David Byrne Radio Presents: Heard Lately Again

by Todomundo

Music, in my opinion, is hard to ignore. That’s probably why philosophers like Plato and religious communities are suspicious of its power.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Dinner Music

by Todomundo

I’m getting married this week and made an almost entirely instrumental playlist while our guests eat an amazing and spicy dinner.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Do This Dance

by Todomundo

So many songs tell us how to do a specific dance. So many!

David Byrne Radio Presents: The Mississippi

by Todomundo

This month's theme is Mississippi. Not the state, though that too… but more the giant river and its watershed.

David Byrne Presents: Avant Pop 2025

by Todomundo

what I’m listening to now. really

David Byrne Radio Presents: Brazil is Back

by Todomundo

Here's a playlist of some recent MPB (Musica Popular Brasiliera), with a few older songs included as well.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Ancient and Modern

by Todomundo

Songs that seem almost timeless.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Colombia

by Todomundo

Here’s a playlist of Colombian music- Latin pop, alternative, folkloric, Afro Atlantic and more.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Senegal

by Todomundo

Senegal, in west Africa, is home to a wide variety of music.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Audio Collage

by Todomundo

Audio collages through the ages come in all shapes and sizes and could be a genre and a playlist.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Mali

by Todomundo

Music touches and rouses the emotions like nothing else.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Scintillating!

by Todomundo

Congolese Pop Music!

David Byrne Radio Presents: Women’s Month

by Todomundo

What about the other 11 months?

David Byrne Radio Presents: Italy Sings

by Todomundo

Do you remember when the pandemic kept us all indoors and people in Italy opened their windows and sang together?

David Byrne Radio Presents: Classic Funk for Summer

by Todomundo

Classic funk tracks are a sure fire way to get the body moving.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Todo El Mundo

by Todomundo

See what you think!

David Byrne Radio Presents: Everyone Does Everything (Afro Psychedelic 2.0)

by Todomundo

I’ve mixed some well known songs and some from lesser known artists.

David Byrne Radio Presents: How?

by Todomundo

How?

David Byrne Radio Presents: Khruangbin Walk In mix

by Todomundo

I was invited to do some walk-in music for a small Khruangbin show on March 27th at the Bowery Ballroom in advance of their upcoming tour -

David Byrne Radio Presents: Nigeria!

by Todomundo

Nigeria!

David Byrne Radio Presents: Who Needs Words?

by Todomundo

A playlist of beautiful instrumental music.

David Byrne Radio Presents: South Africa, Musical Powerhouse

by Todomundo

South African music has had another resurgence recently, one of many over the years.

David Byrne Radio Presents: Now and Then

by Todomundo

As evidenced from this playlist, the range of styles and combinations is astounding.

David Byrne Presents: Flamenco Every Which Way

by Todomundo

Here’s a playlist of what might be called flamenco pop -

David Byrne Presents: Looking Inward

by Todomundo

Some listeners might find that these songs are sad, and there’s truth to that. But there is also comfort and balm in feeling and recognizing the feelings and questions we all have in common.

David Byrne Presents: Covered Up

by Todomundo

Some familiar versions and some surprises here I hope!

David Byrne Presents: August

by Todomundo

August: venerable, majestic, noble

David Byrne Presents: Latin Pop Conquers The World

by Todomundo

The colonies strike back!

David Byrne Presents: Here Lies Love Musical Inspirations

by Todomundo

The immersive disco musical I wrote with Fatboy Slim is coming to Broadway (previews begin June 17th)!

David Byrne Presents: Ethiopian Jazz

by Todomundo

Ethiopian Jazz!

David Byrne Presents: April Fools!

by Todomundo

No comments. Enjoy

David Byrne Presents: Turkey Is Amazing

by Todomundo

The energy and creativity in these recordings is, to say the least, very inspiring.

David Byrne Presents: Music for Valentines

by Todomundo

Who was Saint Valentine?

David Byrne Presents: Stompin’ Brass for a New Year

by Todomundo

I’ve posted some of these before but also added some updated tracks as well!

David Byrne Presents: Gospel for the Holidays

by Todomundo

Gospel music is about ecstasy, transcendence, joy and perseverance.

