Reviews
Nostalgique Kongo: Rumbas Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo & Douala 1950-1960
Congolese rumba can trace its history back to the ports along the great river separating Brazzaville and Kinshasa ’ the...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Poetic Trance
Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa
Aziz Sahmaoui, Moroccan co-founder of the legendary Orchestre National de Barbès, is back for a third album with his group...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Mosawi Swiri
The youngest son of the late Mahmoud Gania, a Gnawa maalem (master) of singing and gimbri, the 23-year-old Houssam is...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Siri Ba Kele
Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band
Baba Commandant is the stage name of Sanou Mamadou, a gritty-voiced singer and musician from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's second city...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Ilana: The Creator
Saharan rock fans have good reason to be excited by this new release. From the raw and punchy opening number...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Vindodo
The first thing you'll notice about this album is its packaging – no jewel case here! Instead, the CD comes...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Amankor/The Exile
This exiled Touareg ensemble from Mali's Timbuktu region have been active for nearly three decades, led by singer Fadimata Walet...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Un Autre Blanc
This is hailed as the veteran Malian singer's final album: at nearly 70, Keita is ‘retiring.’ Certainly, Un Autre Blanc...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
Ekuka
Nyege Nyege Tapes is a small, obscure label based in Kampala, Uganda. They have released a small number of cassettes...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
To Catch a Ghost: Field Recordings from Madagascar
Canada-based sound recordist Charles Brooks has spent more than 20 years recording in the field and this is the second...
Reviewed in issue June/2026
