Reviews
Hawalat
It’s been hard keeping track of the work of Charif Megarbane. The Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist has released dozens of...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: July/2025
Ylh Bye Bye
A taut tension between tradition and the wide-open possibilities of the future underpins Ylh Bye Bye, the debut album by...
Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2025
Bostântchi/Live in Tehran
Rokh Quartet started out in 2021 with the aim of “bringing to life the multifaceted essence of Persian classical music,...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: July/2025
Roots in Motion
Oud master Mehmet Polat’s seventh record fizzes with energetic, odd-time compositions. He develops a cross-cultural conversation that Dave Brubeck picked...
Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: July/2025
Homegrown
As legacies go, they don’t get much weightier than that of folk icon Woody Guthrie. Homegrown, the latest album by...
Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: August/2025
Kuarup: Guardian of Brazil’s Musical Soul
Is this comprehensive 25-track collection a compilation or a playlist? I’m not entirely sure, but it goes some way to...
Reviewed by Andy Cumming in issue: August/2025
Tech Duinn
Emerging from the creative collaboration between Catalan music-maker Marc Fernández and Irish composer-producer Leo Pearson, Tech Duinn features at its...
Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: August/2025
Pandora’s Box
This is a musical response to war and cruelty. Despite the seriousness of the subject and the dramatic events presented...
Reviewed by Ula Nowak in issue: August/2025
It’s Been a Long, Long Time
As the title of their fourth full-length suggests, it been too long since we had an album by Scotland’s premier...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: August/2025
Pacifico
Robin Layne & The Rhythm Makers
The Pacific coast is this congenial album’s common denominator: percussionist, composer and educator Robin Layne is based around Vancouver and...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: February/March/2025
