Reviews

Alouane

Waaju (feat Majid Bekkas)

Majid Bekkas, as well as being central to the revival of Moroccan Gnawa music, is restless in his exploration of...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

İstanbul’u Dinliyorum

ZELT

London-based trio ZELT bear more than a passing stylistic resemblance to Istanbul’s Lalalar, crafting tunes with a strong Turkish and...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Ventre Unique

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp

Ventre Unique, the sixth album by Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, merges folk, krautrock, post-punk and African rhythms to create...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Vèjula

Merope

A few years ago, I reviewed Merope’s album Naktės and it remains one of my favourites in something like 12...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Al-Bahr

Wishamalii

There’s so much going on with Finnish trio Wishamalii’s debut album that it almost invents a whole new genre of...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Tension

Mulatu Astatke & Hoodna Orchestra

As the father of Ethio-jazz, the Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist and composer Mulatu Astatke has carved out a unique musical path. On...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Dima Libre

Labess

This is the fifth album in the lengthy career of a group led by Algerian singer-songwriter, Nedjim Bouizzoul. Having migrated...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Wani

Peni Candra Rini

Wani showcases an explosive collision between traditional Indonesian forms and Western instrumentation. It’s a daring and highly experimental project glued...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Dar Disku

Dar Disku

Dar Disku’s debut album aims to blend the vibrant sounds of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) with modern electro,...

Reviewed in issue January/2025

Golden Age

Gitkin

Any album that cites influences as diverse as swamp jazz, Malian desert rock, Peru’s psychedelic chicha music and ‘master of...

Reviewed in issue January/2025