David Byrne Presents: The Heart of Arabia

by Todomundo

This is far from exhaustive, or even completely representative - but here’s a playlist of passionate, innovative and rhythmic Arabic music from all over.

David Byrne Presents: Latin Pop Explosion

by Todomundo

The latin pop in this playlist has pretty much crossed over into mainstream -

David Byrne Presents: tango

by Todomundo

This playlist highlights tango from the last 50 years including the radical reinventions of Astor Piazzola to the present day of electronic tango and a lot more.

David Byrne Presents: Tomorrow’s Hits Today

by Todomundo

There are lots of incredible new songs and new music appearing all the time... This playlist is the evidence.

David Byrne Presents: Dub-Society Tearing Itself Apart

by Todomundo

Is Jamaican dub one of the prime roots of hip hop?

David Byrne Presents: Psychedelia Lives!

by Todomundo

Here’s a psychedelic playlist

David Byrne Presents: Brazil in the 21st century

by Todomundo

Here are 3 hours of some of the Brazilian music I’ve been listening to -

David Byrne Presents: Getting Ready For Jazz Fest

by Todomundo

Jazz fest in NOLA isn’t until the very end of April, but since I missed doing a playlist for Mardi Gras I thought at least I could do one for Jazz Fest.

David Byrne Presents: ¡La Chiva Maravillosa! Colombia!

by Todomundo

Colombia has an incredible variety of music.

David Byrne Presents: Fantastic French for February

by Todomundo

I could have gone in many directions with this playlist.

David Byrne Presents: Mambo’s for Master T

by Todomundo

Professor Robert Farris Thompson passed away in November, and this playlist is dedicated to him.

David Byrne Presents: Cumbia For The Holidays!

by Todomundo

Who doesn’t like cumbia?!

David Byrne Presents: Heavy Rotation

by Todomundo

The artists on this playlist are innovative and talented, and I can only hope that there is a way for them to continue their work and make a living doing it.

David Byrne Presents: This Is African Music?!

by Todomundo

About a month or so ago, I went down a rabbit hole of contemporary African music.

David Byrne Presents: Songs That Make Me Cry

by Todomundo

Why do we like this? Why do we luxuriate in sadness and heartbreak?

David Byrne Presents: Rama Lama, Rama Lama Ding Dong

by Todomundo

Why do we love nonsense syllables in pop music?

David Byrne Presents: (Some Of) My Favorite Instrumentals

by Todomundo

(Some Of) My Favorite Instrumentals

Here is a collection of instrumentals that cover a wide range of genres- pop, classical, jazz and country.

David Byrne Presents: The Music Didn’t Stop

by Todomundo

An eclectic selection- mostly songs that came out within the last year...

David Byrne Radio Presents: My Old School Dance Party

by Todomundo

In the 80s I used to make mixtapes for myself to dance to. Partly for exercise, and partly to see if I happened to fall into some interesting and evocative movement - moves that I might use in a performance eventually. Often I would alternate Celia Cruz songs and Kanda Bongo Man mixtapes, but in this playlist you’ll find a lot of the old school disco funk that set me in motion.

David Byrne Presents: The Sound Of New York

by Todomundo

So, although much of this creative explosion happened in 70s New York, it resonated and had a huge influence in the decades that followed. Some of those artists who surely would not have been who they are without salsa and Fania are in this playlist as well.

David Byrne Presents: The New New

by Todomundo

Some amazing songs, innovation, and heart here...hope you are moved by some of it.

David Byrne Presents: Food For Love

by Todomundo

February 13th (Valentines Day Eve), some musician friends of mine, and many I’ve never met, are doing a virtual concert to raise money for meals for New Mexico’s hardest hit.

David Byrne Presents: Latin Alternative Now

by Todomundo

In 2019 I went to Mexico City to join Cafe Tacuba for one song in their second MTV Unplugged show- I’m a big fan of what they do and the unplugged show did not disappoint- almost every song was in a different style! Gustavo Santaolallia was musical director- he’s also exec producer of the Break It All TV series, so, it’s all connected. I also got to meet Natalia LaFourcade who is also featured on this playlist and on a recent song exploder episode.

