{"id":2177876,"date":"2025-11-26T16:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T16:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2177876"},"modified":"2025-11-26T16:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T16:45:13","slug":"hear-indigenous-instruments-from-around-the-world-via-berklees-new-sound-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/hear-indigenous-instruments-from-around-the-world-via-berklees-new-sound-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Indigenous instruments from around the world via Berklee’s new sound library"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Chinese erhu, a bowed, two-stringed instrument, similar to a violin; the Peruvian quena, a traditional flute from the Andes; the Persian tar, a long-necked string instrument from the lute family. These are some of the instruments that Berklee students, faculty, and alumni have performed \u2014 and recorded \u2014 as part of the Berklee Intersectional Soundbox Archive<\/b><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Get Starting Point<\/span><\/p>\n

A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The college\u2019s new project aims to collect clips of instruments, stories, and sound expressions from Indigenous communities worldwide. Lim proposed the idea via Berklee\u2019s grant office after meeting students who were unsure of how to share their expertise with traditional instruments within the college\u2019s community. He\u2019s been overseeing the archive\u2019s development since earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople kinda go, \u2018Wait, how do you come to Berklee and play a \u2018non- conventional\u2019 instrument\u2019?\u201d Lim says. \u201cI wanted to give respect to the hands that preserved this body of instruments that have been surviving for hundreds of years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As of November \u2014 Native American Heritage Month \u2014 the archive already has swelled to over 350 sound samples. Emphasis on samples; these aren\u2019t fully fleshed-out songs, but rather recordings that showcase each instrument\u2019s various textures and tones, as well as the tonal differences between different variations of the instruments. While browsing the archive, guests can opt to download the music for free for future use in their own compositions (although attribution is required). <\/span><\/p>\n

Some clips, like a burst of Middle Eastern percussion, are barely more than 10 seconds. Others, like a portion of the tale \u201cHow Fire Was Made,\u201d stretch closer to a minute and a half. That particular recording showcases storytelling from Tchin<\/b><\/a>, a musician, flutemaker, and folklorist from the Narragansett tribe. Earlier this year, Lim and a handful of students visited the recording studio at Berklee\u2019s New York City campus to record Tchin\u2019s work. <\/span><\/p>\n

So far, the project has been just as much of an outlet for students as it has been for guest artists and educators like Tchin, who Lim says is \u201cstill imagining ways to share this knowledge with people, which is why he\u2019s sharing it with us.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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GIG GUIDE<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Thwart any budding cabin fever this weekend with a few bursts of New England rock, starting with an appearance from Belly<\/b><\/a>, who return to the Paradise Rock Club<\/a> on Friday<\/a>. Boston alt-rock darlings Vundabar<\/b><\/a> cozy up to Cambridge, performing their 2015 album \u201cGAWK\u201d in its entirety at the Lilypad on Friday<\/a>, followed by an appearance at the Sinclair on Saturday<\/a> that\u2019s more focused on their latest LP, \u201cSurgery and Pleasure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti<\/b><\/a> heads to the Wilbur for shows on Friday and Saturday<\/a>. Across the street at Royale, New Zealand\u2019s the Beths<\/b><\/a> provide a punchy double shot of rock with shows on Monday<\/a> and Tuesday<\/a> to support their August album \u201cStraight Line Was a Lie.\u201d The grunge-grazed act Sir Chloe<\/b><\/a>, whose roots trace back to Bennington College in Vermont, continues Royale\u2019s rock block on Thursday<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Skylar Spence<\/b><\/a>, king of funk-slicked electronica, performs at Deep Cuts on Sunday<\/a> as part of Carpark Records\u2019s 25th anniversary festivities. You might not have heard of Spence before, but you know the gist of his work; the earworm guitar riff powering Doja Cat<\/b><\/a>\u2019s breakthrough hit \u201cSay So\u201d seems to closely mimic Spence\u2019s 2014 song \u201cFiona Coyne.\u201d If you\u2019re into that dazed disco vibe, more grooves await at Spence\u2019s local stop. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also on Sunday<\/a>, <\/b>Earl Sweatshirt<\/b><\/a> becomes one of the few people to ever make the phrase \u201cLive Laugh Love\u201d sound cool, as he brings his album of the same name to Big Night Live. Along with a string of releases via Warner Records, the Chicago-born rapper also touts past membership in Odd Future, the alt-hip-hop collective that included bigwigs such as Tyler, The Creator<\/b><\/a> and Frank Ocean<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Afrobeats
Afrobeats sensation Burna Boy returns to TD Garden on Wednesday. (Ben Stas for The Boston Globe)<\/span>Ben Stas for The Boston Globe\/The Boston Globe<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Burna Boy<\/b><\/a> returns to TD Garden on Wednesday<\/a> with his latest offering, the fervid LP \u201cNo Sign of Weakness.\u201d The last time the singer, rapper, and producer visited Massachusetts, he made history as the first African artist to sell out the arena, and Boston City Council declared it \u201cBurna Boy Day\u201d<\/a> throughout the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

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NOW SPINNING<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Tems<\/b>, \u201cLove Is a Kingdom.\u201d<\/a> Earlier this year, singer-songwriter Tems became the first Nigerian artist to win multiple Grammy Awards. On the heels of her historic win \u2014 and her 2024 record \u201cBorn in the Wild\u201d \u2014 Tems returns with her EP \u201cLove Is a Kingdom,\u201d another simmering bridge between Afrobeats and R&B. \u201cThey can\u2019t stop me now \/ I\u2019m different,\u201d she sings on opening song \u201cFirst,\u201d gliding on her career\u2019s almost palpable momentum. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Aerosmith
Aerosmith have released a new EP with YUNGBLUD. From left to right: Steven Tyler, YUNGBLUD, and Joe Perry.<\/span>Ross Halfin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Aerosmith and YUNGBLUD<\/b>, \u201cOne More Time.\u201d<\/a> When Aerosmith\u2019s LP \u201cMusic From Another Dimension!\u201d arrived in 2012, no one uttered the phrase \u201cfinal album,\u201d but the possibility lingered, unspoken, for years. But the bad boys of Boston come bearing an early holiday gift with \u201cOne More Time,\u201d their new EP with British rock artist YUNGBLUD<\/a>. The project\u2019s four original tunes (and remake of \u201cBack in the Saddle\u201d) injects Aerosmith\u2019s retro rattle with YUNGBLUD\u2019s joie de vivre. Don\u2019t miss the \u201cdesert road\u201d rendition of lead single \u201cMy Only Angel,\u201d which features Steve Martin on banjo.<\/span><\/p>\n

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BONUS TRACK<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Good luck to anyone seeking one of 1,600 copies of the latest release from Jonathan Richman<\/b><\/a>: a 30th anniversary edition of his LP \u201cYou Must Ask the Heart,\u201d<\/a> remastered and pressed on \u201ccandy heart\u201d pink vinyl for Record Store Day\u2019s Black Friday festivities. Folks looking for a different local-ish score might fare better with \u201cTentative Decisions: Demos & Live\u201d<\/a> from Talking Heads<\/b><\/a>, which includes newly discovered material and recordings from the band\u2019s early days in Rhode Island<\/a>, when they performed under the moniker \u201cthe Artistics.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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Victoria Wasylak can be reached at victoria.wasylak@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on Bluesky at VickiWasylak.bsky.social.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n