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Review of Tarrwaysin & Rrways: A Journey into the Realm of Amazigh Wandering Poet-Singers

Tarrwaysin & Rrways: A Journey into the Realm of Amazigh Wandering Poet-Singers

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Atlas Azawaa/Anya

Rating: ★★★★★

Tarrwaysin & Rrways is a landmark collection of new performances of more than 50 itinerant Amazigh (Berber) poets and singers...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: June/2021

Review of Papa Lemon: New Orleans Ukulele Maestro & Tent Show Troubadour

Papa Lemon: New Orleans Ukulele Maestro & Tent Show Troubadour

Lemon Nash

Arhoolie Records

Rating: ★★★★

The one thing we are not told in the evocative and often hilarious liner notes of this album, is whether...

Reviewed by Matthew Milton in issue: July/2014

Review of Disques Debs International: An Island Story - Biguine, Afro Latin & Musique Antillaise 1960-1972

Disques Debs International: An Island Story - Biguine, Afro Latin & Musique Antillaise 1960-1972

Various Artists

Top of the World

Stmt Records

Rating: ★★★★★

A first release from the vaults of the label Disques, this French Caribbean selection encapsulates the riveting cross-pollination of island...

Reviewed by Charles De Ledesma in issue: Aug/Sep/2018

Review of Beyond Addis: Contemporary Jazz & Funk Inspired by Ethiopian Sounds from the 70s

Beyond Addis: Contemporary Jazz & Funk Inspired by Ethiopian Sounds from the 70s

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Trikont

Rating: ★★★★★

Many contemporary groups trying to recreate the sounds of 70s Africa are disappointing – particularly in the styles of jazz...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: July/2014

Review of Harmonizing Soweto: Golden Gospel & Kasi Soul from the new South Africa

Harmonizing Soweto: Golden Gospel & Kasi Soul from the new South Africa

Diepkloof United Voice

Ostinato Records

Rating: ★★★★

Diepkloof and its neighbour, Meadowlands, were created as new zones in Soweto in the late 50s to accommodate those forcibly...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: December/2023

Review of Lek Mak: A Footprint From Bougainville / Hamoris Lian Timor: Reviving the Sound of Timor

Lek Mak: A Footprint From Bougainville / Hamoris Lian Timor: Reviving the Sound of Timor

Various Artists

Wantok Musik

Rating: ★★★★

These new ethnographic-oriented albums document recent Pacific projects initiated by Australian-based label Wantok Musik in the two formerly war-torn island...

Reviewed by Seth Jordan in issue: December/2025

Review of Africa Express Presents… The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians & Guests

Africa Express Presents… The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians & Guests

The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians & Guests

Transgressive Records

Rating: ★★★

The brief summer tour of European festivals that reunited an orchestra of Syrian musicians scattered by civil war and put...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: Jan/Feb/2017

Review of London is the Place for Me: The Music of Young Black London, 5 & 6

London is the Place for Me: The Music of Young Black London, 5 & 6

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Honest Jon’s Records

Rating: ★★★★★

This double-CD release follows three engaging, high-quality compilations of Caribbean and African music in 50s Britain from the specialist label...

Reviewed by Charles De Ledesma in issue: July/2013

Review of Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora, 1980-93

Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora, 1980-93

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Soundway

Rating: ★★★

This compilation, the second in a Soundways series that started with 2009’s Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-1981,...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: July/2024

Review of Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88)

Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88)

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Soundway Records

Rating: ★★★★★

The fruit of an extensive archival project by Soundway Records label boss Alice Whittington (AKA DJ Norsicaa), Ayo Ke Disco...

Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: December/2024

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