David Byrne Presents: A Change Is Gonna Come

by David Byrne

Here’s to Hoping...

David Byrne Presents: Samba

by Todomundo

Whatever happens here in the US this November, we have to go on feeling our hips and dancing with one another. Here is a playlist that I hope will help with that.

David Byrne Presents: Uncovered

by Todomundo

There’s a difference between recording or performing a song not written by oneself and doing a cover version.

David Byrne Presents: Crazy Glitchy Cool

by Todomundo

Here’s a genre that has emerged in the last 20 years or so- and continues to gather steam.

David Byrne Presents: The World’s Inspiration- Africa

by Todomundo

Africa is big and diverse - to group songs from the whole continent together is insane - it would be like a playlist that includes Bluegrass, Hip hop, EDM, metal, ambient and gospel.

David Byrne Presents: What We Need Now - Contemporary Gospel

by Todomundo

You might not be a believer, you might not be a Christian, but you don't have to be to love this music and feel its power.

David Byrne Presents: Themes

by Todomundo

Movie themes, TV themes. Do they all have anything in common?

David Byrne Presents: Neverending Flow

by Todomundo

I am forever and always astounded at the never ending inventive flow from my fellow musicians and songwriters.

David Byrne Presents: “Andean Ocean 2” by Javelin

by Todomundo

Javelin (not to be confused with the metal band of the same name) is a band who have released records through Luaka Bop. They also create mixtape-collages and have generously offered that we can stream the latest one, Andean Ocean II here. It is one hour long, no breaks. Below is an explanation in their own words how these have evolved.


-David Byrne

David Byrne Presents: “Catching Up”

by Todomundo

short playlist of stuff I've recently added, or uplisted. some old some new.

David Byrne Presents: Masters of Soundtracks - Ennio Morricone

by Todomundo

Morricone wrote at least 400 film soundtracks and 100 pieces of classical music. Mind boggling.

David Byrne Presents: Orchestral Jazz

by Todomundo

Jazz, like any musical genre, was shaped by external forces- race, wars, technology, economics, laws- it both reflected and was molded by all of that.

David Byrne Presents:  abstract- pop

by Todomundo

Here's a playlist and a proposition- is music coming apart at the seams, shattering into shards, fragmenting like a distorting mirror or some kind of cubist abstract painting?

David Byrne Presents: Indie Pop

by Todomundo

A short playlist of recent releases that might fall under the category - Indie Pop.

David Byrne Presents: Masters of Soundtracks - Bernard Herrmann

by Todomundo

Herrmann is best known for the many Hitchcock soundtracks he did.

David Byrne Presents: Masters of Soundtracks - Nino Rota

by Todomundo

I’m thinking of doing a series of playlists focusing on the great soundtrack composers- both current and classic. Thought I’d start with one of my favorites - Nino Rota.

David Byrne Presents: Under the Covers

by Todomundo

Here's a playlist of songs covered by unexpected artists who step outside their usual genre for material and and then personalize it. Often, their interpretation gives the song a new meaning...and sometimes the cover is the version we associate with the song, even though the song may have been recorded and released previously by the artist who wrote it.

David Byrne Presents: I Am My Own Algorithm

by Todomundo

Here’s recent stuff that’s in my current playlist. Not everything is current, but there are some artists I suspect you have not heard of.

David Byrne Presents: The Funky Broadway

by David Byrne

When I moved to New York, I worked for a while as an usher in a movie theater on East 34th Street. Once in a while, I had the job of taking the tickets, receipts, or sometimes the reels of film in big cans to the chain headquarters further uptown. Broadway! This street was famous, I thought to myself, it’s in songs and movies, and now I’m walking on it!

David Byrne Presents: Anatolia!

by Todomundo

I picked up a Barış Manço CD when I was on tour in Istanbul decades ago and that opened a world for me. I realized that the psychedelic funk explosion I grew up with was truly a worldwide phenomena and I presumed there must be more that I had yet to encounter.

David Byrne Presents: Fuji!

by Todomundo

Fuji is a genre of Nigerian music that really exploded there in the 80s. The first song I ever heard in this genre was "Fuji Garbage," which is great and has some amazing lap steel playing. Very cool and incredibly fast!

