Reviews
All Life is Here
Harp and a Monkey, as the abrupt band name suggests, are a plain-speaking Lancastrian folk group. Frontman Martin Purdy tells...
Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: June/2014
Masters of Our Roots
A masterclass of 20th century Cuban-American showbiz, this has all the vintage allure of a night at Havana's Tropicana, or...
Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: September/2025
Absolutely Live II: Viva Mexico!
Juan De Marcos & Afro-Cuban All Stars
Led by Juan de Marcos, the Cuban legend who provided many of the arrangements on Buena Vista Social Club, this...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: March/2018
Sufis at the Cinema: 50 years of Bollywood Qawwali & Sufi Song 1958-2007
Twenty-five tracks and over 150 minutes of film music at its best, this compilation from Saregama has got to be...
Reviewed by Jameela Siddiqi in issue: July/2011
Ar Puro
The music of Guinea-Bissau – a tiny wedge of mangroves and jungle hidden between the borders of Senegal and Guinea...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2010
Amor Festa Devoção
Maria Bethânia is most famous outside Brazil as Caetano Veloso’s sister. But within Brazil she is as big a star...
Reviewed by Alex Robinson in issue: Jan/Feb/2012
Rebujo
As energised as guaraná, as saucy as a Sid James laugh, as sultry as samba at sunset on a tropical...
Reviewed by Alex Robinson in issue: Aug/Sep/2019
No Wahala in the Dance!: Adventures in Contemporary Reggae, Dub & Electronics
Independent label No Wahala Sounds emerged five years ago, releasing limited-edition vinyl reissues of little-known African gems. Now the label...
Reviewed by David Katz in issue: March/2020
High Life Time II
For a highlife aficionado, putting on the first disc of this compilation is like being greeted by old friends: Prince...
Reviewed by Alastair Johnston in issue: Aug/Sep/2011
Daora: Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil – Hip-Hop, Beats, Afro & Dub
When it comes to cinema, ‘urban’ may be a synonym for gritty andmonochromatic, but that is most certainly not the...
Reviewed by Russ Slater in issue: October/2013
