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Reviews

Review of Saru l-Qamar

Saru l-Qamar

A Lily

Phantom Limb

Rating: ★★★★

Shivers. Another manifestation of electro-ambient-music from the Global South. I had to think of Naujawanan Baidar’s Khedmat Be Khalq, the...

Reviewed by Neil van der Linden in issue: May/2024

Review of NRTYA

NRTYA

SAICOBAB

Thrill Jockey

Rating: ★★

NRTYA is an easy record to celebrate but a difficult one to enjoy. The album fully realises its mission of...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: May/2024

Review of Out of the Ashes

Out of the Ashes

Julie Abbé

Julie Abbé

Rating: ★★★★

Folk, blues, swing, world music and jazz combine to weave their trade winds across UK-based French singer Julie Abbé’s fine...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: May/2024

Review of Badā

Badā

Farah Kaddour

Asadun Alay

Rating: ★★★

Farah Kaddour’s inaugural solo venture, Badā, unfolds as a deliberate exploration of the buzuq, a Persian lute akin to the...

Reviewed by Lucy Hallam in issue: May/2024

Review of Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar

Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar

David Murphy

Top of the World

Rollercoaster Records

Rating: ★★★★★

Two worlds, two traditions, collide to enjoyable effect in David Murphy’s long-playing debut, Cuimhne Ghlinn, its Explorations in Irish Music...

Reviewed by Michael Quinn in issue: May/2024

Review of YIÊH

YIÊH

Pamela Badjogo

Raphia

Rating: ★★★★

Gabon-born singer Pamela Badjogo honed her chops as a backing vocalist for Grammy-winning powerhouse diva Angélique Kidjo, then went on...

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: May/2024

Review of Évohé Bègue

Évohé Bègue

Bégayer

Murailles Music

Rating: ★★★★

Geographically, this mysterious quintet hail from the south east of France but, sonically, they manifest as though from a bustling...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: May/2024

Review of Iboto Ngenge

Iboto Ngenge

Ngwaka Son Systéme

Top of the World

Eck Echo

Rating: ★★★★★

A fine balance of danceable music which pushes the boat out sonically and a sound firmly rooted in Congolese rumba...

Reviewed by Nik Hann in issue: May/2024

Review of Needlefall

Needlefall

Magic Tuber Stringband

Thrill Jockey

Rating: ★★★★

The music on Needlefall is borne of one region, but two worlds. It finds Durham, North Carolina guitar- and-fiddle duo...

Reviewed by Spencer Grady in issue: May/2024

Review of Amghar: The Godfather of Tuareg Music – Vol One

Amghar: The Godfather of Tuareg Music – Vol One

Abdallah Oumbadougou

Petaluma

Rating: ★★★★

The style of Touareg guitar music known to the world as ‘desert blues’ and to the musicians themselves as assouf...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2024

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