Reviews
2015–2025 Les Disques Bongo Joe: 10 Years Of Sonic Explorations
VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists
Les Disques Bongo Joe has grown out of its Geneva record store home, prolifically devoted to the clankily retro-electronic side...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: October/2025
Chigiyo Music Kings 1987–1998
Way back at the dawn of the 1980s, the slow’n’rootsy style of Zimbabwean chimurenga, as played by the mighty Thomas...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: January/2026
This is the Place
Hartwin is diatonic accordionist Hartwin Dhoore, here joined by violinist Pavel Souvandjiev and cellist Flavia Escartin, balancing the worlds of...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: January/2026
Songs of Truth
A plucked, multi-string instrument, the bandura is synonymous with Ukraine. For centuries, it was played by blind bards, the kobzari,...
Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: January/2026
Eadarainn a’ Chruit: Between Us the Harp
Marshalsay’s second album focuses on the three different harps of Scotland (the lever harp, the wire-strung clarsach from the Gaelic...
Reviewed by Billy Rough in issue: January/2026
A’ Chailleach
Gaelic singer Kim Carnie’s A’ Chailleach is, to quote, “a concept record rooted in female folklore, spell work and hidden...
Reviewed by Billy Rough in issue: January/2026
Djelika
The loss of kora legend Toumani Diabate in 2024 was a tragedy for the world of music, but Chrysalis Records’...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: April/2026
Vitamina Y
Described by Chucho Valdés no less as “a virtuoso”, the Switzerland-based, Cuban-born singer and violinist’s album, Erzulie, received five stars...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: April/2026
Pantakozak and Other New Yiddish Songs for Kids
Pantakozak and Other New Yiddish Songs for Kids brims with playful magic, and there’s no reason to withhold this from...
Reviewed by Celeste Cantor-Stephens in issue: April/2026