David Byrne Presents: Orphans

by Todomundo

This month's playlist is made of songs that somehow dropped off my posted playlists in the last year or so...so, it’s an eclectic bunch.

David Byrne Presents: A Taste of the Chennai Music Festival

by Todomundo

After about a year of being on my own music tour I decided to stay in motion. Sometimes stopping cold turkey can be a bit of shock. So, in mid-December I flew to India and attended a few days of the Chennai Music Festival—also known as the December Season. In my all too brief visit, I only touched the surface.

David Byrne Presents: The Soup of Love—Bollywood and Tamil Favorites

by Todomundo

One of the signatures of Indian cinema are the complex, epic, and heavily choreographed songs and dances...

David Byrne Presents: Eclectic for the Holidays

by Todomundo

So...who recommends this stuff to me?

David Byrne Presents: The Power of Song to Give Voice is Eternal

by Todomundo

Not too many years ago there was a spate of newspaper and magazine articles asking where all the “protest” songs were. Well, here they are... about 60 years worth, non-stop. They never went away—in fact, they now come from all directions in every possible genre—country songs, giant pop hits, hip hop, classic rock, indie and folk.

David Byrne Presents: Salsa, son y mas

by Todomundo

I began to realize that though much of it is about joy and dancing, there are plenty of songs that express a deep melancholy, while still musically insisting that we dance. To me this was profound—the "illness" and it's cure came in the same package! What other medium can be two apparently opposite things at once?

David Byrne Presents: Conscious Dance

by Todomundo

Writing songs that deal directly with social justice and contemporary issues is hard—at least it is for me. Hearing these incredibly catchy songs made me realize pop music could be danceable and conscious at the same time. These songs are hugely inspirational even if I might have to continue on my search of how to do this in my own way.

David Byrne Presents: Alt Latin

by Todomundo

There's no plan or order to this playlist other than it's songs I like by artists I like—some are old and some are very new.

David Byrne Presents: On The Road

by Todomundo

This month's playlist contains a lot of stuff I've added to my Spotify lists while on the road...recommendations from Bobby Wooten and elsewhere.

David Byrne Presents: American Utopia Family Favorites

by Todomundo

This month's DB Radio features favorite songs from some of the American Utopia band, crew and creative team.

David Byrne Presents: Pop Music

by Todomundo

Are pop songs any good?

David Byrne Presents: American Utopia World Tour Opening Acts

by Todomundo

Last month, I announced the opening acts on my tour and this month I’d like to introduce you to more of their music.

David Byrne Presents: 1 + 1 = 3 — When Collaboration Works

by Todomundo

I have a new album out this month called American Utopia. I wrote and recorded it over a two year period and its evolution involved a lot of collaborators. Some were old friends and some were completely new to me. This playlist is a sample of their own work.

David Byrne Presents: The Beautiful Shitholes

by David Byrne

Here’s a playlist that gives just the smallest sample of the depth and range of creativity that continues to pour out of the countries in Africa and the Caribbean. It is undeniable. Can music help us empathize with its makers?

David Byrne Presents: Gospel

by David Byrne

You don’t need to believe to love gospel music. This playlist covers many decades of recordings, but here’s the most recent picks from my personal playlist. Here are the roots of rock and roll, RnB and hip hop. This music is about transcendence and community. It’s about surrendering to something bigger than yourself, and in doing so, there is ecstasy and joy. Happy New Year!

David Byrne Presents: Arabia

by David Byrne

Here’s a playlist that includes a few Yasmine Hamdan songs and exciting, energetic and beautiful songs from the Middle East and the Maghreb—both new and old. Some of these are songs Brian Eno and I were listening to around the time we did the Bush of Ghosts album many years ago, others are from the last year or so.

David Byrne Presents: One Year Later

by David Byrne

The presidential election in the U.S. was a year ago. These are some of the pop songs I’ve been listening to in recent months as this strange anniversary approaches.

Off-site! Musical Explorations of Place

by Noah Wall

A mix by Noah Wall

Double Happiness Presents: A Friendship Mix

by Todomundo

Wyatt and Hayden of Double Happiness share a mix about friendship for this month's radio.

