Thursday, September 2, 2021
The 10 Best New Albums from Around the World (October 2021)
Hit the review links to the finest full-lengths coming your way in October, with outstanding new audio missives from Monsieur Doumani, Meelodi, Arushi Jain, Yinon Muallem, Namgar and more
01 Monsieur Doumani – Pissourin
(Glitterbeat Records)
The depth of sound that the musicians manage to create is impressive, from transparent, rhythmic textures to the dark final track ‘Astrahán’, and they again demonstrate that they are one of the most interesting and exciting ensembles around... Maria Lord
02 Namgar – Nayan Navaa
(ARC Music)
This is a great release that balances the old and new with well crafted arrangements and high productions values, giving Sainkho Namtchylak and The Hu a run for their money... Michael Ormiston
03 Badume’s Band & Selamnesh Zéméné – Yaho Bele / Say Yeah
(Innacor)
Azmari songs with a rock swagger and an Ethio-jazz swing – it is certainly an exciting combination... Jim Hickson
04 Yinon Muallem – Norwegian Oud
(Galileo Music)
While it was recorded in difficult and traumatic times, Norwegian Oud is a masterful cross-section of modal music, encapsulating both bittersweet melancholy and joyous optimism... Charlie Cawood
05 JP Harris’ Dreadful Wind & Rain – Don't You Marry No Railroad Man
(Free Dirt Records)
With Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man Alabama-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter-guitarist and occasional banjo luthier Joshua Press (JP) Harris celebrates a deep affinity for the sub-genre known as old-time... Doug DeLoach
06 Arushi Jain – Under the Lilac Sky
(Leaving Records)
It could all very easily have tipped into the perilous realm of New Age, but instead, Jain has made a very impressive album – the perfect soundtrack to a warm, perfumed breeze at sunset... Jim Hickson
07 Balimaya Project – Wolo So
(Jazz re:freshed)
It’s rare for the music of this region to mingle with jazz, but this 16-piece supergroup play a unique and wondrous hybrid of traditional Mande music and contemporary jazz... Max Reinhardt
08 Fapy Lafertin New Quartet – Atlântico
(Frémeaux & Associés)
In heeding Django’s maxim that ‘feeling is more important than speed,’ Fapy Lafertin’s quartet has created an album that is both simple and sophisticated... Mark Sampson
09 Ches Smith and We All Break – Path of Seven Colors
(Pyroclastic Recordings)
Haitian drum patterns and entrancing vocal chants set the foundations for some measured piano-led jazz abstraction on this innovative stylistic blend. See p59
10 Meelodi – The Great Blue Wheel
(Meelodi)
This is ‘world music’ without pretension: a beautiful melding of sounds achieved with cultural sensitivity and finesse. And it doesn’t try to ram home any vague message about universal oneness; it is simply just very good... Tom Newell
Read the reviews of all of these albums – and many more – in the October 2021 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today
