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Reviews

Review of Ŋurru Wäŋa

Ŋurru Wäŋa

Hand To Earth | Hand to Earth

Room40

Rating: ★★★★

Originally developed during an Australian Art Orchestra residency in remote Tasmania, the Hand To Earth ensemble creatively established itself in...

Reviewed by Seth Jordan in issue: September/2025

Review of Toña

Toña

Kadialy Kouyate

ARC Music

Rating: ★★★★

Kadialy Kouyate is a superb kora player from Kolda in south Senegal. Now based in the UK, he's involved in...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: September/2025

Review of Kunung Tilo

Kunung Tilo

Jali Fily Cissokho

Jali Fily Cissokho

Rating: ★★★★

Singer and kora player Jali Fily Cissokho comes from a long line of West African Mandinka griots – Seckou Keita...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: September/2025

Review of It Was All Heart

It Was All Heart

Ward Dhoore

Trad Records

Rating: ★★★★

Belgian composer and multi-instrumentalist Ward Dhoore has been touring globally for over a decade in numerous projects, including string trio...

Reviewed by Chris Wheatley in issue: September/2025

Review of Whaling Women

Whaling Women

The Silver Darlings

The Silver Darlings

Rating: ★★★

Riding the wave (pun intended) of the sea shanty trend, this is the second release from the all-female group hailing...

Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: September/2025

Review of Sé Nam

Sé Nam

Nana Benz du Togo

Komos Records

Rating: ★★★

The party never stops on Sé Nam, an album designed to sweat to. While there's an edge to tracks like...

Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: September/2025

Review of Stemmer i Voks

Stemmer i Voks

Stemmer i Voks

GO’ Danish Folk Music

Rating: ★★★★

Stemmer i Voks, from Danish folktronica pioneers Ulla Bendixen and Martin Ottosen, core members of seminal band Sorten Muld, is...

Reviewed by Devon Léger in issue: September/2025

Review of N'Darila

N'Darila

Kankou Kouyate

One World Records

Rating: ★★★★

Member of esteemed Bamana jeli (griot) lineage from the village of Garana in Segu, Mali, Kankou made her debut in...

Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: September/2025

Review of Sargal

Sargal

Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko & Volker Goetze

Motéma Music

Rating: ★★★★

In 2023, the New York-based trumpeter/producer Volker Goetze and Senegalese kora master Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko teamed up with flamenco...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: September/2025

Review of Río Abajo

Río Abajo

Rebecca Roger Cruz

Top of the World

Airfono

Rating: ★★★★

Now domiciled in Lyon, France, this young Venezuelan singer, percussionist and member of the Réunionese-Venezuelan quartet, Parranda La Cruz, has...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: September/2025

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