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Reviews

Review of Sovereign

Sovereign

Chris Murphy

Friendly Folk Records

Rating: ★★★

Beginning with ‘Halfway Around the World’, this gathering of sidemen to the stars (British art-rocker Brian Auger, Elvis Costello drummer...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: October/2021

Review of Music for Dancing

Music for Dancing

Elettro Mascarimiri

ItalySona

Rating: ★★★

Since the 90s Apulian/Roma musician and producer Claudio ‘Cavallo’ Giagnotti has worked to innovate the hugely popular pizzica salentina, exploring...

Reviewed by Francesco Martinelli in issue: October/2021

Review of Abantu/Before Humans

Abantu/Before Humans

BLK JKS

Glitterbeat

Rating: ★★★★

Back in 2009 South African indie-rockers-with-roots BLK JKS seemed to be on the verge of international stardom: Dave Grohl called...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: October/2021

Review of Encore

Encore

Joseph Spence

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

Encore was recorded in 1965 at a live concert in New York and during informal home-recording sessions by producer Peter...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: October/2021

Review of Under the Lilac Sky

Under the Lilac Sky

Arushi Jain

Top of the World

Leaving Records

Rating: ★★★★★

Arushi Jain is an Indian-born, classically-trained Hindustani singer. She is also a Brooklyn-based modular synthesizer enthusiast. Using these two powerful...

Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: October/2021

Review of Nayan Navaa

Nayan Navaa

Namgar

Top of the World

ARC Music

Rating: ★★★★

Nayan Navaa is Namgar Lhasaranova’s fourth release since she formed the band under her name in 2001. Namgar is a...

Reviewed by Michael Ormiston in issue: October/2021

Review of Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy

Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

The premise of Industrial Strength Bluegrass is an intriguing one. In the 1950s and 60s, destitute migrants from the backwoods...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: October/2021

Review of Your Mother Was a Peacock

Your Mother Was a Peacock

Oxlip

Garment District Records

Rating: ★★★

Oxlip is Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jayne Trimble, originally from Northern Ireland, and her philosophy on Your Mother Was a...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: October/2021

Review of Beyond Breath

Beyond Breath

Balladeste

Balladeste

Rating: ★★★★

The liner notes that come with the CD claim this is ‘Indo-Baroque meets alt-folk minimalism.’ The ‘Indo’ of this description...

Reviewed by Neil van der Linden in issue: October/2021

Review of The Rough Guide to the Best Japanese Music You’ve Never Heard

The Rough Guide to the Best Japanese Music You’ve Never Heard

VARIOUS ARTISTS

World Music Network

Rating: ★★★★★

Despite the slightly misleading title – many of the artists here are well known in world music circles outside Japan...

Reviewed by James Catchpole in issue: October/2021

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