Working Women Present: Crown Shyness

by Todomundo

The NYC based DJ collective Working Women for August Radio!

July in Brazil

by David Byrne

David Byrne's Brazilian music picks for July.

Every Song Is A Love Song

by Todomundo

A playlist of love songs by Steph Smith.

David Byrne Presents: The How Music Works Playlist

by Todomundo

To celebrate the 2017 edition of How Music Works published by Three Rivers Press, this month's radio is a mix of songs referenced throughout the book. The edition includes a new chapter on curation that explores four ways we discover music in the digital age: recommendation by experts, by the music itself, by social and cultural forces, and by narrative and context.

David Byrne Presents: What You Talkin’ Bout?

by David Byrne

A playlist about surprising recent innovation in musical subject matter.

Bill Ross Presents: Contemporary Color Roadtrip

by Todomundo

My name is Bill Ross and I recently made a film with my brother and David. In the year leading up to the Contemporary Color shows, the three of us traveled a lot together to film and meet the color guard teams...

Noah Wall Presents: Winter Mix!

by Todomundo

Brusque transitions!
Songs of Winter, Spring, and Summer!
Bobby McFerrin before Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
A bowed metal fence in Australia!

Jace Clayton Presents: Uproot for DB Radio!

by Todomundo

This month Jace Clayton, AKA DJ Rupture, presents a playlist inspired by his new book Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture.

NAN N N N N

by Todomundo

September's installment of DB Radio is a beautiful mix by Sarah Jones (of Pillow Person and Hot Chip). The mix is inspired by Sarah's grandmother, Josefina Suñé, who was a sword fighter from Bilbao that helped refugee children flee the Spanish Civil war, and immigrate to England. Mrs. Suñe loved flamenco, copla and other traditional Spanish music, and without knowing how to speak English, came to communicate with her granddaughter through music.

August Radio: Music Recorded on a Cell Phone!

by Todomundo

August radio is an archived recording of David and Eric's live Pitchfork Radio show that consists wholly of songs recorded on a cell phone!

Summer Mix!

by Todomundo

This month's DB radio comes to us from Noah Wall! The title says it all: the vibe is classic summer; a multiform mix of soul, post-punk, funk, and dub-influenced tunes from all over in the mostly early-ish eighties. Yeah!

Current Events

by David Byrne

Some of this is mainstream—Drake and Beyoncé are top of the charts, whatever that means now—but quality-wise it’s nice that there isn’t a big discontinuity between them and some new or less-well-known artists.

Ya Watani—Syria, Dabke, Druzes

by Eric Welles Nyström

This month, Luaka Bop introduces us to Boshra AlSaadi, who, along with her mother Roada in Brooklyn and her Aunt Salwa in Damascus, curate May DB Radio. At the end of the playlist, you can listen to the pair discuss the history of dabke, popular subjects in Syrian music, and the intrigue surrounding famed starlet Asmahan.

Middle Eastern & Maghreb Disco Funk from the Golden Era (1975-1985)

by Eric Welles Nyström

For this month's show DJ Fitz has put together a mix of his favorite songs from the Middle East and Maghreb, focused on the golden era of disco and funk, including a few very rare 7”s he found under a fishbowl (!) during his first visit to Turkey in 2006, and others he's come across since then...

Shine Baby, Shine!

by Eric Welles Nyström

For this month’s show, we have put together a collection of songs that we found while exploring Trinidad and Tobago last month—and some songs that we wish we had found while we were there (but that generously ‘appeared’ upon our return). Most of these tunes are probably not what you will hear around Trinidad today, and, many of these artists—aside from the legendary Merchant, Mighty Shadow, Lord Nelson and Lord Shorty—might still be quite unknown today, too.

Alternative Swedish Mixtape

by Eric Welles Nyström

Leo Hallin is an illustrator, animator and visual artist from Sweden, who goes by name Leolyxxx. For this month’s show, he has put together a fun mix of left-field Swedish music from the ’70s and ’80s!

