Reviews
Take It
Bristol reggae band Black Roots have offered a powerful social commentary for 40 years – spreading a message of love,...
Reviewed by Dan Hobson in issue: December/2018
West to West
If you had to sum up Nii Okai Tagoe in the reductionist shorthand pigeonholing that the modern world demands, ‘Ghanaian...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: Aug/Sep/2016
Over That Road I’m Bound
In the two decades and more since the 18-year-old Joachim Cooder played percussion alongside Ry Cooder on Buena Vista Social...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: November/2020
Togetherings
Afrobeat! It started in the West African tropics and blazed a trail almost as far as the Arctic… well, Finland,...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: October/2019
Sorrows Away
The Unthanks have been closing their concerts with the title-track of their new album and finding that audiences are singing...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: November/2022
Cosmic Griots
Consistently funky and smile-inducing multi-diasporic Polish band The Afronauts channel the classic Afrobeat sound of Fela Kuti, the Ghanaian highlife...
Reviewed by Andrew Taylor-Dawson in issue: July/2025
Goddess: Indian Music in Celebration of Goddesses around the World
Baluji Shrivastav’s concept album takes us on a musical explor¬ation celebrating myths surrounding female deities around the globe. With its...
Reviewed by Kulbir Natt in issue: Aug/Sep/2010
Slåtter fra Gaupdalen IV (Tunes from the Lynx Valley IV)
Originally from Estonia, fiddle player Jüssi has spent much of her life travelling around the Nordic countries as well as...
Reviewed by Fiona Talkington in issue: June/2024
Fania Records: The Latin Sound of New York (1964–1978)
VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists
Continuing its celebration of Fania’s 60th birthday, the Craft Latino label has compiled an indisputable 2-LP ‘Best Of’. The gang’s...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: May/2025
