Reviews

Santiman

The Creole Choir of Cuba

This is that difficult second album, from the most internationally visible of the folklore troupes of the big Haitian community...

Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: Apr/May/2013

Listen… OKA!

Chris Berry & the Bayaka Pygmies

We’ve heard plenty of examples of Bayaka pygmy music in its pure unadulterated state. We’ve also heard it expertly incorporated...

Reviewed by Martin Sinnock in issue: July/2012

Beránci a Vlci

VARIOUS ARTISTS

This ambitious recording originates in a show put on at the Folk Holidays Festival in the Czech Republic. It brings...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: March/2018

Echo Land

Bùmarang

This is a strong debut from Montréal-based Celtic trio Bùmarang (yes, the Scots Gaelic name does mean ‘Boomerang’), featuring David...

Reviewed by Li Robbins in issue: Aug/Sep/2021

Rim

Rim

This album is a collaboration between four musicians from Norway and Sweden; they have chosen traditional tunes and some of...

Reviewed by Fiona Talkington in issue: March/2016

L’Âge d’Or

Karen Lano

One of the key Western artistic concerns of the 19th century was the positioning of poets as spiritual leaders, equal...

Reviewed by Fred Waine in issue: April/2025

Al-hambra

Ahmed Mukhtar & Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde

Baghdad-born Ahmed Mukhtar studied oud and Western percussion in London. On this album, inspired by a visit to Granada’s Alhambra...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: October/2025

Bes

The Dwarfs of East Agouza

Formed in 2012, the trio who make up the Dwarfs found themselves living in the same apartment building in Cairo's...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: June/2016

Komitas

The Gurdjieff Ensemble & Levon Eskenian

Komitas (1869-1935) will always remain one of music history's most tantalising mysteries. Born Soghomon Soghomonian in a Turkish village and...

Reviewed by Michael Church in issue: Jan/Feb/2016

It's Klezmer!

You Shouldn’t Know From It

The title says it all really. This is a solid collection of traditional tunes with a handful of originals, including...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: May/2016