Reviews

Crystal Lexicon

Mohammadali Najafpour

There really is some excellent and inspiring stuff coming out of Tehran these days and Crystal Lexicon is no exception....

Reviewed in issue December/2023

Essentials

Rastak

We often associate Iranian music with long, melancholy pieces. But Persian culture is rich in folkloric music as well, rooted...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

Monajat

Galeet Dardashti & Younes Dardashti

Galeet Dardashti is the US-based granddaughter of Younes Dardashti, a pre-revolutionary master singer of Persian classical music, who performed at...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

Zartir

The Gurdjieff Ensemble | The Gurdjieff Ensemble & Levon Eskenian

George Gurdjieff (c 1867-1949) was a philosopher, mystic and composer, whose music is generally known through the transcriptions of the...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

KÖY

AySay

AySay is a Danish/Kurdish/Turkish trio led by Luna Bülow Ersahin, who is known for creating pop music drawn from traditional...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

A Memento of Istanbul

Saeed Nayeb Mohammadi

A Memento of Istanbul is an excellent solo oud album by top Iranian player Saeed Nayeb Mohammadi. It’s the opening...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

Ew’aa

Tashkezar

Conceived while playing Andalusian and Russian songs at a party, London-based collective Tashkezar expanded their repertoire with their 2016 debut...

Reviewed in issue December/2023

Kiği

Ali Doğan Gönültaş

Although he now lives in the Istanbul district of Gazi Mahallesi, an area popular with Alevi Kurds, Kiği is the...

Reviewed in issue November/2023

Metgharabiin (Outsiders)

Ramy Essam

Ramy Essam is known for his appearances on Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, regularly in front of...

Reviewed in issue November/2023

Embodied Poetry

Mehmet Polat Quartet

The prolific Mehmet Polat presents another album of Turkish ud jazz with inflections of other traditions. Similar to his previous...

Reviewed in issue November/2023