For your consideration: ALL AROUND THIS WORLD: AFRICA.
My name is Jay Sand and I’m the founder and lead teacher of All Around This World, a one-of-a-kind global music and world cultures project for kids and their families. Over the course of a three year series of classes All Around This World introduces children to music from every continent, sharing over 250 thoughtfully-adapted songs that originated from over 100 countries…seriously! My mission is to bring us all closer together by using energizing and inspiring international music to help children and their grown-ups open their minds to all countries and cultures.
Earlier in 2015 I released ALL AROUND THIS WORLD: AFRICA, an ambitious double CD set that I present for your consideration in this year’s GRAMMY awards.
ALL AROUND THIS WORLD: AFRICA SAMPLER: Hear songs on the CD that originate all over the continent — North and South, Central, East and West:
All Around This World: Africa features 32 songs from 20 African nations that originated in two dozen languages and that introduce families to Africa through songs recorded in genres like Ethio-Jazz, Highlife, Soukous, Sierra Leonean Reggae, Afrobeat, Fuji, Nubian wedding music and South African Isicathamiya. I sourced this material from Africa with tremendous care, choosing songs that are not only geographically, linguistically and thematically diverse enough to take families on a broad tour of the continent but that also have substantial cultural and musical depth. I adapted/translated/transformed each song for use in the classroom, then finally did the most important thing for a teacher and family-friendly musician — I sang the songs with kids! Every song on the CD was a certified hit in my All Around This World classrooms, not just with my infant to 9 year-old students but with their parents and teachers too.
The tracks on the All Around This World: Africa album are the product of two years of intense studio work with co-producer, Brooklyn-based world music artist and engineer Amon Drum. We worked meticulously with musicians from ten African nations as well as with accomplished artists from the U.S. and several other countries. We recorded tracks in studios from New York to L.A. to Philadelphia to Kampala, Uganda (where the session almost killed the guitar player…twice. But that’s another story.)
WHY SHOULD YOU SUPPORT ALL AROUND THIS WORLD: AFRICA?
We all know raising our kids to be “global citizens” is no longer optional in our interconnected world. Families understand this but we don’t always have access to the tools that effectively inspire our kids to explore. Schools understand this, but many barely have time for an “international food day” before they disappear into the standardized test prep abyss. All Around This World uses music to crack the code, translating really honest and important elements of culture into educational experiences that actively resonate with kids.
Frankly, this is all just a bunch of bunk if the music stinks. Listen using the links below and I’m confident you’ll appreciate the thought, skill and just plain FUN that went into crafting this album. If you think we’ve accomplished something substantial, please consider supporting All Around This World: Africa this fall.
Want to hear more? Listen to each of the two CDs in full:
All Around This World: Africa (West, Central and South):
All Around This World: Africa (North and East):
Or, click on the title of each song on this map (which accompanies the physical release of the CD) to listen, see the lyrics and learn more about it:
What reviewers are saying about All Around This World: Africa, which just happens to be a Parents’ Choice Award winner, like All Around This World: Latin America before it:
“A joyous way to experience and learn about other nations and peoples, All Around This World: Africa is highly recommended!”
— Children’s Bookwatch
“Packed with a variety of different sounds…. different from what we usually listen to, and a great addition to our music library!”
— A Nation of Moms
“A fantastic introduction to the vibrant sounds and rhythms of different music from various regions in Africa and you would be hard pressed to find something on this album that doesn’t get your soul dancing.
“There’s nothing that gets your blood racing and your spirits soaring then tribal drum beats, catchy rhythms, and clapping hands.”
— MrJeff2000 blog
“Breaks new ground in global education… Immerse your kids in awesome, multicultural melodies today.”
SO MANY MUSICIANS:
More than 40 international and internationally-minded musicians worked closely with Amon and me to record All Around This World: Africa, plus the thirty All Around This World students and supporters who added vocals for Wai Bamba. Click the name on the liner notes below, which accompany the physical release of the CD, to hear the musician’s work on one of the tracks.
Also included in the CD liner notes: Lyrics, Production Credits and other goodies: (click to enlarge):
THANK YOU! I’m happy to answer any questions. Click here to e-mail me or, for press, contact Beth Blenz-Clucas at Sugar Mountain PR. SHARE SHARE SHARE.
