FEATURED
MUSIC... IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US
EXPLORE A WORLD OF MUSIC: Click on the different countries and GET READY TO TRAVEL
Album Review: Ebo Taylor, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – JID022 [Jazz Is Dead; January 2025]
Ebo Taylor’s legacy is assured. Not only has his back catalogue been preserved in high fidelity, reissued, and even sampled (hey there, Usher), but the octogenarian oversees the Ebo Taylor Family Band with whom he makes cameo appearances. As an arranger and bandleader, Taylor contributed to the marriage of highlife and afrobeat, collaborating with a young Fela Kuti when the two were students together in London in the early sixties. Receiving his flowers for the 2010 album Love and Death […]...
Rhythm Passport holders, welcome aboard! We’re buzzing to share the first of many chats we’ve had on the road over the past few months. Kicking off from WOMEX 24 in Manchester, we sat down with the vibrant, French-based Mexican band, Kumbia Boruka. Hailing from Lyon, Kumbia Boruka are shaking up the French and Latin music scenes with their fresh spin on cumbia norteña. Led by Hernán Cortés, a protégé of the legendary Celso Piña, the band brings Monterrey’s rich cumbia […]...
If you’d like to feel the pulse of Balkan music, with its new waves and vintage appeal, emerging trends and resurgent styles, and if you’re curious about the forces shaping its constant evolution or perennial staticism, then PIN Conference is your gateway. Reaching its 11th edition, which is not a given in the transient world of music events and conferences, PIN is arguably the most insightful long weekend dedicated to music from the Balkans and beyond. Launched in Skopje in 2012 […]...
Interview: Q&A with Auntie Flo – “About Birds, Migration, and the Freedom of Dreams” (November 2024)
Six years and a world in the making… Brian d’Souza, better known as Auntie Flo, has consistently delivered far-reaching, horizon-opening works, spanning house, ambient, funk, and influences from the four corners of the globe. However, his fourth studio album, In My Dreams (I’m A Bird And I’m Free), scheduled for release on Thursday, 21st November, might well be his most ambitious to date—a deeply personal and expansive exploration of sound, memory, and cultural storytelling. The album weaves a narrative of […]...
Custodians of cultural heritage—this term beautifully encapsulates the essence of Pankisi Ensemble. These all-female group from the scenic Pankisi Gorge are deeply committed to preserving and breathing new life into the lesser-known vocal and instrumental forms of Chechen music. Their performances, ranging from the profound spiritual depths of Sufi chants to the lively stories of “Illi” and the heartfelt strains of traditional love songs, offer a window into a rich musical heritage rarely shared outside their community. Their sound also […]...
LATEST POSTS
Musical Road to Womex 2024: Ensemble Chakâm
Cover Photo by Ashkan Noroozkhani
Interview: Q&A with Carmen Souza – “We Must Reflect on Our History and Look Forward” (October 2024)
Words by Marco Canepari / Cover photo by Patricia Pascal
Interview: Defmaa Maadef – Queens of the Senegal Beats (September 2024)
Words by Ursula Billington / Cover Photo by Simon Alexander
Musical Road to Womex 2024 – Mitsune
Photo by Shari Marks
Interview: Moonchild Sanelly – Shaking Stages with Booty Beats
Words by Ursula Billington
Mix: Mukambo’s Brazil Beyond Samba
Mashup of Brazilian Grooves Vol. 5