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Reviews

Review of Stop Over

Stop Over

Nasibo Mutize & Zigwiton

Nasibo Mutize & Zigwiton

Rating: ★★★

Zimbabwean mbira player and singer Nasibo Mutize met French guitarist-pianist Raphaël Joly (aka Zigwiton) in the latter's adopted home of...

Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: September/2025

Review of Two Strings

Two Strings

Jake Shulman-Ment & Abigale Reisman

Borscht Beat

Rating: ★★★★

It's uncommon to have two violins in a klezmer band; more frequently, one violin vies with clarinet and other solo...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: September/2025

Review of Masters of Our Roots

Masters of Our Roots

Albita and Chucho Valdés

InnerCat Entertainment

Rating: ★★★★

A masterclass of 20th century Cuban-American showbiz, this has all the vintage allure of a night at Havana's Tropicana, or...

Reviewed by Philip Sweeney in issue: September/2025

Review of When Will They Ever Learn? – A Story Of US Folk Music 1963–1969

When Will They Ever Learn? – A Story Of US Folk Music 1963–1969

VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists

Cherry Red

Rating: ★★★★★

Cinema has in recent years given the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s a legendary – perhaps even mythical...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: September/2025

Review of Ŋurru Wäŋa

Ŋurru Wäŋa

Hand To Earth | Hand to Earth

Room40

Rating: ★★★★

Originally developed during an Australian Art Orchestra residency in remote Tasmania, the Hand To Earth ensemble creatively established itself in...

Reviewed by Seth Jordan in issue: September/2025

Review of Toña

Toña

Kadialy Kouyate

ARC Music

Rating: ★★★★

Kadialy Kouyate is a superb kora player from Kolda in south Senegal. Now based in the UK, he's involved in...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: September/2025

Review of Kunung Tilo

Kunung Tilo

Jali Fily Cissokho

Jali Fily Cissokho

Rating: ★★★★

Singer and kora player Jali Fily Cissokho comes from a long line of West African Mandinka griots – Seckou Keita...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: September/2025

Review of It Was All Heart

It Was All Heart

Ward Dhoore

Trad Records

Rating: ★★★★

Belgian composer and multi-instrumentalist Ward Dhoore has been touring globally for over a decade in numerous projects, including string trio...

Reviewed by Chris Wheatley in issue: September/2025

Review of Whaling Women

Whaling Women

The Silver Darlings

The Silver Darlings

Rating: ★★★

Riding the wave (pun intended) of the sea shanty trend, this is the second release from the all-female group hailing...

Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: September/2025

Review of Sé Nam

Sé Nam

Nana Benz du Togo

Komos Records

Rating: ★★★

The party never stops on Sé Nam, an album designed to sweat to. While there's an edge to tracks like...

Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: September/2025

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