Features

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Roots Reggae Albums | The Essential 10

Featuring albums from The Abyssinians, Rocky Dawuni, Inna de Yard, Bob Marley and The Wailers, and more...

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Touareg Albums | The Essential 10

Nigel Williamson selects ten albums that best showcase the inimitable Touareg desert groove sound

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Balkan Albums | The Essential 10

Ten classic albums that exemplify the diversity and virtuosity of music in the Balkan region, featuring Fanfare Ciocărlia, Kočani Orkestar, Taraf de Haïdouks, Esma Redžepova and more

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Cuban Albums | The Essential 10

Cuba has always been a musical powerhouse, featuring Afro-Cuban All Stars, Buena Vista Social Club, La Lupe, Los Van Van and more

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Ten Album Covers That Changed World Music

Chris Moss selects ten album covers that changed the world music scene, featuring Buena Vista Social Club, Fela Kuti and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

“He's doing things I've never heard anyone do before” | Introducing... Boubacar 'Badian' Diabaté

West African acoustic-axe fans take note – a new Malian griot guitarist is here to ratchet up the note ratios with some seriously fleet fretboard action, picking up fans such as Bill Frisell along the way

Monday, July 19, 2021

“Capturing the experiences of wildness, loss, queerness, love, and mystery” | Introducing... Dani Larkin

The Irish folk artist talks to Jane Coyle about how living on the Armagh-Monaghan border has shaped both her life and her songwriting

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Making music with the Kogi: “Singing is a way for them to connect with the animals… a way to live peacefully among them without fear”

French producer Lion’s Drums talks to Russ Slater about recording the Kogi people of northern Colombia whose singing practices form an integral component of their profound relationship with nature

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Ben Aylon: an African obsession

The Israeli multi-instrumentalist talks about the fascination with African music which shaped his debut album, Xalam, an exhilaratingly kinetic collection featuring star turns from Doudou Ndiaye Rose and Khaira Arby

Thursday, July 8, 2021

The 10 best avian-inspired albums

Jo Frost picks some choice albums that have been inspired by our feathered friends

Monday, July 5, 2021

Amit Chaudhuri | My World: “In Indian music every moment is a moment of arrival”

The author and musician talks to Simon Broughton about how he resisted Indian music growing up and the singers who finally kindled his interest

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Kravik-lyre | Musical Instrument Guide (with Wardruna’s Einar Selvik)

Tony Gillam speaks to Wardruna’s multi-instrumentalist Einar Selvik about his kravik-lyre and how he connects with Norway’s folk music tradition

Thursday, June 24, 2021

“Our musicality has been inspired and evolved in accordance with birdsong” | Sam Lee and the musical inspiration of nightingales

Folk singer, song collector, environmental campaigner and author Sam Lee talks to Simon Broughton about his passion for the nightingale and his quest to raise awareness about this endangered songbird

Friday, June 18, 2021

“Beethoven passed away 250 years ago, but the music I’m playing is way older than that” | Toumani Diabaté on his album with the London Symphony Orchestra

The pre-eminent Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté talks to Simon Broughton about his special one-off collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra