Reviews
Gharbí
This album has a strongly conceptual quality to it. Belmonte imagines himself journeying between Andalucía and Arabia with the purpose...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Fermentation
Followers of northern English underground sounds may be interested to find another psychedelic offering featuring a shahi bajaa – an...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Mon Péi
After releasing their first physical album at the end of last year, the quintet from La Réunion have now gone...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Kan Ya Makan (Once Upon a Time)
Four years after an adventurous solo debut which took us on an exhilarating journey through the Arabic world, Franco-Algerian singer,...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Songs of the Roma
Simon Thacker & Justyna Jablonska
This exploration of the rich Gypsy heritage of Balkan music is the second album by Scottish guitarist Simon Thacker with...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Don’t Waste Your Ancestors’ Time
Guitarist and Lokkhi Terra member Phil Dawson has carved out a distinct career working with everyone from Mulatu Astatke to...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Nouskaa Sisaret
The criss-crossing of culture from the desert dunes of Mali with forested quiet spaces in Finland is where refreshingly bold,...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Looking for the Thread
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis & Karine Polwart
This unexpected but very welcome silver lining collection first came together as a pandemic lockdown writing experiment. US singer-songwriter Carpenter...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Z’amalgame
In name, Z’amalgame suggests a coming-together, a melding of components and forces into a new, fortified whole. This Réunionese album,...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
