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Tony Allen, the man who put the 'beat' in Afrobeat, dies aged 79
The legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen died in Paris April 30 2020
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Best New Albums
Best New Albums – May 2021 (Ballaké Sissoko, Peggy Seeger, Piers Faccini, Jon Boden)
Outstanding new releases from Frente Cumbiero, Ballaké Sissoko, Peggy Seeger, Piers Faccini, Jon Boden, Sarah-Jane Summers & Juhani Silvola and more. Tracks from all of these albums are included on the free cover-CD with the May 2021 issue of Songlines
Features
Korean singer Jaram Lee on reinterpreting Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
Jaram Lee dives deep into the story of The Old Man and the Sea for a unique pansori retelling. Christopher Conder reports
A Beginner's Guide
A Beginner's Guide to Habib Koité
The Malian singer-songwriter Habib Koité is also one of his country’s leading guitarists. Daniel Brown reflects on the artist’s recordings and career to date
Features
Best Albums 2020: Africa
All of these albums received a maximum of five stars when reviewed in the 2020 issues of Songlines. Looking for your next favourite album? This is the perfect place to start.
Features
My world: Gruff Rhys
The Welsh musician of Super Furry Animals fame speaks to Garth Cartwright about his fascination for songs sung in languages other than English
Essential 10
The 10 Best Live Albums
Jim Hickson selects ten top live-in-concert world music albums, featuring Fatoumata Diawara & Roberto Fonseca, Oum Kalthoum, Ozomatli, Radio Tarifa and more
Essential 10
The 10 Best Folk Albums of 2020
Tim Cumming looks back over the best folk albums reviewed in Songlines in 2020, which have sustained us through this locked down year
Features
Stewart Lee interview: “Stand-up is a duet with the audience. It doesn’t mean anything unless people are laughing. Or booing”
The comedian and writer tells Julian May about a childhood fascination with the past and the parallels between stand-up and the music he loves
Features
Rhythm Nation: Jamaica's 60 Years of Independence
With Jamaica marking the 60th anniversary of its independence this year, David Katz traces the sounds that built a nation, marvelling at the island country’s remarkable aptitude for musical innovation
Features
Swiss Music Playlist: From Alps to Festival Fields (Sponsored Content)
Three world music festival directors dive deep into sounds from Switzerland’s global and folk artists and tell Songlines who, given the chance, they would programme and why
Features
AR Rahman: “The independent scene is growing... Beauty is created by beautiful minds who may not be popular”
Ashanti Omkar catches up with the prolific film composer AR Rahman about his recent projects, the all-female Firdaus Orchestra and a new platform giving a boost to independent South Asian artists
Features
Best Albums 2020: Fusion
All of these albums received a maximum of five stars when reviewed in the 2020 issues of Songlines. Featuring Xylouris White, Sunny Jain, Derek Gripper, Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn and many more
Features
50 Great Moments in World Music
We've noted 50 great moments from 7000BC to the present day – concerts and confrontations, collaborations and conspiracies – all of which have shaped the sounds we're listening to today
