Nigel Williamson picks ten emblematic recordings featuring the ngoni, a West African lute said to be an ancestor of the banjo, made from hollowed-out wood or calabash, covered in animal hide, and strung with four-to-six strings on a fretless neck
The theme of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is Rituals that Unite Us. Simon Broughton witnesses three performances that fit the brief
With an open-minded approach to their country’s musical traditions and a host of special guests, this Polish trio are finding out what connects village life to that of a contemporary musician. Mateusz Dobrowolski hears all about it…
In a new autobiography, Rikki Stein reflects on a non-stop career working with some of the world’s most visionary musicians: Fela Kuti, The Master Musicians of Joujouka and Jimi Hendrix being three examples. Russ Slater Johnson gets Stein to sit still for a minute and attempt to summarise it all
The global groove and harmony evangelists return with their first album since the death of founder Simon Emmerson. Jane Cornwell chats to original members, and now bandleaders, Johnny Kalsi and N’Faly Kouyaté
The Scandinavian music world convened for the Nordic Folk Alliance, aiming to build on current interest in all things Norse
South African researcher and DJ Atiyyah Khan unpacks the significance and difficulty of accessing and archiving music in Africa
When African-American musician Billy Waters died in London in 1823, it was in poverty and with his reputation in tatters. Now, 200 years later, researchers and musicians are finally ensuring he gets the respect he deserves
Relentless riffs at the ready as original Touareg rock’n’rollers Tinariwen head to London’s Royal Albert Hall. Tim Cumming sizes up their BBC Proms debut…
Cumbia, disco and video game music are on the playlist for the London-based quartet’s second album. April Clare Welsh pulls up a stool
Erin Cobby reports on six projects using music as a platform to build communities and give the systematically marginalised a voice, both now and in the future
Lithuania’s Black-Horned Moon bids farewell with a final celebration of the country’s pagan past. Simon Broughton investigates…
Celebrating 60 years of Fania Records, we ask Daymé Arocena, Silvana Estrada, Roberto Fonseca, iLe, Meridian Brothers, Orquesta Akokán, Nathy Peluso, Ana Tijoux and many others to pick some Fania classics. Introduction by Erin Cobby. Interviews by Russ Slater Johnson
Les Aunties, a new all-female group from Chad intend to improve women’s rights in their country. A recent tour of Canada has already begun the process. “The impact is enormous,” hears Emma Rycroft
Ibrahim Maalouf has drawn on everything he’s learned during his stellar career to make what might be his crowning achievement, a homage to his ancestry that is more lyrical than any instrumental album can rightly claim to be
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