canadian rower Michael Braithwaite is pumped and probably a little nervous. It's the day before the double sculls (two person team) competition at the London Olympics and the British Columbia native is hoping his strong arms and shoulders will bring him gold.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, my weekly Can I Just Tell You essay.

First, though, we want to introduce you to a multiplatinum-selling artist with four albums to her credit, many awards, the face of a model, the voice of an angel. Her name is Lira.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FEEL GOOD")

Sometimes there's just no room for subtlety. Sometimes you hate everyone and everything because that's the only way the world makes sense. Sometimes you wonder what the musical equivalent of a panther rattling a barbed-wire cage is. Well, maybe only Gaza has thought of that last one.

The career of the experimental rock trio Liars has been defined by nomadic wanderings, both geographically and sonically. Formed in L.A., the trio relocated to Brooklyn, then to rural New Jersey, and eventually to Berlin, before returning to L.A.

Host Charles James talks with Patrick Brogan and Mark Demko, both of Artsquest about this year’s Musikfest, which takes place in north and south Bethlehem August 3-12.  Tune in to hear about highlights of this year’s feature performers and how the festival is evolving, with its second year presence on Bethlehem’s south side. Then, Paul Willistein's weekly film review features Beasts of the Southern Wild.