Launched on February 14, 2020, the MFM Speaks Out podcast seeks to further the mission of the musician's rights advocacy organization Musicians For Musicians (MFM). Episodes are released monthly and feature interview-style discussions on issues that affect the creative rights of musicians. MFM represents a strong voice in the fight for making music a legitimate profession. The main hosts are MFM members Adam Reifsteck and Dawoud Kringle supervised by MFM President Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi.
EP 54: Volker Goetze on Jazz, Kora & Cultural Connection
Trumpeter, composer, filmmaker, and educator Volker Goetze shares his journey through jazz, West African griot traditions, and flamenco. From discovering the music of Miles Davis and Don Cherry in Germany to collaborating with Senegalese kora masters and building his boundary-crossing project Flamencora, Volker shares how improvisation, cultural exchange, and community shape his artistic vision. The conversation also explores documentary filmmaking, the realities of sustaining an independent music career, the impact of AI on musicians, and why authentic human expression still matters more than ever.
23 Jan 2026
EP 53: Kaleta on Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, and the Power of Collective Music
Legendary Afrobeat guitarist Leon "Kaleta" Ligan-Majekodunmi joins "MFM Speaks Out" to share his 50-year journey through music, activism, and survival. From growing up in Benin and Lagos to touring with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé, Shina Peters, and Lauryn Hill, Kaleta reflects on Afrobeat as both a musical language and a political force. The conversation explores Kaleta’s firsthand experiences inside Fela’s world, and what it means to carry cultural responsibility as an artist in diaspora. Along the way, Kaleta reflects on immigration, artistic survival, gun violence in America, and why music must always carry a message. This is a powerful, unfiltered look at Afrobeat’s past, present, and future — told by someone who lived it.
15 Sept 2025
WKCR INTERVIEW
September 4th, 2025, at 7 pm, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (MUSICIANS FOR MUSICIANS President, musician and band leader) and Roger Blanc (MFMSenior Board member) were invited by WKCR FM radio host Sharif Abdus Salaam (Jazz Alternatives) to announce MFM's 10th Anniversary Event at NY's THE CUTTING ROOM, which happened the next day on September 5th. In this interview, they talked about MFM's 10-year history of music activism. In between, Sharif played music by MFM senior members Joe Lovano and Arturo O'Farrill, and at the end, by Sohrab, also known as SoSaLa, "Enough Is Enough."
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