Features

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Guru Nanak’s Day of Peace

A whole day (April 6) was spent celebrating Guru Nanak, culminating in a five-hour concert organised by Darbar Festival, who have recently begun a partnership with the Barbican Centre

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Masa Nazzal’s 'Slovenia Inshallah' turns sound into solidarity

Masa Nazzal returned from the Bosnian-Croatian border with an archive of sounds and stories that became a new way of understanding the world. “Listening [is] like a hand that reaches out”, she reflects

Thursday, May 15, 2025

A Conversation with Pedro Ben: “The idea was to put Mozambican music on the map, to show that it existed”

Fifty years on from Mozambique’s independence, one of the country’s leading singers tells the story of a legendary album. Richard Gray finds out about making music in a free Mozambique…

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Remembering Tony Allen: “His sound was so beautiful, so sensual, so chic, that it stood out immediately”

Daniel Brown looks at the astonishing legacy of pioneering Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and how the rhythms he left behind continue to innovate and inspire

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Music & Morality in Rwanda

David Green visits Rwanda to discover how traditional instruments accompany age-old tales of morality, revenge and discipline, as well as animal conservation. ‘We, the people of Rwanda, will never betray the gorillas again’, he hears… Photos by David Green

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Fela Kuti: A Beginner's Guide (by Femi Kuti)

Femi Kuti discusses his father’s legacy and his life as the son of an Afrobeat legend. “He was too kind to everybody”, hears Robin Denselow

Thursday, May 15, 2025

10 Years of Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Festival

As Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Festival celebrates a 10th anniversary which once seemed highly unlikely, Erin Cobby dives deep into an event that has put its local artists on the map. “We spent our life savings”, she finds out

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Welsh Soul, Latin Heat: Carwyn Ellis and the global pulse of Rio 18

Carwyn Ellis continues his explorations into Latin music with a new album digging into the Chicano soul grooves of the US’ Latin diaspora. “I’m constantly wanting to do different projects”, hears Russ Slater Johnson

Thursday, May 15, 2025

The Baltic Sisters: breathing new life into Lithuanian sutartinės

The Baltic Sisters, singers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, open a gate into sutartinės, a beguiling regional treasure

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Roots Round-Up: Watchhouse, Valerie June, The Faux Paws and more

This is quite the grab-bag of music reviews from North American artists, ranging from pop-leaning to super out-there experimental, but still all rooted in tradition