Reviews
Vamos a Bailar un Son (Special Edition)
Eliades Ochoa | Eliades Ochoa & Alejandro Almenares
A new record by the greatest living exponent of eastern Cuban traditional son, showcasing again his unmistakeable nasal guajiro voice...
Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: December/2022
The Art of the Portuguese Fado Guitar
Custódio Castelo is one of today's finest players of the 12-stringed Portuguese guitar. He is perhaps best known as the...
Reviewed by Michael Macaroon in issue: July/2011
Ghalia Benali sings Oum Kalthoum
A subtle sifting through the Kalthoum songbook. Raised in Tunisia but now living in Brussels, Ghalia Benali has explored many...
Reviewed by Neil van der Linden in issue: October/2010
Leila
The competition is getting tough out in the Saharan desert, but singer Leila Gobi fares well with her eponymous third...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: July/2015
Impredecible
After plugging away through various stylistic incarnations, from the ska of their debut to the guitar-based cumbia of their subsequent...
Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: Jan/Feb/2016
Chili Houritki
One of the few singers from Chad to emerge onto the international stage, Mitchala was first heard of half a...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: Apr/May/2012
The Hindustani Jazz Sextet Live at the UCLA
This live record is a charming time capsule, taking us back to the swinging 60s and the first fumblings of...
Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: August/September/2022
Sketches
Natalie MacMaster is Canadian fiddle royalty, with a bulging cabinet of awards and an address book of artists (from Béla...
Reviewed by Tim Woodall in issue: Jan/Feb/2020
Fiddler's Dream
It's not hard to see why so many are in awe of blind bluegrass fiddler Michael Cleveland. One listen to...
Reviewed by Matt Milton in issue: March/2017
An Introduction to Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson has curated his own Introduction To set for the Topic label, and has even gone to the trouble...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: June/2018
