Reviews

Milimo

Niwel Tsumbu

Niwel Tsumbu is certainly unique. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he ‘grew up on the rhythms of soukous...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Sweet Release

Justin Adams & Mauro Durante

‘These strings, this drum, from another world they come, bringing songs of sweet release,’ Adams sings over a thunderous Rachid...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Cracher le Feu

Oonga

This ‘fire-spitting’ album from Montréal is the work of producer Oonga, who has hooked up with his Belizean equivalent, Ivan...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Drum Machine

Arsenal Mikebe

Don’t let their slick, suited aesthetic fool you, Ugandan drum ensemble Arsenal Mikebe are serving up a sonic onslaught of...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Gira

MOMO.

Marcelo Frota, from Rio de Janeiro, has lived and recorded all over the world, but for his seventh album he...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

The Rhizome Project

Moira Smiley

It could be said that The Rhizome Project is Vermont-based Moira Smiley’s ode to roots music. But the metaphorical rhizome...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

The Salmon

The Salmon

This is a Franco-Jamaican reggae compilation, spiced up with shots of blues, country and soul. The Salmon’s members each boast...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

OVA

Afro Celt Sound System

This is a bittersweet triumph from one of the world’s finest fusion bands. The Afro Celts were founded by Simon...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Nijerusalem

Mamman Sani & Tropikal Camel

Like the Vangelis of West Africa, Mamman Sani began recording his electronic keyboard music in the late 1970s and is...

Reviewed in issue December/2024

Whispering Sky

Tenzin Choegyal

Tibetan musician and composer Tenzin Choegyal has been in exile from his home country since the 1970s and based in...

Reviewed in issue December/2024