Best American Folklife Center Podcasts (2024)

1
23 - MIX: Alan Lomax in Carriacou, 1962 30:27

2M ago30:27

30:27

Been All Around This World has a new co-host! ACE Program Coordinator and Been All Around This World producer Michael Cormier-O'Leary joins Curator Nathan Salsburg in bringing you new episodes of this podcast. We are expanding the show's format to include episodes like today's, which is a continuous mix of music, mixed in with our deeper dives. Thi…

1
Rebecca Frayn - environmental activist, film director and author of Lost in Ibiza. 59:05

3M ago59:05

59:05

For this episode I travel high into the hills above San Vicente to meet the author, environmental activist and film director Rebecca Frayn who has just published Lost in Ibiza. This is a novel about climate change, family dynamics and the different tribes of people who inhabit this island. We talk about the book and explore other Ibiza-related proj…

1
Emma Salahi: Oriol Maspons Ibiza - hedonism and humour in the 1980's 34:26

5M ago34:26

34:26

Emma Salahi is co-producer of a new Ibiza photobook featuring the work of the famous Spanish photographer Oriol Maspons. He visited Ibiza from the 1950’s to the 1980’s and captured the essence of the hedonistic side of the 1980’s, as well as the traditional side of island life. Emma sifted through 500 of Oriol’s images to choose a selection which a…

1
How marine archaeology explains Ibiza's history: Enrique Aragon 1:23:16

5M ago1:23:16

1:23:16

With Ibiza being such an important trans-Mediterranean trading post since the Phoenicians set foot on the island, the seas around the island contain a real treasure trove of ship wrecks. Marine archaeologist Enrique Aragon spends much of his time exploring the area and in this interview reveals how important these remains are for our understanding …

1
'Voyage and Discovery': a portrait of Ibiza in 1932 by Conor O'Brien 40:31

9M ago40:31

40:31

'Voyage and Discovery' by Conor O'Brien is an account of the sailor and travel-writer's journey by boat to the White Isle where they moored up in Ibiza harbour for almost a year in 1932. His vivid descriptions of town and country life, as well as the landscapes of the island, are quite riveting. Ibiza's Barbary Press has just brought out a new edit…

1
21 - Songs of Christmas, Midwinter, and New Year 30:26

9M ago30:26

30:26

An admittedly cursory holiday mix presenting performances from our new digital release, "Songs of Christmas, New Year, and Midwinter from the Lomax Collection," available now on the Lomax Archive's Bandcamp page as well as the streaming services. We invite you to pair this mix with our older holiday-themed episode, which features other related mate…

1
20 - Inspiration: Instrumentalists from the 1939 Texas recordings 34:17

10M ago34:17

34:17

Fiddlers, harp blowers, and guitarists recorded by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax during their 1939 Texas field-trip. 1) Frank Goodwyn & Manuel Salinas: Chinese Breakdown (Falfurrias, Brooks County, Texas, April 29, 1939) 2) Lake Porter: The Lost Girl (Falfurrias, Brooks County, Texas, April 29, 1939) 3) Lake Porter: Drunken Hiccups (Falfurrias, Brooks …

1
19 - Go to Sleepy Little Baby: Lullabies from the Alan Lomax Collection 32:06

11M ago32:06

32:06

The Lomax Collection reflects a variety of human experience—from the sacred to the profane, from the rural to the urban, and from the public square to the domestic scene. The Lomaxes recorded lullabies all over the world, creating a record of the universality of these particularly intimate moments between parents and children. This episode gathers …

1
Ethnomusicologist and Ibiza expert Judith Cohen 1:20:49

1+ y ago1:20:49

1:20:49

Regular Ibizology listeners will, by now, be very familiar with the Ibizology intro/outro music. This haunting music was recorded in the 1950’s in Ibiza by the American ethnomusicologist, Alan Lomax. My guest in this episode of Ibizology is the editor of Alan’s Spanish collection of folkloric music. She has developed a deep understanding of Ibiza’s…

1
16 - Sing Christmas and the Turn of the Year 2:21:37

1+ y ago2:21:37

2:21:37

An expansion of our Christmas and New Year episode of a few years back with extra tracks and more all around cheer. Links are to tracks' records in the Lomax Digital Archive. Those without them are either not Lomax recordings, or not yet included in the LDA. (If you'd like to assist in digitization/cataloging efforts to preserve and make available …

1
SOS Club Nautico! 46:08

2y ago46:08

46:08

For almost 100 years Ibiza’s club Nautico has stood in the city’s harbour, not far from the Formentera ferry terminal. The club, an institution much-loved by Ibicencos, has seen the area around it transformed, modernized and commercialized in tandem with much of the rest of the island. Now the same powerful forces which have altered so much of Ibiz…

1
15 - "Trials, Troubles, Tribulations" 1:03:39

2y ago1:03:39

1:03:39

Our eschatological episode of the program. Songs on final things: the end of the world, the end of time, judgement day, "when the stars begin to fall," etc. Playlist (links to catalog records in the Lomax Digital Archive): [Bed music] Fred McDowell: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning 1. E.C. Ball & Lacey Richardson: Tribulations (Rugby, Virginia, …

