Playing for Change

When listening to music we tend to go back and forth between discovering new sounds, and enjoying old favorites again and again. It's always nice to recognize a tune and sing along with it, but hearing the same version over and over can get a bit dull. Thanks to the great team I worked together with on the Mazunte Earthship Build over the last few months, I got to know a fantastic music project that combines famous songs with new interpretations from around the world. It's called Playing for Change.

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A Long Time Project

I was surprised to hear how long Playing for Change has been around (without me knowing about it). It was founded in 2002 by Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke, who started traveling with a mobile recording studio, asking various musicians to interpret famous songs. Since then the project has worked together with over a thousand musicians from more than fifty countries so far, and counting. Among the artist are such famous names as Keith Richards, Manu Chao, and Tom Morello, as well as musicians who are little known outside their home countries. So far four albums have been recorded, though the majority of their music can be found online. Checking out the Playing for Change site is certainly worthwhile. It is super easy to navigate, giving you lots of info about the songs, artists, locations, and anything related.

A Small Taste of an Ocean of Music

I don't even know where to start introducing this wonderful abundance of music. Maybe with the song where I first noticed how amazing this rendition sounded: One Love by Bob Marley and the Wailers was performed by a number of musicians in over fifteen locations world wide. The artists include names, such as Keb'Mo', Rajhesh Viadhya, Roberto Luti, and the gorgeous choir Sinamuva.

Do you remember Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young? For me it's always been a song I felt everyone should know, not only for its beautiful sound, but for its lyrical message that can bring one to tears. Well, Playing for Change has recorded a version of it at a live performance in Australia with Israeli artist Tula as a vocalist. But let the sound speak for itself:

About two decades ago the Buena Vista Social Club project reignited the world's interest in the richness of Cuban music. Their most famous recording was Chan Chan, which Playing for Change has taken to a whole new level, with artists from the Lebanon, Japan, Brazil, Mali, and of course Cuba! It is a song that never gets old, and the video recording of these artists, performing usually in visually stunning locations of their home countries , makes it a joy to watch.

These are just a few examples of how Playing for Change transforms old favorites into global masterpieces that seem to carry the listener to new heights. It is no wonder that having such an effect would create many other side projects, which bring about actual positive change in the world.

So Much More Than Just Recording

What started out as many separate musicians, soon formed an ever growing PFC Band, with regular tour dates every year, and recorded albums. But that was just the beginning, really. Since then Playing for Change has started the Playing For Change Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building music and art schools for children around the world.

It seems like these amazing artists really manage to make a change, uniting people, cultures, instruments, and songs in the universal languages of music and love. I really urge you to take a musical exploration on the Playing for Change page, as it introduces you to literally a world of music.

Take a Look at the Previous Posts in my Monday Music Series:

The Sound of the Hungarian Zither
Obligatory Line-Dance at Mexican Parties - El Payaso del Rodeo
Floating Into the Night by Julee Cruise
Classic Canadiana - Stan Rogers
Party Like There's No Tomorrow, Cry Like Everything Is Lost - Hungarian Gypsy Music
The Harder Sound of the Middle Ages - Corvus Corax
The First Hip-Hop I Actually Liked - Things Fall Apart by The Roots
No Prophets in Their Own Land - Rodrigo y Gabriela
Beyond the Boundries of Styles and Genres - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Accordion-Rock You May Not Know (But Really Should) - Los Tabascos
Songs of the Mexican Revolution - La Adelita
Memorable Weirdness - What Do You Want A Japanese To Do Again?
Gloomy Sunday - The Hungarian Suicide Song
Party Tunes from the Wild East - The "Russendisko" Experience
Folk Songs from Your Home Village - Hungarian Regional Sound Archives
Polynesian Salt Water Music
Images Conjured up by Tom Waits' Music
In Country: Folks Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War
Somebody Tell Me - Translating a Hungarian Song Into [EN] and [SP]
Somebody Tell Me - first trial & live performance [HU] [SP] [EN]
Horst Wessel in Mexico