“What an amazing book! I doubt I’ll ever read a better account of the history and sociology of popular music than this one. It has me saying ‘Wow’ on every page.” – Brian Eno

Known to many as the legendary producer behind notable recordings from Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Joe Boyd will discuss his latest book, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music  (ZE Books) with David Byrne.

Informed by decades of travel, research, interviews, deep listening, and many years spent producing groundbreaking music in Cuba, Brazil, Bulgaria, Mali, Hungary, Spain, India, the UK and beyond, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain is a riveting tour of the music that shaped how our world sounds.
Filled with engaging anecdotes (did you know that Frank Sinatra owed his career to a tango singer from Buenos Aires?) and vivid personalities, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain is a work of breathtaking scale from a keen observer and gifted raconteur who’s been there and seen it all.

The conversation will be in English. It is free with RSVP. Click here for tickets.

This event is co-organized with the World Music Institute.

JOE BOYD is a record producer and writer known for his memoir, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s. Artists he has produced include Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, REM, Taj Mahal, Fairport Convention, Richard & Linda Thompson, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Toots and the Maytals, Sandy Denny, 10,000 Maniacs, and many others across a nearly sixty-year career.
After graduating from Harvard in 1964, Boyd tour-managed Muddy Waters, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and others, then served as production manager for the historic 1965 Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. He moved to London to open the UK office of Elektra Records and started the famous UFO Club, original home to Pink Floyd and Soft Machine. His production company, Witchseason, set the course for folk and folk-rock music in Britain.

Boyd moved to Los Angeles in 1971 to work for Warner Brothers Films. In 1979 he launched Hannibal Records, which led the way for bringing global artists to Western audiences, including Cuban, Malian, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Spanish artists. A gifted raconteur, he appears frequently on the BBC and other radio outlets. His music podcast, Joe Boyd’s A-Z, has received over a quarter of a million visits.

DAVID BYRNE is a musician, performer, writer and multidisciplinary artist whose creative ventures have captivated audiences since 1975 when he co-founded the renowned group Talking Heads. Recent works include Here Lies Love, a musical with music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (2023), Theater of the Mind, an immersive journey co-created by Byrne & writer Mala Gaonkar (2022/23), SOCIAL! at The Park Avenue Armory, the Broadway production of David Byrne’s American Utopia (2019) as well as the Spike Lee directed film version (2020), the launch of his Reasons to be Cheerful online magazine (2019) and the solo album American Utopia (2018). To date, Byrne has published five books including How Music Works (2012).