For five decades Susana Baca has been performing plangent protest songs in the name of South America’s marginalised peoples, the poor and the planet. On the eve of the release of her latest album, Palabras Urgentes, the Afro-Peruvian diva talks to Chris Moss
We speak with the saxophonist and composer whose boisterous outfit, A Espetacular Charanga do França, are putting the heart back into Carnaval
Rob Adams examines the extensive career of the acclaimed French double bassist, who has been influential in taking the instrument to its sonic limits
Piano accordions, melodeons, concertinas, bandoneóns – squeezeboxes come in many forms, and have spread all over the globe, adapting to all kinds of traditions. Julian May picks his favourite squeezebox albums
Pachamama’s radical message is being channelled, oscillated, mixed and mashed by a new wave of South American musicians, DJs, rappers and ravers. Chris Moss selects the top ten highlights
Meet the Québécois group’s core duo artfully blending French-Canadian trad and club-friendly electronics
The Korean group are turning the power trio on its head, using tropes of their national music to make genre-splicing sounds
Featuring Kayhan Kalhor, Salif Keita, Penguin Cafe, Gerry Mulligan, Astor Piazzolla, Jan Garbarek, and many more!
One of British folk music’s most influential figures is marking his 80th birthday. Julian May delves into his prolific and remarkable recordings
FONDATION SUISA, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and artlink have put together an extensive 93-track spotify playlist to showcase Switzerland’s impressive music scene. Simon Broughton highlights some of his favourites.
The little-known Indonesian zither has a new champion determined to raise its profile. Aga Ujma speaks about her sail-powered instrument
Lockdown offered folk duo Jon Boden and John Spiers time to revisit some of the more joyful corners of the traditional English canon. They speak to Julian May about the resulting album and the process of working together again
Joachim Cooder’s most recent album recasts cuts from banjo player Uncle Dave Macon for a new generation. Jane Cornwell follows the lauded multi-instrumentalist along the path to archival reinvention
Fanfare Ciocărlia are the planet’s foremost Balkan brass band, soundtracking Guinness and Ikea ads, covered and copied, remixed and sampled, winning international awards and, night after night, taking their furious brass blast to the stage
The West African superstar talks about growing up in Benin, her various musical influences and her creative practice
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