Want to experience uplifting, joyful music from around the world? We just discovered the perfect source – the Playing for Change Band. It’s a remarkable group of musicians from everywhere coming together to play their instruments and sing for us. There’s some big stars involved too like Robbie Robertson, Ringo Star, Keith Richards, and everyone’s favorite Grandpa Elliott, New Orleans’ most beloved street singer. Any extra funds they have they pour into their non-profit the “Playing for Change Foundation” which has been supporting and building music and art schools for children around the world.
When you listen in it’s hard to figure out what technology they used to put the videos of all these different musicians and singers in their own countries all together so it looks and sounds like they are performing as one. Turns out the producers developed a mobile recording studio (originally powered by golf cart batteries) for recording and filming musicians live outdoors, and progressively editing all the separate artists, blending all into one performance as the Playing for Change Band travelled everywhere from India to France and Brazil to Canada. Starting with a studio-made demo in the right key and tempo, they would deconstruct the track as each recorded musician listened with headphones to what had been recorded before them. Then they played the same song adding their own style to the mix. The producers recorded and filmed music in more than 50 countries and today the group has millions of followers everywhere. This video, the classic U2 song – – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” – has had 7.4 million views on YouTube. One of our favorites is the group from Amman, Jordan. You can hear them at around 3:00 minutes into the video. The woman in the picture is Olivia Ruff who lives on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.