Reviews
Jami
This album is a double dedication, firstly to the 15th-century Sufi poetry of Jami, and secondly to the qawwali master...
Reviewed by Maria Lord in issue: June/2024
The Art of Sankyoku
Ensemble Hougaku Shijyuusoudan
Japanese musicians have few competitors when it comes to sustaining traditions while subtly updating them for today. Traditions are rarely...
Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: June/2024
Pull the Rope
Ibibio Sound Machine started out ten years ago with a self-titled album that matched gospel, West African styles and electronic...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: June/2024
Getaway
The simplest and most common description of Kolonel Djafaar’s sound is as a meeting of Ethio-jazz and Afrobeat. And that’s...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: June/2024
Find Your Flame
When artists pile on the special guests, sometimes you wish they wouldn’t. However, this nine-piece powerhouse from Leeds have managed...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: June/2024
Senga
Portuguese singer-songwriter Inês Loubet spent five years travelling from Portugal through Brazil, to London, inspiring this, her debut album. It’s...
Reviewed by Huw Hennessy in issue: June/2024
Ousoul
Tarek Abdallah & Adel Shams El Din
Born in Alexandria and based in France, oud-player and composer Tarek Abdallah is a scholar of traditional Arabic music. Much...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: June/2024
Talitakum
Avalanche Kaito’s 2022 self-titled debut was a triumph of noise punk indelibly informed by griot music from Burkina Faso. Since...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: June/2024
Hiva
Ahmad Al Khatib & Kaveh Mahmudiyan
Ahmad Al Khatib and Kaveh Mahmudiyan have created Hiva, an album of traditional Ottoman-styled oud and percussion commissioned by Global...
Reviewed by Yousif Nur in issue: June/2024
Out of the Blue
It’s reassuring that some things don’t change. For their second album, the Brussels-based international trio of former street musicians follow...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: June/2024
