Reviews

Sujud

Senyawa

Since 2010, avant-garde Javanese duo Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi have been conducting a series of sonic trials on the...

Reviewed in issue May/2019

Lam Phloen World-Class: The Essential Banyen Rakkaen

Banyen Rakkaen

Banyen Rakkaen of Thailand is a pioneering singer who raised the profile of molam music from the north-east region –...

Reviewed in issue May/2019

100 Strings: Indian Ragas Full Circle Vol 1

Kiranpal Singh

This album by one of the best-known students of the legendary Shivkumar Sharma is a masterclass in santoor playing. In...

Reviewed in issue May/2019

Jindo Island: Funeral and Shamanic Chants

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Having featured several other Korean (both North and South) traditional genres in its long-running collection of field recordings, this time...

Reviewed in issue May/2019

Osharaku

The Kasai Osharaku Preservation Society and Others

Available as a two-disc CD or 12” vinyl, this compilation is the latest in an ongoing preservation series by EM...

Reviewed in issue April/2019

God is Not a Terrorist

Ustad Saami

Produced by Ian Brennan, the US music enthusiast whose wanderings have brought us the Malawi Mouse Boys and other treasures,...

Reviewed in issue April/2019

Sakai Ishinage Odori

The Sakai Ishinage Odori Preservation Society

This recording, or rather pair of recordings (one from 1982 and one from 2017), is the second release in an...

Reviewed in issue April/2019

Moon Night

Guo Gan

For prolific Chinese erhu virtuoso Guo Gan, the last few years have seen a number of new explorations, including collaborations...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Mitsune

Mitsune

Over the past decade or two, Tsugaru shamisen has become something of a contemporary craze in Japan, with players such...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Maithree: The Music of Friendship

Nirmala Rajasekar

This album finds celebrated Indian veena player and vocalist Nirmala Rajasekar gathering a few friends to make an acoustic fusion...

Reviewed in issue March/2019