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Reviews

Review of Sea of Stories

Sea of Stories

3’Ain

Choux de Bruxelles

Rating: ★★★

For fans of Jaune Toujours, this may come as something of a shock. Their singer and accordion player Piet Maris...

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: October/2023

Review of Preludes

Preludes

Flaer

Odda Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

On this succinct debut, multi-instrumentalist and painter Realf Heygate attempts to map the rural psycho-geography of his experiences growing up...

Reviewed by Spencer Grady in issue: October/2023

Review of The D-Vine Spirituals Story Vol 3

The D-Vine Spirituals Story Vol 3

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Bible & Tire Recording Co

Rating: ★★★

‘Gimme that old-time religion…’ The latest 14-track batch of old-time gospel recordings for the Memphis-based D-Vine Spirituals label underlines how...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: October/2023

Review of Lost in Tajikistan

Lost in Tajikistan

VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists

Top of the World

Riverboat Records / World Music Network

Rating: ★★★★★

These tracks were recorded in 2008 after English musician Lu Edmonds began recording musicians in a makeshift studio in the...

Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: October/2023

Review of Diré

Diré

Idrissa Soumaoro

Mieruba

Rating: ★★★★

This is the third album from a highly respected musician from Mali. His two earlier solo albums were produced by...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: October/2023

Review of João

João

Bebel Gilberto

[PIAS] Recordings

Rating: ★★★★★

Bebel Gilberto's childhood was seemingly orchestrated by her illustrious father's “playing and playing and playing.” Because she was always her...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: October/2023

Review of One Drop of Kindness

One Drop of Kindness

Yungchen Lhamo

Real World Records

Rating: ★★★★

Yungchen Lhamo has been in exile from Tibet since 1989 and One Drop of Kindness, her seventh release, continues her...

Reviewed by Michael Ormiston in issue: October/2023

Review of You’re the One

You’re the One

Rhiannon Giddens

Top of the World

Nonesuch

Rating: ★★★★★

With You’re the One, Giddens is clearly hoping to broaden her appeal beyond the folk/roots/Americana stockade and her fan club...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: October/2023

Review of Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971

Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Smithsonian Folkways

Rating: ★★★★

Alongside Alan Lomax and William Ferris, Robert ‘Mack’ McCormick fits into the tradition of white American enthusiasts of African-American roots...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: October/2023

Review of Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombian Coast

Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombian Coast

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Rocafort Records

Rating: ★★★★

The title of this delicious compilation derives from the picós, the Afro-Colombian sound systems analogous to their Jamaican counterparts and...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: October/2023

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