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Review of Future Rust Vol 1

Future Rust Vol 1

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Future Rust Records

Rating: ★★★

New label Future Rust offers this compilation as an immersion into the subculture of the handpan, commonly called hang. The...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: July/2020

Review of La Maravilla

La Maravilla

Son Yambu

Apollo Sound

Rating: ★★★

It’s a long way from Archway in North London to Santiago de Cuba, but Son Yambu – who take their...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: Nov/Dec/2012

Review of Ama Gogela

Ama Gogela

Phelimuncasi

Top of the World

Nyege Nyege Tapes

Rating: ★★★★★

This scintillating album from Durban trio Phelimuncasi is named after a South African bee famed for its power and brutal...

Reviewed by Alex De Lacey in issue: July/2022

Review of Tres Mil Uno

Tres Mil Uno

Marcela Arroyo, Andreas Engler & Daniel Schläppi

Catwalk Music

Rating: ★★★★

The title of this intriguing collection, Tres Mil Uno (3001), perhaps indicates that Argentinian-born, Swiss-based singer Marcela Arroyo, Swiss violinist...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: March/2017

Review of The Three Forges

The Three Forges

Cork Gamelan Ensemble

Diatribe Records

Rating: ★★★

The Three Forges is further evidence that gamelan is on its way to being a global music, a set of...

Reviewed by John Whitfield in issue: December/2015

Review of Small Towns and Famous Nights

Small Towns and Famous Nights

The Alan Kelly Gang

Blackbox Music

Rating: ★★★

This is their first album, but Alan Kelly (piano accordion), Tola Custy (fiddle), Steph Geremia (flute and vocals) and Tony...

Reviewed by Julian May in issue: Jan/Feb/2012

Review of Batuk Freak

Batuk Freak

Karol Conka

Mr Bongo Records

Rating: ★★★

A mixture of canny production, assured rapping and tough- to-extricate earworms make this debut album from Brazilian rapper Karol Conka...

Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: June/2014

Review of Tango, Noche y Guitarra

Tango, Noche y Guitarra

Rudi Flores

Buda Musique

Rating: ★★★★

Paris-based Argentinian guitarist Rudi Flores takes standards and classics from tango, chamamé, valse and milonga, and replaces all the busy...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: Aug/Sep/2014

Review of Jamaica-Mento 1951-1958

Jamaica-Mento 1951-1958

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Frémeaux & Associés FA5275

Rating: ★★★★

Reggae snobs bristle whenever they hear mento described as “Jamaican calypso”. Admittedly, it’s a lazy way of putting it, but...

Reviewed by Matthew Milton in issue: October/2010

Review of Ibokwe

Ibokwe

Thandiswa Mazwai

Top of the World

Gallo 505165570554

Rating: ★★★★

After singing with South African kwaito pioneers Bongo Maffin, Thandiswa Mazwai's 2004 solo debut Zabalaza marked something of a departure....

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: Jan/Feb/2010

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