Reviews

Roya

Liraz

Persian/Israeli singer Liraz was a Songlines cover star in 2020 courtesy of her sophomore album Zan, a border-busting work in...

Reviewed in issue November/2022

Fadaytak

SHIRAN

The Israeli-Yemeni singer SHIRAN clearly loves to mix things up. The list of sub-genres that have been associated with her...

Reviewed in issue November/2022

A Thousand Butterflies

Aftab Darvishi

A Thousand Butterflies resembles a sonic personal essay, narrating both the musical adventures of the composer through her life. Aftab...

Reviewed in issue November/2022

Who Are We?

Al-Qasar

Born in the largely Algerian neighbourhood of Barbès in Paris, the quintet Al-Qasar mixes hypnotic North African trance grooves and...

Reviewed in issue November/2022

Mi Voz

Elif Sanchez

Turkish singer Elif Sanchez’s 2021 debut featured jazzy settings of Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs, with one song in Spanish...

Reviewed in issue October/2022

Nozhet El Nofous

Nancy Mounir

As a key member of Egypt’s rich independent music scene, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer Nancy Mounir is well-attuned to her...

Reviewed in issue October/2022

Our Garden Is Alone

Marjan Vahdat

Opener ‘Leyli’s Garden’, heralded by a breathy flourish on the ney, is a personal and heartfelt homage to Vahdat’s late...

Reviewed in issue October/2022

Ottoman Splendours

Lamia Yared | Lamia Yared & Invités

On her second album Lebanese-born singer Lamia Yared develops her research into the culture of Sephardis; Jewish populations who were...

Reviewed in issue October/2022

Oghneya

Ferkat Al Ard

Berlin-based Arabic-retro label Habibi Funk have given the kiss of life to another lost legend in the form of 1978’s...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2022

Âwât

Shadi Fathi & Bijan Chemirani

Having met in Marseille in 2016, Shadi Fathi (setar and shurangiz) and Bijan Chemirani (zarb, daf, percussion) have cultivated a...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2022