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Review of Birna

Birna

Wardruna

By Norse Music/Sony Music

Rating: ★★★★

Four years in the making, Warduna’s new album is a journey into the world of Birna – the she-bear in...

Reviewed by Tony Gillam in issue: February/March/2025

Review of Muutused/Zminy

Muutused/Zminy

Svjata Vatra

Nordic Notes

Rating: ★★★★

Svjata Vatra were formed in 2005 when Ukrainian singer and trombonist Ruslan Trochynskyi moved to Estonia and teamed up with...

Reviewed by Tony Gillam in issue: Jan/Feb/2019

Review of Les Mamans du Congo & RRobin

Les Mamans du Congo & RRobin

Les Mamans du Congo & RRobin

Top of the World

Jarring Effects

Rating: ★★★★★

Blending any sort of traditional music with electronic effects is always a risk. Meanings may be lost, or rhythms diluted....

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: March/2021

Review of All Ashore

All Ashore

Punch Brothers

Nonesuch Records

Rating: ★★★

It's impossible to talk about the Punch Brothers without mentioning Chris Thile. Should anyone still require an introduction to Thile,...

Reviewed by Matt Milton in issue: October/2018

Review of Invisible Faces

Invisible Faces

Tomáš Liška

Animal Music

Rating: ★★★★

Bringing together musicians from Turkey, Serbia and the Czech Republic, bassist Tomáš Liška here draws upon a shared musical language...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: December/2017

Review of Breath & Hammer

Breath & Hammer

David Krakauer

Table Pounding Records

Rating: ★★★★

Clarinettist David Krakauer played with The Klezmatics before forging a distinctive solo career that pushes at the boundaries of many...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: November/2020

Review of Faerie Fire Dances

Faerie Fire Dances

Marc Block

Glasspool Music

Rating: ★★★

Marc Block has been on the folk scene since the mid-1980s, a self-described ‘rootsy Radical Faerie singer of original and...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: December/2020

Review of Portu in Core

Portu in Core

I Muvrini

Wrasse Records

Rating: ★★★

Followers of Corsican supergroup I Muvrini (The Mountain Sheep) will know the formula: voices steeped in tradition; an ensemble that's...

Reviewed by Andrew Mcgregor in issue: April/2020

Review of King of Highlife Anthology

King of Highlife Anthology

ET Mensah & The Tempos

RetroAfric (4 CDs)

Rating: ★★★★

This is the largest compilation of recordings by ET Mensah that anyone has ever seen. It means that, perhaps for...

Reviewed by Max Reinhardt in issue: Apr/May/2015

Review of The Art of the Vietnamese Zither: Đàn Tranh

The Art of the Vietnamese Zither: Đàn Tranh

Tri Nguyen

ARC Music

Rating: ★★

Tri Nguyen's mission is to bring the đàn tranh (zither) to new audiences by combining Vietnamese traditions with Western classical...

Reviewed by Barley Norton in issue: May/2019

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