1
Dominique Sanson - artist, philosopher, musician 1:23:56

2y ago1:23:56

1:23:56

The artist, philosopher and musician Dominique Sanson is perhaps most famous in Ibiza for his panel of paintings which depict Ibiza’s from pre-history until modern times. But his art goes way beyond these, with his unique style depicting many topics which highlight the beauty of the island and its inhabitants as well as his sufist beliefs. You can …

1
Dean Gallagher: snake man of Ibiza 1:05:27

2y ago1:05:27

1:05:27

With invasive snakes out of control in Ibiza, and local lizards heading for extinction, British-Australian Dean Gallagher has battled to return the island to its previous snake-free state. This has not been easy for Dean, who suffered nightmares about snakes in the early part of his campaign. Even now he performs a ritual to calm each creature befo…

1
Women were second class citizens, except during courtship and dance: Toni Manonelles 1:24:38

2+ y ago1:24:38

1:24:38

Women have suffered as second class citizens in most traditional, patriarchal societies around the world and Ibiza was no exception. Females had far fewer freedoms and rights than men and were often excluded from secondary education right up until the 1970s and ‘80s. However there was one moment in a woman’s life when she was in control of her dest…

1
14 - "When I'm Gone, Gone": South Carolina, 1934–1940 28:12

2+ y ago28:12

28:12

(Scroll down for playlist and links to resources mentioned.) This episode provides an introduction to the singers and sites visited by John A. Lomax in the Palmetto State between 1934 and 1940, on the occasion of...: The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the Association for Cultural Equity, and the Charles Joyner Institute for Gu…

1
Ibiza's landscape and agricultural history with Vicent Palermet 57:21

2+ y ago57:21

57:21

Vicent Palermet is one of Ibiza’s foremost experts on landscape history and traditional agricultural practices. We have a fascinating conversation where he describes the evolution of the rural landscape and agriculture since Bronze Age times. He also explains why agriculture has declined and his hopes for the future. Let’s join Vicent at an ancient…

1
Andre Quidu Croissant Show, Ibiza 36:55

2+ y ago36:55

36:55

The delightful André Quidu is a famous Ibiza character, whose warmth and humour brings a smile to the face of every customer at Croissant Show, the French bakery and café in La Marina, Ibiza. I was so pleased that André agreed to be interview in late December, and it was just in the nick of time as you will hear. The moustached bon viveur has been …

1
Pine Tree Island: A Novel from Ibiza's Dawn by Ben Dunwell 27:29

2+ y ago27:29

27:29

Pine Tree Island is a new novel by the author Ben Dunwell, set in the dawn of Ibiza’s settlement by the Phoenicians around 650BC. In this interview Ben describes how he became a writer, as well as the highs and lows of the creative process. The podcast was recorded before Christmas and since then, Pine Tree Island has become available on Amazon for…

1
13 - Songs and stories for Halloween 1:08:46

3y ago1:08:46

1:08:46

[Bed music:] Sid Hemphill and band: The Death March (Quitman Co., Mississippi, August 1942). Mr. & Mrs. Boyd Hoskins: Ah, Lovely Appearance of Death (Horse Creek, Clay Co., Kentucky, October 1942) Bessie Jones: Oh Death (St. Simons Island, Georgia, October 1959) Nimrod Workman: O Death (Mascot, Tennessee, July 1983) Bessie Jones tells a story of a …

1
Professor Francesc Calafell: Ibiza’s unique genetic heritage 47:30

3y ago47:30

47:30

Professor Francesc Calafell’s research on genes shows how closely connected Ibiza’s native population is to the Catalan invaders of the thirteenth century. In this fascinating episode of the Ibizology podcast Francesc goes on to describe how the people of Spain are more closely related to settlers from the Russian steppes 4,000 years ago than to an…

1
12 - The Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh, 70 years later 2:09:03

3y ago2:09:03

2:09:03

August 30, 2021, is the 70-year anniversary of the 1951 Edinburgh People’s Festival Ceilidh, the seminal event that heralded and generated the Scottish Folk Revival of the 1960s. Alan Lomax was on hand to record it in the Oddfellows Hall, and thus able to preserve a document of a legendary concert that alerted the astonished urban audience to the c…

1
Matanza 45:24

3y ago45:24

45:24

The matanza, or slaughter of the pig, is an ancient rural tradition in Ibiza which would bring together the local people each winter. Killing the pig and preparing the meat was a labour-intensive process which took a day or more and was followed by a night of celebration and feasting. A new exhibition by the publisher and historian Martin Davies br…

1
Ibiza's lizards face extinction unless we act now: Elba Montes 45:48

3+ y ago45:48

45:48

The lost lizards of Ibiza are now a sad fact of life across most of the island of Ibiza. Snakes, first spotted in 2003, are the culprit. They arrived amongst the roots of olive trees imported from the mainland to satisfy the fashion for Mediterranean gardens. Now, thanks to the efforts of Elba Montes, a PhD student, the annihilation of the lizards …

1
"It’s extremely hard to prove, but also extremely hard to disprove:" Rolf Blakstad 50:39

