Rey Loj

Chilean singer-songwriter Pascuala Ilabaca dances lightly around Chilean musical styles, mixing them with Indian forms she picked up while studying in the subcontinent, as well as Gypsy rhythms, Middle Eastern motifs, and the good old rock ballad. Playing piano and accordion herself, she's backed by gifted guitarists, a percussionist, bassist and a mean clarinet that adds a snake-charmer's sass to tracks like ‘Caminito Viejo’ and the raga-based ‘Sueño con un Rayo’. Ilabaca can also pull at the heartstrings, as on the poignant lullaby ‘Nubes Para los Niños’, where she duets with a child.

What impresses most about Rey Loj is a freedom around the edges – of her singing and the musicianship – as if the whole band have the confidence to let their guards down and feel their way into new sounds and meanings. What starts as a sort of pop album à la Julieta Venegas turns out to be more of a 21st-century Latin jazz album, exploratory and exciting.