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Jazz is World Music
Why is there so much snobbery and closed-mindedness about jazz from the ‘world music police’?
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Rituals, femininity and mother earth are at the heart of Italian-Iranian group Hysterrae
An extended version of our Q&A with Italian-Iranian 5-piece Hysterrae about their hypnotic new album
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Amit Chaudhuri | My World: “In Indian music every moment is a moment of arrival”
The author and musician talks to Simon Broughton about how he resisted Indian music growing up and the singers who finally kindled his interest
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Xenia França: “Black Brazilian women can finally be seen and heard for who they are”
Remarkable rising star Xenia França is challenging perceptions of what it means to be a Black Brazilian woman, quickly becoming the voice of a new generation of artists. Alex Robinson reports…
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Omar Sosa interview: “Music as a weapon of mass consciousness”
A prolific collaborator who has travelled extensively since leaving his Cuban homeland, Omar Sosa talks to Jane Cornwell about his fact-finding tour of East Africa and his new album, which sees him collaborate with some of the region’s leading folkloric musicians
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“Ask where the music is taking you” | Frigg
Tony Gillam spoke with Frigg’s Esko Järvelä and Petri Prauda before the septet’s belated 20th-anniversary tour and finds the irrepressible Nordgrass veterans in buoyant mood
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Meeting Souad Massi: “The world is fragile, and I’m afraid for the future of our children”
Robin Denselow talks to the French-Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi, whose latest album is a testament to survival amid the depths of global despondency and personal hardship
A Beginner's Guide
Kronos Quartet: A Beginner's Guide
Jeff Kaliss charts the 50-plus years and many global collaborations of the string quartet, who have just said farewell to two of their longest-serving members
A Beginner's Guide
Rajery: A Beginner's Guide
Madagascar’s leading player of the bamboo tube zither, otherwise known as the valiha, has come a long way from coping with an early disability to touring international concert halls. Daniel Brown retells Rajery’s journey
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How Iberi's new album was inspired by the food, wine and glorious musical harmonies of Georgia
The Georgian male vocal group Iberi celebrate the country’s predilection for feasting with their new album. Simon Broughton gets a taste from the choir’s leader Buba Murgulia
Features
Music in the time of Coronavirus
COVID-19’s impact has been global and unprecedented. Russ Slater speaks to various musicians and people who work within the music community about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting their approach to making and promoting music
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Mamadou Diabaté: master of the balafon
The West African xylophone is steeped in the mythology of the Mali Empire. Simon Broughton meets balafon player Mamadou Diabaté, who is helping to keep the instrument’s 800-year history alive
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Vieux Farka Touré interview: “It’s difficult to be the child of someone who has gone to the top of the mountain”
Emerging from the shadow cast by his famous father, guitarist Vieux Farka Touré has spent a career forging his own path. But now he’s finally returning to his roots. Photography by Kiss Diouara
A Beginner's Guide
Master Musicians of Jajouka: A Beginner's Guide
Tim Cumming delves into the history and mystical appeal of the Moroccan musicians from Jajouka
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Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi: Challenging perceptions of home and belonging
Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi revisit classic folk songs on their latest release. The pair talk about the continuing relevance of folk music, the concept of home and life during lockdown
