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BBC Radio 4 In Touch |
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Listen to this programmeFactsheet of this programmeTranscript of this programme Print this page FactsheetIn TouchRadio 4 TX Day and Date Tuesday 240707 TX Time 20:40 – 21:00 Line Identity 0800 044 044 PROGRAMME INFORMATION WOMAD FESTIVAL Presenter Ian MaCrae talks to musician and Womad organiser Peter Gabriel and blind Cambodian musician Kong Nay. Womad is a world music festival which takes place this year at Charlton Park in Wiltshire. The festival runs from the 27th until 29th July. Kong Nay will play on the Meadow Field at 20:00hrs on Saturday 28th July. Further information and tickets for Womad are available from: BOOKING LINE Tel: 0845 146 1735 Fax: 0870 720 2128 Telephone lines are open Monday-Friday from 10am-6pm for credit/debit card bookings TICKET QUERIES Tel: 0870 759 96623 Email: sales@womadshop.com http://womad.org/ THE ECONOMIST Gary O’Donoghue reports on a new audio version of The Economist magazine. For further information go to: http://www.economist.com/audio GENERAL CONTACTS RNIB Royal National Institute of the Blind 105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NE Helpline: 0845 766 9999 (UK callers only - Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) Tel: 0207 388 1266 (switchboard/overseas callers) Web: www.rnib.org.uk The RNIB provides information, support and advice for anyone with a serious sight problem. They not only provide Braille, Talking Books and computer training, but imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges. The RNIB campaigns to change society's attitudes, actions and assumptions, so that people with sight problems can enjoy the same rights, freedoms and responsibilities as fully sighted people. They also fund pioneering research into preventing and treating eye disease and promote eye health by running public health awareness campaigns. HENSHAWS SOCIETY FOR BLIND PEOPLE (HSBP) John Derby House 88-92 Talbot Road Old Trafford Manchester M16 0GS Tel: 0161 872 1234 Email: info@hsbp.co.uk Web: www.henshaws.org.uk Henshaws provides a wide range of services for people who have sight difficulties. They aim to enable visually impaired people of all ages to maximise their independence and enjoy a high quality of life. They have centres in: Harrogate, Knaresborough, Liverpool, Llandudno, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Salford, Southport and Trafford. THE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION (GDBA) Burghfield Common Reading RG7 3YG Tel: 0118 983 5555 Email: guidedogs@guidedogs.org.uk Web: www.guidedogs.org.uk The GDBA’s mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. ACTION FOR BLIND PEOPLE 14-16 Verney Road London SE16 3DZ Tel: 0800 915 4666 (info & advice) Tel: 020 7635 4800 (central office) Web: www.afbp.org Registered charity with national cover that provides practical support in the areas of housing, holidays, information, employment and training, cash grants and welfare rights for blind and partially-sighted people. Leaflets and booklets are available. NATIONAL LEAGUE OF THE BLIND AND DISABLED Central Office Swinton House 324 Grays Inn Road London WC1X 8DD Tel: 020 7837 6103 Textphone: 020 7837 6103 National League of the Blind and Disabled is a registered trade union and is involved in all issues regarding the employment of blind and disabled people in the UK. NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND (NLB) Far Cromwell Road Bredbury Stockport SK6 2SG RNIB Customer Services on 0845 762 6843 Email: cservices@rnib.org.uk Web: www.nlb-online.org The NLB is a registered charity which helps visually impaired people throughout the country continue to enjoy the same access to the world of reading as people who are fully sighted. Trustees from the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the National Library for the Blind (NLB) have agreed to merge the library services of both charities as of 1 January 2007, creating the new RNIB National Library Service. DISABILITY RIGHTS COMMISSION (DRC) Freepost MID 02164 Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9BR Tel: 08457 622 633 Textphone: 08457 622 644 Web: www.drc-gb.org The DRC aims to act as a central source of advice on the rights of disabled people, while helping disabled people secure their rights and eliminate discrimination. It can advise on the operation of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). DISABLED LIVING FOUNDATION 380-384 Harrow Road London W9 2HU Tel: 0845 130 9177 Web: www.dlf.org.uk The Disabled Living Foundation provide information and advice on disability equipment The BBC is not responsible for external websites General contacts Back to top TranscriptIN TOUCHTX: 24.07.07 2040-2100 PRESENTER: IAN MACRAE PRODUCER: CHERYL GABRIEL Macrae Hello, or to put it another way: Music: Big Time by Peter Gabriel mixed to music Kong Nay Tonight's programme is all about music and words. In