Reviews

Live at WOMAD 1985

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party

Marking its 30th anniversary, Real World Records has released this album as a tribute to the late qawwali king, Nusrat...

Reviewed in issue October/2019

Cloud Wandering

Takashi Hirayasu

One of the foremost performers of Okinawan folk music, vocalist and sanshin (banjo-like lute) player Takashi Hirayasu came to prominence...

Reviewed in issue October/2019

2019

Sevara Nazarkhan

At a recent meeting to plan Songlines' 20th anniversary commemorative special (out on September 6), we found ourselves wondering what...

Reviewed in issue October/2019

Philos

Park Jiha

On her 2018 debut Communion, Park Jiha played an array of ancient Korean instruments including the piri, a double-reed bamboo...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Times of Maharajas

Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan

Led by tabla player Rahis Bharti, the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan are one of the busiest ensembles touring Rajasthani music...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Joy!Guru

Debashish Bhattacharya

‘Here Comes the Moon King’, the 12-minute opening track, sets the mood. It begins with a prelude of tingling stillness;...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Baluchistan: The Instrumental Tradition

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Ocora has released many fine recordings of lesser-known musical traditions and this album, featuring the instrumental tradition of Balochistan, is...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

ONDA

Jambinai

Four years ago, a trio of South Korean musicians played in London as part of the K-Music Festival and provided...

Reviewed in issue July/2019

Kizaki Ondo

Kizaki Ondo Preservation Society, Clark Naito

‘Kizaki Ondo’ is an Edo-period folk song that originated in the bustling post town of Nitta Kizakicho, Gunma Prefecture. It...

Reviewed in issue July/2019

The Tapi Project

Tapi

Tapi put their best feet forward on opener ‘Paigam’, with a surando (folk fiddle) sample introducing a reflective vocal refrain....

Reviewed in issue July/2019