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Reviews

Review of The World and All That It Holds

The World and All That It Holds

Damir Imamović

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rating: ★★

There are some critics out there – and I am not one – who maintain that Damir Imamović is heir...

Reviewed by Robert Rigney in issue: July/2023

Review of Speech of Species

Speech of Species

Echoes of Zoo

W.E.R.F Records

Rating: ★★★

This follow-up to Belgian quartet Echoes Of Zoo's 2021 debut Breakout is, by all accounts, a concept album exploring the...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2023

Review of Octophilia

Octophilia

KermesZ à l’Est

Top of the World

KermesZ à l’Est

Rating: ★★★★

KermesZ à l’Est are extraordinary mash-up merchants. Their name is invented to sound Eastern European and the eight-piece Belgian band...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: July/2023

Review of Catching Ghosts

Catching Ghosts

Peter Brötzmann, Majid Bekkas & Hamid Drake

ACT Music

Rating: ★★★

Peter Brötzmann is a graduate of the 1960s free jazz movement, who plays saxophone clarinet and the Eastern European tárogató....

Reviewed by Jo Setters in issue: July/2023

Review of Keturah

Keturah

Keturah

Hen House Studios

Rating: ★★★

Keturah made her first recordings in her native Malawi in 2010 at the age of 14, but her introduction to...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2023

Review of London Ko

London Ko

Fatoumata Diawara

Wagram

Rating: ★★★

Fatoumata Diawara has always been the fresh voice of Malian music, pushing the boundaries of what a contemporary African music...

Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: July/2023

Review of Tora

Tora

GRAIU

GRAIU

Rating: ★★★

Many have drawn the link between the blues of the American south and the ‘blues’ of the Balkans. GRAIU takes...

Reviewed by Robert Rigney in issue: July/2023

Review of Jarak Qaribak

Jarak Qaribak

Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood

World Circuit

Rating: ★★★★

This is more than just a meeting of two rock stars – one the lead guitarist of Radiohead, the other...

Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: July/2023

Review of African Rhapsodies

African Rhapsodies

Seckou Keita

Claves Records

Rating: ★★★★

Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita has been on a mission to expand the sound of the instrument, having already been...

Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: July/2023

Review of Sim Sim Sim

Sim Sim Sim

Bala Desejo

Mr Bongo

Rating: ★★★★

Sim Sim Sim, the Latin Grammy-winning debut from Rio de Janeiro-based Bala Desejo, conjures a cornucopia of Brazilian styles including...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: July/2023

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