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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...
ALBUM REVIEWS
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
Familial and unrefined, Binga encompasses the fundamental sounds of Samba Touré’s heritage. It is named after Samba’s hometown and its focus of thought is rooted...
João Selva spent years as an unofficial ambassador for traditional Brazilian music, touring as part of an ensemble across the world before settling in France....
Welcome to a visionary inner self odyssey, spanning the golden age of Spanish electronic music. La Ola Interior groups two generations of artists; some young...
An ambient and psych music to be watched! The self-made films that go along with the music create an eccentric and almost political discourse. Influenced...
Finding one’s place within a diaspora away from your motherland can be an integral part of self-discovery. This is certainly true of Hamburg-based producer Farhot,...
Altın Gün cruise new avenues on Yol, their 80s synth-pop influenced third album. As the opening track of Altın Gün’s highly-anticipated third album Yol segues...
Leeds’ king-sized dub ensemble Gentleman’s Dub Club are in partnership with Easy Star Records on their next album Down to Earth. The album’s defining characteristics are...
Those who tend to think of Madlib as curator will find plenty to like here, and that he’s helped along by Kieran Hebden aka Four...
Hard to believe that such a dire and dramatic year could inspire such an abundance of remarkable albums. Or maybe, on the contrary, the multitude...
Acoustic is a rootsy reimagining of Malian superstar Oumou Sangaré’s 2017 album Mogoya, but where Mogoya used a palette of beats and synths, Acoustic says...