Reviews
The Birth of Jungle Cumbia
Since The Roots of Chicha gave Peru’s guitar-driven, bar-band chicha music worldwide exposure six years ago there has been a...
Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: March/2014
You No Fit Touch Am
There is Femi and Seun Kuti, of course, and the ever-dextrous iconic Tony Allen, who guests hither and yon. But...
Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: July/2015
Parlour Ballads
Parlour ballads, as a genre, get poor press as low-grade, middle-class Victoriana, but here’s Jon Boden at the piano (and...
Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: December/2024
Éthiopiques 24: Golden Years of Ethiopian Music 1969-1975
If the news that there are two new volumes of the magnificent, hugely influential and spectacularly long– running Ethiopiques series...
Reviewed by Mark Hudson in issue: Apr/May/2010
Anywhere On This Road
The series we’d hoped would run forever is over. Charlie Gillett's annual double-disc survey of his favourite sounds from the...
Reviewed by Nige Tassell in issue: October/2010
Maguidala
After the success of their compilation Léve Léve: Sao Tomé & Príncipe Sounds 70s-80s earlier in the year, Bongo Joe...
Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: November/2020
Cuba's Queen of Song
For non-aficionados, Celia Cruz is best remembered as a gutsy Latina Tina Turner. When she died in 2003, she'd recently...
Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: July/2011
Dark Carnival
Kate Green is gifted with a fine voice; she uses it with feeling and precision, which makes her a terrific...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: April/2022
Ears of the People: Ekonting Songs from Senegal and Gambia
It has long been recognised that the banjo's history can be traced back to West Africa, though until recently it...
Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: April/2023
Raices en Viaje: Roots en Route
The Festival del Caribe in Santiago de Cuba in July often gives rise to unexpected en¬counters. 2009 saw a unique...
Reviewed by Jan Fairley in issue: October/2010
