Reviews

Wahdon

Fairuz

Recorded in Beirut and Athens, and produced by Fairuz's son Ziad Rahbani in 1979, this previously rare LP has been...

Reviewed in issue October/2019

Ex Oriente: Music by GI Gurdjieff

Gunter Herbig

In keeping with the teachings of GI Gurdjieff, the creation of Ex Oriente has been a long, non-linear journey. Gurdjieff...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Middle Eastern

Mehdi Rajabian

Time and time again we are reminded of music's ability to bridge divides, expose injustices and to give hope to...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Beyond the Borders

Maria Farantouri & Cihan Türkoglu

This project brings together the Greek singer Maria Farantouri and Anatolian saz player and composer Cihan Türkoğlu, who arranged all...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Music from Turkey

Various Artists/Sameyda Ensemble

This CD reissues two albums: a collection of field recordings by Indian ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya, issued as Turkisk Musik in...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2019

Safar: Les Âmes Retrouvées

Waed Bouhassoun

The Syrian oud player and singer Waed Bouhassoun grew up in the culturally rich Jebel Druze region, just over the...

Reviewed in issue June/2019

Leyla

Adir Jan

Adir Jan brings us into a world of queer Kurdish cosmic love songs, on an album whose energy and innovation...

Reviewed in issue June/2019

Uneven Sky

Kinan Azmeh

This is a hugely ambitious and timely double album from the New York-based, Syrian-born virtuoso clarinettist and composer Kinan Azmeh....

Reviewed in issue June/2019

Gece

Altın Gün

This second album follows swiftly on from last year's debut as the mostly non-Turkish Altın Gün (Golden Day) refine their...

Reviewed in issue June/2019

Bendewarî/İntizar/Longing

Sakina

Sakina Teyna is a traditional singer who was born into a Kurdish family in Varto, a small town in the...

Reviewed in issue June/2019