Features
Peggy Seeger on the art of songwriting: “Make them laugh before you make them cry”
The irrepressible Peggy Seeger talks to Julian May about dealing with the inevitability of ageing and her unique and very candid approach to songwriting
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“A sound full of country funk and spiritual joy” | Introducing Changüí, the music from Cuba’s sugarcane fields
As the world celebrated the anniversary of Buena Vista Social Club, a compilation showcasing another traditional Cuban sound, changüí, snuck under the radar. Garth Cartwright reports on this syncopated dance music
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Harp of Darkness: “If I expose the bin-baja harp, something will have to die”
Patrick Jered ventures into Madhya Pradesh in India to unearth the legendary bin-baja harp, widely considered as a pariah instrument
Features
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino: "We wanted to fit our style, and pizzica, into the idea of a Western pop song"
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino perform the vibrant pizzica music of southern Italy. Ciro de Rosa speaks to bandleader Mauro Durante about how they brought this rhythmic tradition into the 21st century
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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: “He remains an enigma, to this day…what was that magic?”
Jameela Siddiqi plots the unprecedented international success of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistan’s ‘King of Kings of Qawwali’ and, for many, one of the greatest singers of all time
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Mariza’s World
Mariza won the Best Artist category in the Songlines Music Awards 2016. Following the release of her first album in five years, Mariza makes sure fado is not a limitation. Mundo, she tells Gonçalo Frota, is her way of saying these are happy times
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Cimarrón: embracing and upending Colombian musical traditions
The death of their co-founder and lead harpist, Carlos Rojas, gave Colombian joropo group Cimarrón cause to reflect on musical roots and gender roles. Chris Moss talks to dynamic frontwoman Ana Veydó about their new album, La Recia
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Meeting Abel Selaocoe: “I find the threads that bind African music and classical music together”
Abel Selaocoe has made a name for himself as an innovator who straddles the worlds of Western classical and South African heritage. Jo Frost catches up with the cellist to talk about his debut solo album
Features
Albums of the Year 2024: Songlines Recommends...
Looking back over the past 12 months at the albums that have made the biggest impression
Features
What Can Musicians and Music Lovers Do During a Climate Crisis?
With the earth passing 1.5 degrees celsius of heating in 2024, and recent natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, we asked artists and researchers how to play and enjoy music while respecting and helping the planet
Features
Music Industry vs. Climate Crisis: A New Songbook For A Dying Planet
Writers, musicians, producers and festival programmers are trying to find new ways to communicate the enormity of the climate crisis. Chris Moss talks to them about folk song, farming, ice, industry, wonder and awe
The Rough Guide to World Music
The Music of Iran: A Rough Guide
Laudan Nooshin reports on the revival of Iranian classical music since 1979 and Simon Broughton takes the pulse of the folk and pop scenes
Features
The Rough Guide to World Music: Iran
Laudan Nooshin reports on the revival of Iranian classical music since 1979 and Simon Broughton takes the pulse of the folk and pop scenes
Features
20 Great Artists from 20 Years of Songlines
All of these artists who released their first solo album during the lifetime of Songlines (ie since 1999), including Fatoumata Diawara, Mariza, Sam Lee and many more
The Rough Guide to World Music
The Music of Ireland: A Rough Guide
Ireland’s traditional music has some innate and elusive quality whose appeal has spread far beyond its shores
