Reviews
Healing Voices
The soulfully-voiced Belgian-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Esinam Dogbatse, who performs under the name ESINAM, met the South African singer and guitarist Sibusile...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: June/2025
Useza
Among the Shona communities of northeastern Zimbabwe, the matepe, a type of mbira, is used to evoke trance states to...
Reviewed by Olivia Cheves in issue: July/2025
Polyphonies of Georgia
The Ensemble Marani are an exceptionally good Georgian male-voice choir based in Paris. The 12-strong group includes members of the...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: Aug/Sep/2016
Gospel Journey
Faada Freddy is one of the pioneers of African hip-hop. He was a founder of the Senegalese band Daara J,...
Reviewed by Jean Berry in issue: October/2015
Music from Iraq
There's something reassuring about putting on a CD called Music from Iraq and it sounding just like that – music...
Reviewed by Bill Badley in issue: July/2015
Sé Nam
The party never stops on Sé Nam, an album designed to sweat to. While there's an edge to tracks like...
Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: September/2025
Pedal Steal + Four Corners
Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band
Now here's a fascinating one. Terry Allen is an artist of many forms: a conceptual artist, painter, writer, playwright, and...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: June/2019
If I Greet the Mountains
Giorgis Xylouris, Stelios Petrakis, Periklis Papapetropoulos
It’s a common cliché to compare music to landscape, but it seems particularly appropriate in the dry, rugged but heroic...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: Apr/May/2010
Sri Lanka: Sigiriya's Love Songs, Ceylon
It is always welcome to see albums of music that bring more local traditions to a wider audience, and this...
Reviewed by Maria Lord in issue: July/2014
