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Reviews

Review of Xalam

Xalam

Ben Aylon

Top of the World

Riverboat Records

Rating: ★★★★★

Born in Israel, Ben Aylon has spent much of the last dozen years in West Africa and in particular in...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2021

Review of Afrique Victime

Afrique Victime

Mdou Moctar

Matador Records

Rating: ★★★

The last album by Mdou Moctar, often dubbed ‘the Hendrix of the Sahara,’ was a devastatingly deadly assault by electric...

Reviewed by Russell Higham in issue: July/2021

Review of Kindred Souls

Kindred Souls

Adrian Freedman

Nixi

Rating: ★★

Nothing should really surprise us in the global village of world music any more, but even so Adrian Freedman’s CV...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2021

Review of Avant Folk II

Avant Folk II

Frode Haltli

Hubro

Rating: ★★★★

This is Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli’s follow-up to 2018’s original Avant Folk album, reuniting the same ten-piece ensemble. Its four...

Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: July/2021

Review of El Curruchá

El Curruchá

Eliana Cuevas feat Aquiles Báez

Alma Records

Rating: ★★★★

Venezuelan-Canadian singer-songwriter Eliana Cuevas has a stirring, see-through voice, perfect for communicating the nostalgia and warmth she feels for her...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: July/2021

Review of Mother Nature

Mother Nature

Angélique Kidjo

Verve Records/Universal Music

Rating: ★★★★

Angélique Kidjo has a pleasing way of making every release a unique project rather than just another album. After collaborating...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2021

Review of Lastenkerääjä

Lastenkerääjä

Akkajee

Akkajee

Rating: ★★★★

Akkajee are a Finnish band of two akkas, a term they define as a ‘head-strong woman with a decisive attitude...

Reviewed by Merlyn Driver in issue: July/2021

Review of Drömmaren

Drömmaren

Elin Jonsson

Elin Jonsson

Rating: ★★★

Elin Jonsson is a fiddle player from the north of Sweden making her solo debut with this new release. Growing...

Reviewed by Fiona Talkington in issue: July/2021

Review of Meridiana

Meridiana

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

Top of the World

Ponderosa Records

Rating: ★★★★★

‘Meridiana is about our relationship with time, its perception. As southerners we are defined by our connection with the sun,...

Reviewed by Ciro De Rosa in issue: July/2021

Review of We Will Never Die

We Will Never Die

Yat-Kha

Top of the World

The Lollipoppe Shoppe

Rating: ★★★★

This is Tuva’s one and only Albert Kuvezin’s first Yat-Kha studio album since 2010’s excellent Poets and Lighthouses. Right from...

Reviewed by Michael Ormiston in issue: July/2021

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