Reviews

Amrat

Rasha Nahas

There is something about discovering one's native tongue after a brief fling abroad with a foreign language. Whether out of...

Reviewed in issue March/2023

Songs of Horaman

Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian

It’s hard to believe Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian was only 17 when he recorded this debut album in 2019. For sure,...

Reviewed in issue January/February/2023

MusicAlly

Ertuğrul Erhan & Meriç Dönük

If you can get past the absolutely dreadful title, this album does contain some nice moments. Ertuğrul Erhan, on violin,...

Reviewed in issue January/February/2023

Orkos

Maha

As one of the few female singers operating within Egypt’s fertile 70s jazz scene, Maha was picked out as a...

Reviewed in issue January/February/2023

Anadolu Ejderi

Gaye Su Akyol

Whereas earlier albums had more to do with retro-futurism, on Anadolu Ejderi (Anatolian Dragons) past and present collide beguilingly as...

Reviewed in issue January/February/2023

The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab

Simon Shaheen

Mohamed Abdel Wahab was a titanic figure within Middle Eastern music. Composing for legends such as Egyptian singers Oum Kalthoum,...

Reviewed in issue December/2022

Aligned

Itzhak Ventura

Itzhak Ventura is a ney specialist, mastering the Persian, Arabic and Turkish variants of this end-blown reed flute. He also...

Reviewed in issue December/2022

Fragments

Yoni Avi Battat

American multi-instrumentalist Yoni Avi Battat has undergone a journey of discovery to reconnect with his Iraqi-Jewish roots through the medium...

Reviewed in issue December/2022

DOST 2

Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek

Derya Yıldırım's vocal style may not be to everyone's taste. Compared to Anatolian pop living-legend Selda Bağcan, with whom Yıldırım...

Reviewed in issue December/2022

Roya

Liraz

Persian/Israeli singer Liraz was a Songlines cover star in 2020 courtesy of her sophomore album Zan, a border-busting work in...

Reviewed in issue November/2022