music East meets West and blind meets sighted with British rock idol Peter Gabriel championing the man they call "the Cambodian Ray Charles". Music: Kong May clip And the words are from one of Britain's leading weekly magazines which now gets a voice: Clip from the Economist The global credit bubble. George Melly and the art of happiness. And European economies can Europe's recovery last? Macrae More from that audio version of The Economist later. But first Ray Charles is a pretty handy icon if you're looking for someone with whom to identify a blind musician. Kong Nay is blind and from Cambodia so unsurprisingly he's become known as "the Cambodian Ray Charles". And although they were literally almost a world apart in terms of geography and culture, musically there is a link. As you'll hear, Kong Nay's voice has soul and the musical tradition in which he plays isn't that far removed from the Blues which would have formed part of brother Ray's background. The music takes its name from the instrument which Kong Nay plays - the chapei. It's a kind of elongated guitar, except that it has only two strings and the lyrics to the songs are improvised. Kong Nay was discovered by British rock legend and world music enthusiast Peter Gabriel who booked him to play at this year's World Music and Dance, or WOMAD, festival. We'll be hearing from Peter Gabriel later on about the impact which Kong Nay's music had on him, but first the man himself. He came into the studio last week to talk and to play. Music: Kong Nay So Kong Nay tell me something about that song, I did manage to pick up your own name in that a couple of times and BBC, so what was the song about? Kong Nay through Interpreter First of all I just want to express my excitement and happiness in being here in London, England. And the second part of my song was about my thanks to Peter Gabriel and [indistinct word] and also to Cambodian Living Arts, which is a project of World education for sponsoring my visit to Great Britain. Macrae We'll talk some more about Peter Gabriel in a little while but first of all I just want to talk about the instrument that you play - the chapei. Could you tell me something about it, describe it? Kong Nay through Interpreter Basically chapei is very similar to guitar. It has a very long frame and neck and it has 12 frets and two strings. Macrae And how long have you been playing? Kong Nay through Interpreter I started learning to play when I was 12 and I began going on show when I was 15. Macrae Now there is a whole tradition relating to the instrument and the material that you sing using the instruments - sing and play using the instruments, can you tell me something about that? Kong Nay through Interpreter Chapei is a multi-purpose instrument, you can use chapei to play wedding music and you can also use it to play, to sing, recite, telling folk tales. And I can do it solo and I can also do it in response to another singer - can be two or more singers. Macrae But it does relate to a sort of - as well, doesn't it, to a kind improvised story telling, almost news spreading operation that would happen in Cambodia? Kong Nay through Interpreter Yeah basically that is really true because traditionally the mass media was limited so chapei was a form of channel to spread messages across a village to people. Macrae Was it used in any subversive way during the Pol Pot regime, for example, I would imagine that music - your music was probably pretty much frowned upon at that time, was the chapei tradition used as a way of spreading any kind of political messages and opinions at that time? Kong Nay through Interpreter In 1975, that was when the Khmer Rouge was - took over the country, they forced me to sing chapei but in a political way, spreading their propaganda. But up until 1977 they forced me to stop instead they had me working. Macrae How does this tradition survive now given the massive influx of Western influences that there must be in Cambodia now? Kong Nay through Interpreter I wouldn't deny that the influx of Western culture has been a big threat to this art form. However, there remains quite a large number of people, both young and old, who are still interested in this art form, thanks to the support from the Royal government of Cambodia and by certain organisations such as Cambodian Living Arts which is a project of World education. Macrae And what do you do now, what do you do to kind of keep that alive now personally and individually? Kong Nay through Interpreter So far I've been teaching chapei to 12 students in total for under the sponsorship of Cambodian Living Arts and eight others who came to me for private classes. Macrae And can you tell me something about your relationship with Peter Gabriel, how you came to know him, how he came to find you and what your relationship with him is now because I know for example you're playing WOMAD, the festival? Kong Nay through Interpreter Actually Peter Gabriel has been a long time friend of Arn Chorn-Pond, who