Reviews | Songlines

Reviews

Review of Kyoku: Japanese Chamber Music

Kyoku: Japanese Chamber Music

Mieko Miyazaki & Suizan Lagrost

Felmay

Rating: ★★★★

The sounds of the koto, shakuhachi and shamisen on this excellent CD seem familiar, yet Japanese chamber music is not...

Reviewed by Michael Ormiston in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Gone Away Backward

Gone Away Backward

Robbie Fulks

Bloodshot Records

Rating: ★★★★

There should be a special award for this kind of high-level deployment of a musical ensemble. Fulks, a skilled acoustic...

Reviewed by Jeff Kaliss in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Wenu Wenu

Wenu Wenu

Omar Souleyman

Ribbon Music

Rating: ★★★

It’s something of a mystery why Souleyman, a 47-year-old wedding singer from northern Syria, has become a phenomenon in Western...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Of Stones and Bones

Of Stones and Bones

3 Daft Monkeys

3DM Records

Rating: ★★

3 Daft Monkeys are a busy band, taking their effervescent Balkan, folk and dub-inflected music to clubs and festivals all...

Reviewed by Julian May in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of The Road to Jajouka

The Road to Jajouka

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Howe Records

Rating: ★★★★

The artist and writer Brion Gysin took Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones to see the Jajouka Musicians shortly before...

Reviewed by Peter Culshaw in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Just My Land

Just My Land

Erik Aliana

Buda Records

Rating: ★★★★

Erik Aliana is a singer and percussionist from Cameroon. He lives in the urban environment of Yaoundé and this recording,...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Bulimundo/Djam Brancu Dja

Bulimundo/Djam Brancu Dja

Bulimundo

Lusafrica

Rating: ★★★★

Most readers will associate Cape Verde with the languid, melancholic mornas made famous by the great singer Cesaria Evora, or...

Reviewed by Alex Robinson in issue: Jan/Feb/2014

Review of Gabriel Saglio et les Vieilles Pies

Gabriel Saglio et les Vieilles Pies

Gabriel Saglio et les Vieilles Pies

Association LVP

Rating: ★★

World music fusions have often resulted in some pointless sonic stews, and Gabriel Saglio, a Toulouse-based artist, has come up...

Reviewed by Jon Lusk in issue: Nov/Dec/2013

Review of Barbara (1955-1961)

Barbara (1955-1961)

Barbara

Fiémeaux et Associés

Rating: ★★★★

Sixteen years after the death of one of France’s most prestigious singer-songwriters, Monique Cerf (aka Barbara), this is a typically...

Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: Nov/Dec/2013

Review of Afrobeat Airways 2: Return Flight to Ghana 1974-1983

Afrobeat Airways 2: Return Flight to Ghana 1974-1983

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Analog Africa

Rating: ★★★★

Admirers of 70s African music are living in high-cotton times, thanks to admirably dogged labels like Soundway and Analog Africa....

Reviewed by Nige Tassell in issue: Nov/Dec/2013

Subscribe from only £7.50

Start your journey and discover the very best music from around the world.

Subscribe

View the Current
Issue

Take a peek inside the latest issue of Songlines magazine.

Find out more