Reviews
Beyond the Blue
Jamaican toasting legend Big Youth collaborates here with travelling French producers Brain Damage and Sam Clayton Jr in a heady...
Reviewed by Clyde Macfarlane in issue: Aug/Sep/2021
Kenya-Congo Connection: From the Archives of Audio Productions, Nairobi, Kenya
There are several compilations of East African recordings that show the strong link between Congolese guitar-band music and bands located...
Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: Jan/Feb/2017
Cadence Revolution 1973-1981: Disque Debs International Vol 2
Volume two of Strut's exploration of Disque Debs International recordings - the longest-running and most prolific label of the French...
Reviewed by Garth Cartwright in issue: May/2020
Every Song Has its End: Sonic Dispatches from Traditional Mali
Over the last few years the Bamako-based producer Paul Chandler has travelled across Mali making field recordings of traditional musicians...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2016
Tribalistas II
One uses the term ‘supergroup’ with caution, but Tribalistas unite three giants of MPB, (Música Popular Brasileira). The golden-voiced Marisa...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: Jan/Feb/2019
Ylh Bye Bye
A taut tension between tradition and the wide-open possibilities of the future underpins Ylh Bye Bye, the debut album by...
Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2025
Song of the Birds
Avi Avital is the Israeli virtuoso of the mandolin who’s been taking this super versatile instrument into concert halls around...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: October/2025
Oliveiras
One should always try to forget any preconceptions when approaching a fado singer from abroad, with no real reputation or...
Reviewed by GonÇalo Frota in issue: April/2018
Sonche Atlántico
This short, finely-crafted album by Galician multi-instrumentalist Pancho Álvarez – his fourth solo record – reveals an artist on fine...
Reviewed by Tim Woodall in issue: October/2012
