Reviews
A Tribute to the King of Zydeco
This autumn, Smithsonian Folkways will release a 4-CD box set, Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco. Comprising 67...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: September/2025
The Sound of the Soul
Debashish Bhattacharya is one of the world's great musical innovators. He's a composer and virtuoso guitarist, who transformed the Indian...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: May/2023
Funeral for Justice
Forget desert blues. Mdou Moctar insist they are a rock band, influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Van Halen as much...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: June/2024
Ballads: Murder, pIntrigue, Love, Discord
Topic continue to mark their 70th anniversary with the release of seven classic albums from their catalogue in sumptuously packaged...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: Jan/Feb/2010
Mawja
The Sahrawi refugee camps are situated out in the deserts of southern Algeria, and are home to the victims of...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: April/2024
Similar & Different
Dal:um are a Korean duo deploying two ‘similar yet different’ traditional instruments in a contemporary context. Both instruments are plucked...
Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: Aug/Sep/2021
Egypt Noir
The idea behind this album is to present the music of the Africans from the deserts that encompass most of...
Reviewed by Alastair Johnston in issue: July/2010
Maya Maya
Hailing from Gao and living in Bamako, Oumar Konaté is part of a new generation of young Malian artists making...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: May/2016
Amadran
After becoming familiar with Bassekou Kouyaté's thrilling electrified ngoni, it's fascinating to hear an album of solo, acoustic ngoni playing,...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: December/2019
