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Reviews

Review of Shadows

Shadows

Alec Goldfarb

Long Echo Records

Rating: ★★★

Shadows is an avant-garde exploration of South East Asian musical traditions. Like the shadow puppetry that Indonesian gamelan often accompanies,...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Spilla

Spilla

Ensemble Nist-Nah

Black Truffle

Rating: ★★★★

Founded in Nantes by Australian drummer-percussionist Will Guthrie in 2019, Nist-Nah is an ensemble combining Javanese gamelan instruments with other...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Devocean

Devocean

Manika Kaur

Six Degrees Records

Rating: ★★★

This is an album with a mission. Religious singer Kaur has deep roots in Sikhism, but wants her music to...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Take What You Want

Take What You Want

Franz Von

Bridge the Gap

Rating: ★★★

This Sheffield via Jamaica MC has a background in jazz fusion, being the frontman of TC & The Groove Family...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Amall

Amall

Rabbath Electric Orchestra

Heavenly Sweetness

Rating: ★★★

Six years in the making, Amall marks the debut of the Rabbath Electric Orchestra, a transgenerational collaboration between the legendary...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Undercover Beast

Undercover Beast

Langendorf United

sing a song fighter

Rating: ★★★★

Langendorf United scooped a Grammy Award, plus a Top of the World album pick in Songlines in 2023, for their...

Reviewed in issue September/2025

Review of Songs for the Mist Forest

Songs for the Mist Forest

Morgan Szymanski & Tommy Perman

Blackford Hill

Rating: ★★★

The music created by childhood friends Morgan Szymanski and Tommy Perman serves as a reflection of their natural surroundings. While...

Reviewed in issue August/2025

Review of Tour of Japan

Tour of Japan

Minyo Crusaders

180G

Rating: ★★★

Japan’s min’yō folk tradition is rooted in the work songs of farmers, fishermen and miners who sang unaccompanied about their...

Reviewed in issue August/2025

Review of Sonor

Sonor

Enji

Squama

Rating: ★★★★

Bewitching melodies, crisp jazz arrangements and singular vocal textures made Enji’s last album (Ulaan) a critical success. Sonor pairs the...

Reviewed in issue August/2025

Review of In a Sea of Stars

In a Sea of Stars

Zoë Aqua

Top of the World

Adhyâropa Records

Rating: ★★★★★

It’s gutsy to start off a live fiddle album with a ten-minute absolute barn-burner suite, but klezmer fiddler Zoë Aqua...

Reviewed in issue August/2025

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