Norient Podcasts

Norient is an endlessly interesting website based in Switzerland that is dedicated to Local & Global Sounds and Media Culture.  They post a variety of audio, video, articles and academic essays on subjects ranging from the Egyptian metal scene, gay rap and Bangladeshi electronic music and are well worth checking out.
Norient have produced a series of podcasts looking at mp3 blogging and you can hear the first and second installments by following the links below:

SIM Cards from Northern Mali

Christopher Kirkley offers on his blog Sahelsounds autotuned DIY-pop and unplugged music from Northern Mali. He visited the city of Kidal where today French, Malian and African troops are trying to push back Islamist rebels.

The World at 78 RPM

In this Norient podcast Ward tells me about his fascination with shellac, about how bloggers and ethnomusicologists don’t meet, and about a typical phenomena: «Blogger fatigue». He is a great guy to talk to. Keep checking out his work!

In other news, I have opened a Snap, Crackle & Pop facebook page if you fancy getting even more messages on your wall. Check it out if you like, the link is in the sidebar.