All 12 of these albums received the maximum award of five stars when reviewed in Songlines magazine in 2019, featuring Africa Express, Bénin International Musical, KOKOKO!, Blick Bassy and many more;
Having recently turned 60, the Senegalese star is taking stock and looking to the future, as reflected in his My World playlist. He talks to Daniel Brown about his choices;
Saudi Arabia has been making headlines, largely for its war on Yemen and the high-profile murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But now the kingdom is on a PR offensive, launching a tourism initiative. Simon de Bruxelles visits one of its new festivals;
For centuries, Central Asia was criss-crossed from the west and east by merchants on the Silk Road. Today Central Asia itself is on the move with millions of migrant workers in the Russian Federation. Razia Sultanova reports on how music helps them settle in;
The event saw live music from Cyprus, Wales, Senegal, Turkey, Mali and Portugal;
Pleasure, pain and poetry – the ‘Queen of Fado’ gave Portugal its soundtrack during a turbulent 20th century. Chris Moss looks back over Amália’s career;
The young Cuban singer Daymé Arocena has had a rapid rise to fame. She tells Jane Cornwell about her journey so far and her tribute to Santería’s female orishas;
Charlotte Algar highlights 10 essential singers from this musical island nation, including Daymé Arocena, La Lupe, Celia Crúz and many more;
The Chilean musician known as Macha fronts a variety of ever- evolving bands, such as Chico Trujillo and Bloque Depresivo. Russ Slater chats to him about how it all began with cumbia;
Musician Stella Chiweshe speaks to Jim Hickson about the mbira, an instrument synonymous with Zimbabwe’s Shona people;
Robert Rigney speaks to the sextet appealing to new audiences with their blend of vintage Turkish psychedelia and traditional folk music;
Get ready for a new global sound via Kinshasa and Paris. Jo Frost speaks to the band;
Diane Coetzer talks to the South African band BCUC who are exporting their traditional Soweto music across the globe and mesmerising audiences, one transcendental show at a time;
A new Cuban big band are making waves. All the more surprising for the fact that Orquesta Akokán are a collaboration of first-class Cuban and American musicians. Kim Burton tells their story so far;
It’s rare to see 70-year-olds in our Introducing series, says Simon Broughton, but it is time to take a fresh look at the veteran master;
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