Material from the forthcoming DAMON ALBARN album, which is being released in aid of OXFAM, is to get its first airing on BBC RADIO 4, NME.COM can reveal.
The station will broadcast the material as part of the Radio 4 documentary ‘Seven Days In Mali’, which will air on December 23 at 10.30am.
Albarn will present the show, which will detail his time spent in the country during July this year when he travelled with Oxfam meeting local musicians trading ideas and skills.
Speaking about his time in Africa, Albarn said: “It was such a positive experience visiting Mali, discovering the strength of musical tradition and meeting people there. I think that with all the negative images about Africa on the news, it is easy to forget that people in countries like Mali are just like you and me. When you do realise that you have a lot more in common than you thought and experience the richness of the culture there, it makes the inequalities seem very unjust.”
The show will be streamed live on the Radio 4 website, [url=]www.bbc.co.uk/radio4. It is anticipated that Albarn’s as-yet-untitled record will be released in the New Year.