Liraz

Zan

Glitterbeat Records

'Zan means ‘Women’ in Persian, and it’s the women of contemporary Iran – from child brides to freedom fighters – to whom she’s referring. Utilising contacts gleaned from the Iranian community in Los Angeles, where Liraz worked as an actress, she collaborated with anonymous musicians in Tehran: percussionists, string players, wind instrumentalists, many of them women...' Jane Cornwell

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Rachel Newton

To the Awe

Shadowside Records

'With the same band she used for her award-winning Here’s My Heart Come Take It (drummer/producer Mattie Foulds, violinist Lauren MacColl, horn player Mikey Owers and singer Sarah Hayes), Rachel Newton recorded To the Awe during the April-May lockdown, not that you’d know it – they’re in the pocket and in the room when it comes to musical synergy...' Tim Cumming

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Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon

Nonesuch Records

'Sam Amidon, the radical recombinator of traditional folk music, has concocted a delightfully diabolical set of experiments, unleashing a Frankenstein’s monster among the villagers. Something of an extension of his 2019 EP Fatal Flower Garden, Amidon’s self-titled album borrows liberally from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music for both foundational material and alchemical inspiration...' Doug DeLoach

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Songhoy Blues

Optimisme

Transgressive Records

'For the third time in as many albums they’ve turned to a Westernised indie rocker as producer, with Matt Sweeney of Chavez ensuring that there’s no let-up in the turbo-charged energy levels and that the guitars soar and distort in all the right places...' Nigel Williamson 

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Vincent Peirani & Emile Parisien

Abrazo

ACT Music

'Opening, cleverly, with an adaptation of Jelly Roll Morton’s ‘The Crave’ – one of Morton’s so-called ‘Spanish tinge’ pieces, which he recorded for solo piano – the duo offer slow-burn loveliness that seems to nod to the genre’s roots in the port-side African neighbourhoods of Argentina and Uruguay, their just-so phrasing mapping out the deft footwork of the partner dance expressed in the milongas of Buenos Aires...' Jane Cornwell

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Tio

Sorousian

Wantok Musik

'Whether reworking an Ambryn kastom dance song on ‘Mumbwe’, exploring the contradictions of island tradition versus urban modernity on ‘Black Butterfly’, or simply experiencing his own juxtaposed first-to-third world realities, Sorousian is totally authentic, very contemporary and absolutely gorgeous...' Seth Jordan

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Khusugtun

Jangar

Buda Musique

'From the first duo of highly impressive throat singing and the opening riff of the morin huur (horse head fiddle) you know you are in for a thrill. Each of the 11 tightly structured, almost suite-like tracks, showcase the exceptional skill of the six musicians in Khusugtun...' Michael Ormiston

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Ruby Mack

Devil Told Me

Ruby Mack

'Superb harmony singing, finely honed songwriting and a pointedly LBGTQ+ take on the acoustic folk and roots genre distinguish Devil Told Me, a new album by the all-female string quartet Ruby Mack. Under a moniker plucked from the Ruby McIntosh apple, which proliferates in the Pioneer Valley in the state of Massachusetts where the band lives, Emma Ayres (vocals and guitar), Abbie Duquette (bass uke), Zoe Young (guitar and vocals) and Abs Kahler (fiddle) unleash the forbidden knowledge contained within the crisp, juicy fruit by tweaking traditional song forms from a queer perspective...' Doug DeLoach

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Rodrigo Costa Félix

Tempo

Fado World

'It’s eight years since the release of Costa Félix’s last disc. Admittedly, his previous album, Fados de Amor, was a hard act to follow. But patience is rewarded, and this is another outstanding disc for fado aficionados...' Michael Macaroon

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Redi Hasa

The Stolen Cello

Ponderosa

'On his solo debut he coaxes from his instrument an extraordinary sound, deep and resonant in which he seems to make the cello sing with the soul and passion of a human voice. It surely cannot be long before someone dubs him ‘the Jimi Hendrix of the cello.’ Yet his playing is entirely acoustic and without trickery or treatment...' Nigel Williamson

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