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Reviews

Review of Aba Khan

Aba Khan

Nytt Land

Prophecy Productions

Rating: ★★★★★★

Nytt Land have long combined traditional Scandinavian dark-folk with the musical elements of their native Siberia. On their latest record,...

Reviewed by Olivia Cheves in issue: May/2026

Review of Tartite

Tartite

Moussa T

Mixto Records

Rating: ★★★★★★★★

Moussa T is a rising young desert blues guitarist and singer from Niger. His music fits neatly within the template...

Reviewed by Paul Slade in issue: May/2026

Review of Obra Viva de Hermeto Pascoal – Vol. 1 Flautas

Obra Viva de Hermeto Pascoal – Vol. 1 Flautas

Aline Gonçalves, Andrea Ernest Dias, Carlos Malta & Eduardo Neves

Rocinante

Rating: ★★★★★★

Hermeto Pascoal (1936–2025) was one of Brazil’s most adventurous and influential musicians. Known as ‘The Sorcerer’, this multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger...

Reviewed by Andy Cumming in issue: May/2026

Review of Kinshasa In Action

Kinshasa In Action

KINACT

Nyege Nyege Tapes

Rating: ★★★★★★★

“In Action” is the key part of this title. A release bristling with life and possibility, KINACT’s Kinshasa In Action...

Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: May/2026

Review of Karakoz

Karakoz

Mai Mai Mai

Maple Death Records

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★

Mai Mai Mai is the audio-visual project of musician and artist Toni Cutrone, which explores folklore, hauntology and traditions from...

Reviewed by Olivia Cheves in issue: May/2026

Review of WE MEAN IT, MAN!

WE MEAN IT, MAN!

Gogol Bordello

Casa Gogol

Rating: ★★★★★★★

Eugene Hütz’s American-Ukrainian gypsy-punks have always favoured heavyweight rock producers, with Steve Albini (Nirvana) and Rick Rubin (Metallica/Aerosmith) among those...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2026

Review of NTU Futurism

NTU Futurism

L8 Antique

Next Music

Rating: ★★★★★★★

L8 Antique have been winning converts on the Johannesburg circuit since the mid-2000s. Usually performing with just four people on...

Reviewed by Kwanele Sosibo in issue: May/2026

Review of Dub Will Keep Us Together

Dub Will Keep Us Together

Dub Colossus

Real World X

Rating: ★★★★★★★★

Formed by the late great Nick Page after a visit to Ethiopia, Dub Colossus were an inspired and experimental British...

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: May/2026

Review of Taiga Trans

Taiga Trans

Fauna

Glitterbeat

Rating: ★★★★★★

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, the eight-piece collective Fauna offer up a colourful tapestry of sounds in which Eastern instruments and...

Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: May/2026

Review of Blessing On the Wing

Blessing On the Wing

Joe Newberry & April Verch

Slab Town Records

Rating: ★★★★★★★★

The shadows cast by the current US government upon its Canadian neighbour haven’t darkened the sunny sharing of musical styles...

Reviewed by Jeff Kaliss in issue: May/2026

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