is the founder of Cambodian Living Arts, and because I've been one of the masters in his project so I was introduced to Peter Gabriel through Chorn-Pond. Macrae And how has that - how has that relationship blossomed? Kong Nay through Interpreter After the introduction from Arn Chorn-Pond Peter Gabriel send one of his staff who was a Mr Richard Chappell to Cambodia to see - to visit me in person and then he fell in love with the music and he felt like he should bring this to the British people. Macrae Good, well it's fantastic and I know you'll have a great time at WOMAD. I just wondered were you not doing what you're doing, that is practising and preaching the art of chapei at home, what as a blind person in Cambodia what else might you have ended up doing or being? Kong Nay through Interpreter It's going to be really difficult but if I do not possess this skill I will have a hard time earning a living, I might end up being a beggar on the streets. Macrae Well glad it hasn't turned out that way and thank you very much for being with us. Well earlier I spoke to Peter Gabriel and I asked him what it was that had attracted him to Kong Nay's singing and playing. Gabriel I could see or hear a direct relationship with the sort of Delta Blues, it was music that felt very visceral, very fresh, it was soulful and I think I was quite excited when I first heard it. Macrae Yeah it's interesting isn't it because I mean my first reaction when I heard that he'd been called the Cambodian Ray Charles was oh that's a very kind of easy catch-all way of identifying a blind musician basically. Gabriel I mean this was a title not imposed by us, it was what he was known as in Cambodia by the Cambodians. Macrae Do you think that someone like him - I mean almost regardless of his impairment in a way - needs to have a kind of champion in order to - because it's not the most accessible music in the world is it? Gabriel No it isn't accessible and for sure it's not going to be sort of mainstream dance music but I think there will be some people who will hear the soulfulness there and the mastery and in fact it's interesting when you listen to his student, Savy, that he's travelling with now, because it's a girl's voice sometimes you can hear the artistry in a different context and recognise it in a different way I think. So ultimately people will be heard for what it is they're doing, for the work and regardless of any impairment. So I think there's a great artist here, there's a master in his tradition and it's a wonderful thing that he's visiting the UK for the first time. Macrae But do you think he's looking for the kind of success that artists like, for example, Amadou et Mariam, have achieved - you know the blind couple from Mali? Gabriel That's a fantastic and extremely attractive record that's very well produced with Amadou et Mariam, it was one of my favourites last year, and I think unless he finds a producer and chooses to make music that is attractive and open in the way that that is, I think his audience is quite a lot smaller than that. Macrae Are you planning to perform with him yourself? Gabriel I'm not sure, the trouble is I would love to try an experiment - get to know each other in a musical way and then see what we could work out together. We're not going to have that time before WOMAD. So I think it may be very difficult. If there's a chance backstage and we can get some instruments and see if something cooks. But I think in the future if we can get him over again and hopefully WOMAD will go well and there'll be the opportunity. Macrae So we won't be hearing a chapei version of Don't Give Up? Gabriel Not currently and of course you've got different harmonies and different scales, so there are some musical difficulties to be overcome but I think they can be overcome and we've worked with musicians from other countries with similar differences and found common ground and so I hope there will be a chance. And I think, yeah, it won't take over the world but I'm sure he's going to find some people that just love what he does. Macrae Peter Gabriel. And if you're planning to go to WOMAD Kong Nay is on the Meadows stage on Saturday evening at 8 o'clcok. Now the Economist is a long established staple of the weekly news-stand but recently it has made itself available in a form which is accessible to us because they've produced the magazine as a downloadable podcast. Politico Gary O'Donoghue has been checking it out for us and he joins me now on the line from our studio in Millbank. So Gary what's it like? O'Donoghue I think it's been extremely well produced, it's obviously been recorded very professionally and what they've done is they've used a variety of voices both male and female and again a different voice to introduce each of the items and introduce each of the sections. Maybe it would at this point be worth having a little listen to what it sounds like when you actually hear it. Economist clip The Economist, July 14th-July 20th 2007. An