Reviews | Songlines

Reviews

Review of Zaire 74: The African Artists

Zaire 74: The African Artists

Various Artists

Top of the World

Wrasse Records 2 CDs

Rating: ★★★★

The ‘Rumble in the Jungle,’ as the 1974 Heavyweight Championship boxing bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman was known,...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Beyond the Grid

Beyond the Grid

Afrikän Protoköl

Abozamé Records

Rating: ★★★

Led by the jazz saxophonist Guillaume Van Parys, Afrikän Protoköl brings together Belgian jazzers and traditional musicians from Burkina Faso...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Around Félicité OST

Around Félicité OST

Kasai Allstars & Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste

Crammed Discs 2 CDs

Rating: ★★★

It comes as a surprise when, three songs in, the signature buzz, clatter and twang of the Congolese collective Kasai...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Anewal: OSAS – It's Time

Anewal: OSAS – It's Time

Alhousseini Anivolla

Fidjomusic

Rating: ★★★

Founder member of Niger's desert blues champions Etran Finatawa, Alhousseini Anivolla has given us a second solo set that is...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Rûwâhîne

Rûwâhîne

Ifriqiyya Electrique

Glitterbeat Records

Rating: ★★★

Perched somewhere between the industrial-noise soundscapes of Throbbing Gristle, grungy club beats and a fairly obscure Saharan healing ritual of...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Pop Makossa: The Invasive Dance Beat of Cameroon 1976-1984

Pop Makossa: The Invasive Dance Beat of Cameroon 1976-1984

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Analog Africa

Rating: ★★★★

Makossa united the tastes of a divided Cameroon, not least because it was a musical style that could bend around...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Mande Kulu

Mande Kulu

Kala Jula

Buda Musique

Rating: ★★★

This is a sequel to 2015's Sangoyi, with the core collaboration between Malian residents Samba Diabaté and Vincent Zanetti (both...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Mulatu of Ethiopia

Mulatu of Ethiopia

Mulatu Astatke

Strut Records

Rating: ★★

Mulatu of Ethiopia is the record where the ‘Father of Ethio-jazz’ really solidified his signature sound and earned himself that...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Jiw

Jiw

Sahad & the Nataal Patchwork

Patch World Production

Rating: ★★★

It took eight years of personal introspection and musical exploration for the Dakar-based Sahad Sarr to bring out his debut...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

Review of Ile de la Réunion: Maloya

Ile de la Réunion: Maloya

Firmin Viry

Ocora Radio France

Rating: ★★★★

Maloya is a style of music unique to La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. It is the secular version of...

Reviewed in issue July/2017

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