Reviews
A História do Nordeste
The story of Luiz Gonzaga could have come straight out of a novel by Brazilian writer Jorge Amado: at 18...
Reviewed by GonÇalo Frota in issue: Jan/Feb/2019
Matanë Malit
Increasingly often, recordings turn up for review that might perhaps be referred to under the heading ‘FAWMoR’ – Forcibly Assigned...
Reviewed by Kim Burton in issue: March/2013
Moacir de Todos Os Santos
Letieres Leite & Orkestra Rumpilezz
In his liner notes, Gilberto Gil calls this album ‘a work of great magnitude.’ Rich in musical history, but tinged...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: June/2023
Guilherme Coutinho e o Grupo Stalo
Guilherme Coutinho e o Grupo Stalo
Recorded 45 years ago in the north Brazilian town of Belém and released on the Erla - Estudio Rauland label,...
Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: August/September/2023
The Confluence
If there’s anything negative to say about Fela Kuti’s music in particular and Afrobeat in general it’s that it don’t...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: May/2024
Mayday
For Québec-based guitarist and singer Myriam Gendron’s fascinating 2014 debut record, she took the unusual step of recording a concept...
Reviewed by Chris Wheatley in issue: July/2024
Mercy
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry | Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & The Upsetters
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s work – and whole being – have always inhabited otherworldly realms; Mercy is no different. Three and...
Reviewed by Celeste Cantor-Stephens in issue: April/2025
Hunter Folk Vol 1: Tribute to Toumani Koné
Mali’s Nfaly Diakité is a virtuoso of the donso ngoni, an eight-stringed antelope skin harp favoured by the donsow, the...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: December/2024
Give Water to Birds
Zöj are an intriguing Australian band who defy easy categorisation. Their name means ‘Couple’ in Farsi; they started as a...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: August/2025
Lodèr la vi
Since 2012, the group Saodaj from La Réunion has been following its own path, becoming one of the most emblematic...
Reviewed by Łukasz Komła in issue: February/March/2026