audio download of this week's Economist newspaper. Word for word the articles from this week's edition of the Economist in audio. Download and listen to the sections of your choice on your Mp3 player or your computer. O'Donoghue And of course those familiar to Radio 4 will know the voice of Peter Donaldson, he does a lot of the headings and the titles of the sections when you go through the magazine. Macrae Apart from him what's the reading like? O'Donoghue I think the reading's pretty good, I mean they've made some effort to get some people who are obviously very fluent, they've obviously spent a bit of time on working out pronunciations and it really is a very professional approach and in a sense that's my worry about it - that it can't be cheap to be honest to produce it. At the moment they're offering it as a free download for people who already have a subscription to the magazine or you can buy it as a one off each week for around $8, which is not much more than the cover price of the newspaper itself, which I think is about £3.70 in the shops. So they're giving it an equivalent price but it must cost quite a lot to produce and that would worry me I think in the longer run about how viable it would be. Macrae And how long is it? O'Donoghue It's about eight hours in total. I mean you have to remember that the Economist newspaper is a very serious, very serious injection of hard core current affairs, it's for people who really do like their politics, their economics, their business, their science on a worldwide scale, I mean it has enormous respect as a newspaper and is widely read, particularly amongst the political classes and things like that, it is extremely informative, I mean it has a point of view like other newspapers do but it is extremely informative as well. And you can download it in sections, so for example you could just download the Britain section and read the six or seven articles in that or you can download the whole thing or you can listen to it online, so you can stream it to your computer. So there are a few options there and you don't have to download the whole lot and you can download individual articles if you want to. So you can sort of pick and mix, so you can go in and pick the ones you want to listen to and the bits you like and put them on your Mp3 player if that's what you want to do. Macrae Now I mean as you say it's downloadable or listenable to on your computer. People who aren't maybe that savvy about or don't have a portable media player or whatever is it just tough luck basically? O'Donoghue Well they're not offering it, as I understand, in any other format at the moment, it is an online product in that sense. So I think the answer is you would have to have a computer in order to be able to use it. Now of course there are other ways of getting hold of the Economist in accessible formats: the Talking Newspaper Association, the UK Talking Newspaper Association, they do a digest of the Economist on cassette each week which you can get as part of that subscription, they also do it as an electronic text ... Macrae The full text that would be. O'Donoghue The full text yeah, and that's important to say about this audio edition from the Economist themselves, it is the text of all articles. The things they've missed out are things like the adverts, they've missed out some of the statistical tables that you get quite a lot of at the back of the newspaper but apart from that it is the entire the text of the newspaper. Macrae And do you have any kind of handle on why they've done it? O'Donoghue I did speak to their executive editor about this and they seemed to take the view that they think their subscribers and their readership will quite like to do this, perhaps as an adjunct to the print version when people are driving or on aeroplanes or hanging around, people probably have - a lot of people will have Mp3 players already to listen to music and perhaps to audio books and that this is an extra way of getting their injection of the Economist each week. And I think they like many other people in the publishing industry - don't forget Ian you and I will have talked about publishers' reluctance 10 or 20 years ago to think about audio books, no market they said didn't they, there's no market for it - but the exponential rise in audio books and material in an audio format for sighted people to use has been absolutely extraordinary and I think they've obviously realised that people like being read to don't they. Macrae We certainly do. Gary, thank you. And details of how to subscribe to that audio version of the Economist or of Kong Nay's performances at WOMAD next weekend are available as ever from our action line - 0800 044 044 - or you can visit the web pages for more information or to hear the programme. Peter White's here next week but for now from me Ian Macrae, producer Cheryl Gabriel and the rest of the In Touch team bye bye now. Back to top |
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