3+ y ago50:39

50:39

In this episode you’re going to meet the architect Rolf Blakstad who has just published, in English, his father Ralph's amazing book which links traditional Ibizan finca design back more than 2000 years to the Phoenicians who settled here from what is now Lebanon. Rolf’s father spent decades roaming the island’s countryside, measuring, drawing and …

1
Casita Verde founder Chris Dews: "We want people in Ibiza who are intelligent, not just rich" 1:40:43

4y ago1:40:43

1:40:43

The ecologist and environmental campaginer, Chris Dews, is famous in Ibiza as the founder of Casita Verde near St Jose, which he started in 1993. Chris and teams of volunteers have transformed the place into a model for living with minimal environmental impact. He dreams of one day doing things on a much grander scale on a different site, and has h…

1
“Because of the plague the harbour was shut” Ibiza archivist Fanny Tur 1:22:04

4y ago1:22:04

1:22:04

The historian, archivist and politician Francesca or Fanny Tur Riera is in charge of the official historical archives of Ibiza and Formentera, which contain documents going back more than 800 years. As well as her work with the archive, Fanny has been politically active, championing the importance of Catalan culture and as a minister for culture an…

1
"Ibiza had some special magic where these genius swindlers operated": Martin Davies investigates 1:05:51

4+ y ago1:05:51

1:05:51

In this episode the writer, publisher, and original Ibizologist, Martin Davies, helps us to bring alive some of the characters living in Ibiza in the 1960s. We delve deeper into the enigmatic figure of Elmyr de Hory, possibly the twentieth century’s greatest art forger. You’ll hear Martin challenge one by one what I had assumed to be the basic fact…

1
11 - "Making It In Hell": Parchman Farm, 1933–1969

4+ y ago

—

Brutality and inhumanity were central to the Southern state prison farms, in their theory and their practice, and of them all, the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm was the most brutal and inhuman. Both John A. and Alan Lomax made repeated visits to Parchman, recording — under the eye of the disinterested white captains, sergeants, an…

1
Elmyr de Hory part 2 - we dig deeper with the art historian and forgery expert Jeffrey Taylor 33:59

4+ y ago33:59

33:59

By Will Beacham

1
Elmyr De Hory - the twentieth century's most successful art forger 48:50

5y ago48:50

48:50

Elmyr de Hory, perhaps the twentieth century’s greatest art forger, lived in Ibiza from 1961 until his suicide in 1976. Uncovering the truth about Elmyr is difficult – the more you dig into his history the more impenetrable it becomes. For Elmyr, being gay and Jewish made life difficult in post-war Europe. Globe-trotting Elmyr settled in Ibiza in 1…

1
10 - Singing from the Sacred Harp, 1928-1983

5y ago

—

Sacred Harp -- the four-part shape-note singing tradition long confined to the American South, but recently enjoying remarkable international popularity and participation -- fascinated and challenged Lomax for most of his career. He recorded it multiple times, trying with increasing technological sophistication to capture its indelible magic. In th…

1
09 - The Mississippi Hill Country, 1942-1978

5y ago

—

1. Sid Hemphill and band: The Carrier Line (or the Carrier song). Sledge, Mississippi, August 1942. 2. Sid Hemphill and Lucius Smith: Going Away, Won't Be Long. Senatobia, Miss., September 1959. 3. Miles and Bob Pratcher: I'm Gonna Live Anyhow Until I Die. Como, Miss., 9/59. 4. Fred McDowell with Fanny Davis and Miles Pratcher: Shake 'Em On Down. C…

1
Pere Vergés: "real music is live music, performed by people" 1:06:10

5y ago1:06:10

1:06:10

Up in the wild hills above Santa Agnes in the north of Ibiza dwells an extraordinary musician and instrument-maker. Pere Verges welcomed me into his primitive finca one summer evening and talked to me about his life and philosophy.During the recording he plays a selection of his unusual and unique stringed and woodwind instruments. As you’ll hear, …

1
08 - The Southern Journey at 60

5y ago

—

The Fall 2019 season of the program will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the so-called "Southern Journey" field-recording trip and explore various regions, traditions, and performers Lomax and Collins visited and recorded. This first episode is a (highly cursory) survey. 1. Hobart Smith: Railroad Bill. Bluefield, Virginia, August 25. 2. Texas G…

1
Damien Enright - Dope in the Age of Innocence: part 2, the walkabout 47:37

5+ y ago47:37

47:37

In the previous episode of Ibizology I introduced you to the Irish writer Damien Enright. He told us his story of life in Ibiza in the 1960s centred around the bohemian Domino Bar in La Marina. Damien was a free spirit and ended up doing a drugs run to Turkey. Returning to the Spanish border, disaster struck as customs officials began dismantling h…

1
Damien Enright: Dope In The Age Of Innocence 1:17:05

5+ y ago1:17:05

1:17:05

Writer Damien Enright first set foot in Ibiza in the early 1960s and fell straight in with the bohemian, hedonistic, international crowd centred around the Domino bar next to the port in La Marina. Free-thinking Damien had many adventures, including a failed dope-smuggling run from Turkey to Ibiza, which form the basis of his novel Dope in the Age …

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