It’s been a long time since the last Pine Tree Republic post – over eight months, to be exact! I’ve experienced lots of exciting changes over that time, including travelling to China in the spring, and starting on my PhD this fall. Admittedly, I’ve let those changes knock me off course in terms of keeping a regular…
Following up on our top news articles of 2016, another annual Pine Tree Republic tradition is to review the past year in world music. With digital music services making ever more music available from around the world, it can be difficult to distinguish what makes “world music” distinct from any other kind of music we might hear these…
Happy New Year to PineTreeRepublic readers! As we enter 2017 and approach our second anniversary, it seems like a good moment to continue an emerging annual tradition: the top 10 list of our favourite news articles from the past year. If nothing else, the twists and turns of 2016 demonstrated the importance of high-quality journalism in order to…
It’s hard to believe we’re already past the halfway point of 2016. As usual, this year has already brought a bounty of must-hear music from all corners of the world. New albums have trickled in from established artists on the world music circuit (such as Fanfare Cicorlia), while new artists are being discovered from countries…
Presidential primaries unlike any other. Renewed promise for action on climate change. A refugee crisis that nobody seems to have an answer for. Increasingly brazen acts of terrorism around the world. A vote that may forever change Europe’s course. Through the first half of 2016, the world seemed to spin at an increasingly dizzying pace of change…
Ed. Note: Happy New Year to all PineTreeRepublic citizens! As a brief personal aside, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, like, share, and perhaps even comment on the posts that have appeared on this blog over the past year. I started this project just under a year ago out of…
2015 has been a great year for world music so far. African bands in particular have had a banner year, with groups from Mali, Niger, and the Congo issuing original music that transcends boundaries. In other parts of the world, collaboration between different traditions has also led to exciting musical discoveries. If you’re looking to…
As we turn the page on the first half of 2015 and the first four months of PineTreeRepublic, we take a look at some of the top news articles of 2015 so far. Each of the journalists in these articles provided an important perspective on some of the year’s most significant developments, and helped further our understanding on the…
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