The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge

by David Byrne

Some great new stuff has come out recently. Sophie (a DJ moniker) does a warped ironic take on pop that works as pop at the same time. Raury's new record is amazing—why isn't this guy huge? Benjamin Clementine, whom I included in Meltdown this past August, just won the Mercury prize in UK (the music equivalent to the Booker Prize).

African Explosion

by David Byrne

November Radio is a collection of new and old recordings from Africa. Even though the selection is somewhat limited, there is still an incredible variety—I sense that these African acts are listening to and aware of things going on all over the place. There were always influences but now it’s almost impossible to determine what, in fact, those influences are! It’s an explosion… in a good way.

Build Up To Halloween

by David Byrne

Here’s a pretty random 3-hour collection from my computer...

A Funk/Disco Mix by Ahmed Gallab

by Todomundo

Ahmed Gallab takes over DB Radio this month with dance jams for any time of year!

A Transatlantic Mix by Javybz

by Eric Welles Nyström

This month, Javybz curate DB Radio. The Atlantic Ocean that physically separates them—Julia lives in NYC, Anya in Russia—inspires their selection of music.

Meltdown!

by David Byrne

David Byrne is back with tunes from all of the artists playing at the Meltdown festival in London next month!

shetransfer

by Eric Welles Nyström

By way of Luaka Bop, Camilla Wasserman takes DB Radio on a musical journey inspired by her supportive group of female friends.

A Very Broad Mix of African Music

by Eric Welles Nyström

This month's DB Radio is a special treat—Luaka Bop releases Joakim's Onyeabor-tribute-mix, that originally debuted at the NY Art Book Fair in the fall of 2013!

Music for Change

by David Byrne

One often hears the question raised, “Can music effect social and political change?” I have my doubts that it can—directly at least. I do think it provides cohesion and moral support, but if there was ever a genre to refute my doubts, here it is.

Identity Heft, South Africa

by Jasper Berg

This month's playlist is curated by Todomundo's Music Coordinator, Jasper Berg, who recently visited his family in Cape Town, South Africa. While there isn’t much genre continuity, this month’s playlist represents an overall paradigm shift in popular music produced in South Africa.

Instru Mental

by David Byrne

Here is my current playlist of interesting, short instrumental pieces. Some are novelty tunes (many of which were hits!) and some are simply wonderful and strange—always accessible, inviting and engaging.

Music for Resolutions

by Noah Wall

This New Year playlist takeover comes by way of Noah Wall. The playlist is about two hours, which is plenty of time for some planning—try making resolutions the first hour and breaking resolutions the second!

Viva Mexico Part 2

by David Byrne

I was asked to compile a playlist of some of my favorite Mexican music for a proposed public art exhibition in Mexico City. It turned out I had quite a bit of music on my computer—enough for 6 hours of no repeats! So, as these monthly streaming "radio" playlists usually last about 3 hours, I divided it in half. Here is part two.

Viva Mexico Part 1

by David Byrne

I was asked to compile a playlist of some of my favorite Mexican music for a proposed public art exhibition in Mexico City. It turned out I had quite a bit of music on my computer—enough for 6 hours of no repeats! So, as these monthly streaming "radio" playlists usually last about 3 hours, I divided it in half. Here is part one.

Changing Hearts and Blowing Minds: 50 Years of Conscious R&B

by David Byrne

Ever since I can remember, there has been music made by the African diaspora that addressed social, economic and conceptual issues in ways that are funky, radical, surprising and joyous. Some of these are deeply sober and serious while others reorient our minds while we dance.

Joyride

by LeeAnn Rossi

Guest host LeeAnn Rossi took a trip to Peru and Ecuador and was introduced to pop culture through local radio during her long trips as a passenger in a car. She curates this month's radio mix, which includes a lot of dated English hits—from The Eagles to Céline Dion covers—to Peruvian flute folk music, to anthems her friends sung along to from memory, having grown up there. And plenty of Shakira!

Pure Pop

by David Byrne

Here is some pure pop I collected over the last couple of years. There are songs you will be totally sick of—some of you, anyway—while others among you who have somehow managed to avoid this stuff will be hearing some of this for the first time.

October Radio David Byrne Radio Presents: Heard Lately Again

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