Reviews

Call of the Blues

Michael Messer's Mitra

After meeting at a festival in Mumbai in 2013, the British guitarist Michael Messer and Manish Pingle, who plays the...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2016

Welcome Marhaba

Zen Zila

Soldiering on, decades after the demise of role models Carte de Sejour (Rachid Taha's old band), Zen Zila is perhaps...

Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: Nov/Dec/2014

Tom Zé

Tom Zé

Though his hair was shaggier and face more weathered, in 1970 Tom Zé was still a fair way from becoming...

Reviewed by Brendon Griffin in issue: June/2015

The Alt

The Alt

Not to be confused with ALT, the short-lived group formed by Andy White, Liam O’Maonlai from Hothouse Flowers and Split...

Reviewed by Kevin Bourke in issue: March/2015

Kutumba

AO Music

One wonders if in recent times there has been such a truly global release as Kutumba  – meaning ‘family’ in...

Reviewed by James Roriston in issue: January/February/2022

World Defeats the Grandfathers: Swinging Swahili Rumba 1982-1986

Issa Juma & the Super Wanyika Stars

This is another in a series of authoritative collections of golden-age rumba issued by Sterns. Whilst their recent anthologies have...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: June/2010

Desh

Jocelyn Pook

This is Jocelyn Pook's score for Akram Khan's dance piece Desh (Homeland) – an investigation into his Bangladeshi ancestry, premiered...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: March/2013

Magnetica

Quantic

It’s no exaggeration to say that fans of Quantic’s early work will be rejoicing at the arrival of Magnetica. Those...

Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: June/2014

Musics from Nyanza

VARIOUS ARTISTS

This double-CD set is one of the most recent releases of the ever-impeccable Ocora Radio France label. Continuing the French...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: June/2016

The Wife of Urban Law

Peter Knight's Gigspanner

This splendid set from fiddler Peter Knight, with guitarist Roger Flack and percussionist Sacha Trochet, oozes confidence from the start,...

Reviewed by Glenn Kimpton in issue: Jan/Feb/2018