9
Viaje Sideral (AYA Records) by El León Pardo is a musical spaceship rumbling through a psychedelic universe where cumbia rhythms collide with analogue synths, trumpets,...
ALBUM REVIEWS
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8
Established collaborators, Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko and British-Italian songwriter Piers Faccini deliver a delicate duo album for close listening, drifting, and contemplation. Inspired by...
8
All Living Things by the Korean multi-instrumentalist Park Jiha (tak:til/Glitterbeat) takes the listener on an introspective journey, seamlessly balancing traditional instruments—including the piri, saenghwang, and...
8
In this joyful and profound debut album Celia Wa nods to the past and future, as well as both sides of the Atlantic. Born in...
8
French-Caribbean electro-jazz collective Dowdelin brings us Tchenbé!, an album that effortlessly fuses vibrant funk, jazz-inflected soul, and danceable electronic grooves with poignant storytelling. Dowdelin is...
8
Florence Adooni’s A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity) is an album in motion—songs that feel they have time-travelled various continents, and seasons, bringing with them...
8
Agustín Pereyra Lucena is a reminder of the border-defying quality of music. Born in 1948 in Buenos Aires, he started playing the guitar at 14...
8
50 years after they disbanded, London-based collective Cymande are back with a grave and infectiously groovy record. It’s another turn in the fascinating tale of...
9
Moonchild Sanelly’s career has been on the rise for some time. With her new album, Full Moon, the Port Elizabeth-born South African visionary now eclipses...
5
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...
8
Tokyo ten-piece Ajate uses the portmanteau ‘Afrobayashi’ to describe their original fusion of traditional Ohayashi music (played during Japanese ancestral festivals) and afrobeat. Formed in...
9
Synthetic Hearts is the second volume of a collaboration between self-described “songcatcher” Msaki and multi-hyphenate creative Tubatsi Mpho Moloi. The result of this meeting of hearts...
9
Arriving 15 years after the original deep dive, Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues, which curated the years 1968-1981, comes this generous...
9
Kaya Project is a duo comprising musicians Sebastian James Taylor and Natasha Chamberlain, who have been blending oriental motifs with reggae rhythms for 20 years....
6
Since their formation in 2012, the Berber band Tarwa N-Tiniri has been on a mission to “perpetuate the culture and dignity of desert peoples,” a...
6
Antwerp’s Kolonel Djafaar has taken the opportunity of their first full-length release with London’s mighty Batov Records to break free from their norm and embark...
6.5
Italian musician Dario Bassolino released his debut album, Città Futura. In it, he reinterprets the soundtrack to the cult films about Gomorrah, which were characteristic...
8
You will not hear Japanese instruments or Asian motifs here, as the Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin‘s creative foundation is rooted in...
7
For her fourth studio album, released via Brownswood Recording, Daymé Arocena returns to the Caribbean, choosing Puerto Rico over her native Cuba. With Eduardo Cabra...
9
Hysterrae’s self-titled debut album offers a captivating and innovative exploration of world music, blending traditional elements with contemporary influences. This collaborative effort features four acclaimed world...
8
Released in what would have been her 100th year, Souvenirs by the late Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru is a lo-fi time capsule showcasing the...
7
The energy is evident on Altin Gün’s upcoming album Aşk (out on March 31 via Glitterbeat Records) which sees the band back in the studio...
Oumou Sangaré is back on the World Circuit and we are here for it. After a hiatus from the British label during which she recorded...
The roses go to Rokia… New on Real World Records and fresh from a coveted Songlines cover, Mali’s Rokia Koné, nicknamed “The Rose of Bamako”,...
Alabaster DePlume’s warmth shines through on the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2020 album To Cy and Lee but listeners beware: it’s not for the...
Bringing forward influences from the American folk and blues revival of the 1940s, Get on Board (2022) by Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal is a joint...
In this thoughtful and heartfelt offering, Portuguese duo Bandua rework local folklore for a modern audience. Deep grooves and downtempo electronica interweave with traditional instruments,...
The music of percussionist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist RENU (Renu Hossain) is a tour de force of experimentation from a maestro craftswoman informed by decades...
El Buho – globetrotting DJ and producer Robin Perkins – took nature as inspiration for this latest release, a marrying of folk, electronica and found...
Savour, swing, rhythm and joy distinguish the magic guitar of Manzanita, spanning around the golden age of Peruvian Cumbia. Trujillo, Perú 1971 – 1974 comprises the...