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Review of Dala Toni

Dala Toni

Ajate

Top of the World

180G

Rating: ★★★★

Dala Toni is the third album to be released by the Japanese-Afrobeat fusion collective Ajate. Led since 2009 by Junichiro...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of Tropikantele

Tropikantele

Ruttusound

Eclipse Music

Rating: ★★★

Chilling with a piña colada after a sauna? That might be the vibe as Finland’s national instrument, the kantele, fuses...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of New Regency Orchestra

New Regency Orchestra

New Regency Orchestra

Mr Bongo

Rating: ★★★★

Brainchild of Lex Blondin, Church of Sound and Total Refreshment Centre co-founder, New Regency Orchestra is an 18-piece Afro-Cuban big...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of New Stories

New Stories

Eve Crazy & Mar Yo

Eve Crazy & Mar Yo

Rating: ★★★

This duo recording presents an intriguing clash of cultures. Eve Crazy is a Senegalese female rapper perhaps best-known as a...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of Passeport

Passeport

LASS | Lass

Chapter Two Records / Wagram Music

Rating: ★★★

From the moment Lassana Sané, aka Lass, gently launches into the opening track ‘Massamba’, the listener is aware of the...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of Radio Afloat

Radio Afloat

Layale Chaker & Sarafand

In a Circle Records

Rating: ★★★

Layale Chaker is a Lebanese violinist and composer whose music draws rich inspiration from contemporary classical music, jazz improvisation and...

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of I am Death, I am Breath, I am Life

I am Death, I am Breath, I am Life

Hezron Chetty

Top of the World

Mad Violinist Productions

Rating: ★★★★

Hezron Chetty is a South African violinist who has made a career out of pushing the boundaries of the instrument....

Reviewed in issue July/2024

Review of Pull the Rope

Pull the Rope

Ibibio Sound Machine

Merge

Rating: ★★★★

Ibibio Sound Machine started out ten years ago with a self-titled album that matched gospel, West African styles and electronic...

Reviewed in issue June/2024

Review of Getaway

Getaway

Kolonel Djafaar

Batov Records

Rating: ★★★★

The simplest and most common description of Kolonel Djafaar’s sound is as a meeting of Ethio-jazz and Afrobeat. And that’s...

Reviewed in issue June/2024

Review of Find Your Flame

Find Your Flame

Nubiyan Twist

Strut Records

Rating: ★★★★

When artists pile on the special guests, sometimes you wish they wouldn’t. However, this nine-piece powerhouse from Leeds have managed...

Reviewed in issue June/2024

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