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Reviews

Review of Ritual

Ritual

Rita Donte

Ansonia Records

Rating: ★★★★

Links between Cuba and Mexico go back a long time: there is evidence of multiple prehistoric population movements. On Ritual,...

Reviewed by Kim Burton in issue: May/2025

Review of Roi De L’Agbadja Moderne 1974–1983

Roi De L’Agbadja Moderne 1974–1983

Gnonnas Pedro & His Dadjes

Analog Africa / Modulor

Rating: ★★★★★

Best known as the lead singer of salsa legends Africando between 1996 and his death in 2004, Gnonnas Pedro was...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2025

Review of Journeys

Journeys

Brian Molley Quartet & The Asin Langa Ensemble

BGMM Records

Rating: ★★★

This record deepens the engagement of Scottish saxophonist Molley with Indian music. On 2022’s Intercontinental, Molley’s focus was on Tamil...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: May/2025

Review of Los Kenya Vol 2

Los Kenya Vol 2

Los Kenya

Vampisoul

Rating: ★★★

The Venezuelan singer, pianist and bandleader Ray ‘El Loco’ Pérez ran a small combo with a hefty punch. Stretching out...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: May/2025

Review of Promenade

Promenade

John Wright

Buda Musique

Rating: ★★★

John Wright was an English musician living in France, with a particular interest in the jaw harp, an instrument known...

Reviewed by Tom Newell in issue: May/2025

Review of Fania Records: The Latin Sound of New York (1964–1978)

Fania Records: The Latin Sound of New York (1964–1978)

VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists

Craft Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

Continuing its celebration of Fania’s 60th birthday, the Craft Latino label has compiled an indisputable 2-LP ‘Best Of’. The gang’s...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: May/2025

Review of Drogi

Drogi

Orkiestra Galicja

Karrot Kommando

Rating: ★★★★

Galicia, once a vast multicultural province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire stretching from Kraków to Lviv, was a meeting point of...

Reviewed by Mateusz Dobrowolski in issue: May/2025

Review of Nordic Reflections

Nordic Reflections

Maimu Jõgeda

Maimu Jõgeda

Rating: ★★★

Maimu Jõgeda is an Estonian now living in Helsinki, and Nordic Reflections is her third album. It features nine original...

Reviewed by Tony Gillam in issue: May/2025

Review of All Living Things

All Living Things

Park Jiha

Glitterbeat / Tak:til

Rating: ★★★★

The swelling ‘K-Wave’ of South Korean culture has also buoyed up experimental treasures like Park Jiha. Her work deploys traditional...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: May/2025

Review of Northern Sky

Northern Sky

The Friel Sisters

The Friel Sisters

Rating: ★★★

Anna, Sheila and Clare Friel of Donegal play the fiddle, flute, tin whistle and uilleann pipes, and between them trade...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: May/2025

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