Features

Friday, November 29, 2019

Introducing... Bantou Mentale: “We need edge – the world is falling apart, the Congo is falling apart, everything is falling apart”

Get ready for a new global sound via Kinshasa and Paris. Jo Frost speaks to the band

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

BCUC: “We are from a culture of spiritual endurance and our music transcends sound”

Diane Coetzer talks to the South African band BCUC who are exporting their traditional Soweto music across the globe and mesmerising audiences, one transcendental show at a time

Monday, November 25, 2019

Orquesta Akokán: “If you went to a music industry person with this idea, some marketing asshole in New York… forget it”

A new Cuban big band are making waves. All the more surprising for the fact that Orquesta Akokán are a collaboration of first-class Cuban and American musicians. Kim Burton tells their story so far

Friday, November 22, 2019

Introducing... Lakha Khan

It’s rare to see 70-year-olds in our Introducing series, says Simon Broughton, but it is time to take a fresh look at the veteran master

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Stephan Micus: A Beginner's Guide

The polymath German instrumentalist has an impressive back catalogue. Simon Broughton examines his wealth of recordings to date

Friday, November 15, 2019

Introducing... Santrofi

The new band from Ghana are injecting a fresh energy into the country’s traditional highlife style. Jo Frost speaks to them

Friday, November 15, 2019

My world: Gruff Rhys

The Welsh musician of Super Furry Animals fame speaks to Garth Cartwright about his fascination for songs sung in languages other than English

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Introducing... Bongeziwe Mabandla

Diane Coetzer catches up with the South African singer-songwriter who is making waves on a European tour prior to the release of his third album

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Toby Jones: “Music is, of all the art forms, the one that is most commonly employed to put humans in touch with the numinous”

Jim Hickson speaks to acclaimed British actor Toby Jones about his lifelong love for music, and how it always manages to finds a way into his work

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Jim Moray: A Beginner's Guide

Once the wunderkind of the English folk scene, Jim Moray’s sound has matured and coalesced over his career. Tim Cumming dives into his catalogue

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Video premiere: 'Holy Robot' by Taraf de Impex

The old guard of Romanian lautari music meet the Bucharest alternivistas on a brand new project

Monday, November 11, 2019

Romanian Roots: Essential 10 Albums

Simon Broughton recommends some of the best Romanian albums, from Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocărlia to The Balanescu Quartet

Friday, November 8, 2019

Manu Chao's Clandestino appeared at the cross-fade of the millennium and sounded perfect – a radical masterpiece

Peter Culshaw reminisces on his time biographing the elusive Manu Chao as his classic solo album, Clandestino, is re-released 20 years on

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Rowan Rheingans: “We need to learn not to be afraid to sit with some sorrow and grief. We need to make room to feel and have compassion”

The musician Rowan Rheingans has a new solo project and album that are part-memoir, part-theatre. She talks to Julian May about the many influences that shaped these works