Reviews
Voyageur
Ali Farka Touré | Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté
A new album of nine unheard studio cuts from the Malian legend comes 17 years after his death, but slip...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: April/2023
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
Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye
Whilst we’re used to hearing lilting scales from vintage Ethiopia, this latest reissue from Awesome Tapes from Africa is like...
Reviewed by Chris Menist in issue: October/2013
Songhive: Beelore & Folksong in the British Isles
Folk music often has a special relationship with the native flora and fauna of the land from which it springs....
Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: October/2018
From Senegal to the World: 80s Classics & Rarities
Youssou N’Dour began the 80s as the hub of a dynamic emerging music scene in Senegal and ended them being...
Reviewed by Mark Hudson in issue: Jan/Feb/2013
The Rough Guide to Blues & Beyond
‘If the purists don’t like it, then that’s tough’. So run the liner notes to The Rough Guide to Blues...
Reviewed by Lucy Wilson in issue: March/2010
Noise & Chill Out – Ethiopian Groove Worldwide
Badume’s Band & Selamnesh Zemene | VARIOUS ARTISTS
The ‘Ethiopianisation’ of certain bands and their music is a curious, unpredicted scenario. Even sou-kous in its 80s peak didn’t...
Reviewed by Chris Menist in issue: March/2012
18 Piano Sutras & 25 South Asian Pianisms
This double album of piano suites is by prolific composer and pianist Tanya Ekanayaka, from Sri Lanka. Each of the...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: June/2023
Sounds, Dreams & Other Stories A Celebration: 60 Years
These two prolific octogenarians have represented Brazilian jazz royalty for around six decades, so it’s high time for a three-CD,...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: January/February/2024
Pasé Bél Tan – Francophonies & Creolities in Louisiana
VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists
In their study of the Cajun French of Louisiana, sociolinguists Sylvie Dubois and Megan Melançon describe the weakening of local...
Reviewed by Fred Waine in issue: September/2025
