Reviews
Gaudencia
After listening to an MC Yallah record it's tempted to conclude that every other rapper in the game is slacking....
Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: September/2025
Jardin d’ailleurs
Gaëlle Bagot & Juan Manuel Nieto
The piano-clarinet duet format, with vocals sung mainly in French, would not be my first choice, but this new release...
Reviewed by James Catchpole in issue: February/March/2026
Synthesize the Soul: Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica from the Cape Verde Islands 1973-1988
Fans of Cape Verdean music will be familiar with its typical lack of drums and use of gently strummed cavaquinho,...
Reviewed by Jon Lusk in issue: June/2017
The Rough Guide to Arabic Jazz
Some shocking musical crimes have been committed in the name of Arabic jazz: the number of unremarkable CDs of unbridled...
Reviewed by Bill Brdley in issue: October/2014
Gipsy Burek Orkestar
Gipsy Burek Orkestar made a good impression at WOMEX 2013. They describe themselves as ‘blending the exuberant drive of a...
Reviewed by Garth Cartwright in issue: October/2014
Instant Moksha – Mantras
Sarves Thiru is a Malaysian-born singer now based in London. She’s studied Carnatic singing and says: “I hope that people...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: March/2024
In the Dark We Grow
The folk duo’s fourth album, In the Dark We Grow, steers away from the compelling introspective spareness of 2022’s Ink...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: December/2024
Early Home Recordings
Recorded at home to her finger-picking accompaniment in Wimbledon in 1966 and 1967 – Denny's performing debut was at Kingston's...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: November/2024
Tovi
A ‘tovi’, Finnish accordionist Teija Niku helpfully explains, is “an undefined bit of time, somewhere between a moment and a...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: May/2026
