Features
Folk Round-Up (Bailey & Keely, Hayden Thorpe and Malachy Tallack)
Essential folk releases from Ireland, England, Scotland & Wales, featuring new albums from Bailey & Keely, Hayden Thorpe and Malachy Tallack
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Martyn Bennett: A Beginner's Guide
Billy Rough surveys influential sides by the late-great multi-instrumentalist, one of Scottish traditional music’s most vital contemporary figures
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“My musical mission is to carry on where the ancients left off” | Michael Levy and his lyre
Michael Levy speaks to Simon Broughton about his ‘lyre of Apollo’ explorations, which follow in the exalted footsteps of the ancient Greek masters
Features
Melike Şahin: “Surviving as a musician in Turkey is hard both in economic and political terms”
With the release of her second album, Turkish pop innovator Melike Şahin continues on her singular path to success. She speaks to Nikolas-Kaan Yilmaz about how she found mainstream acclaim on her own terms
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My Instrument: Noor Bakhsh and his benju
Chris Menist speaks to the Pakistani master of the keyboard-fitted zither, which holds a central role in the music of Balochistan
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Harp of Darkness: “If I expose the bin-baja harp, something will have to die”
Patrick Jered ventures into Madhya Pradesh in India to unearth the legendary bin-baja harp, widely considered as a pariah instrument
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Erland Cooper speaks about the inspirations fuelling his great Orkney trilogy
The Orcadian musician talks about his triptych of albums inspired by the sounds, landscape and people of his birthplace
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Simon Armitage's My World interview: “It felt as if a portal had opened up, not just to music but to sensibilities and attitudes, a way of being in the world”
With his band set to release their debut album on Real World Records, the Poet Laureate talks post-punk aesthetics and practises in verse with Tim Cumming
Best New Albums
The 10 Best New Albums from Around the World (October 2021)
Hit the review links to the finest full-lengths coming your way in October, with outstanding new audio missives from Monsieur Doumani, Meelodi, Arushi Jain, Yinon Muallem, Namgar and more
Features
Suka | Musical Instrument Guide (with Maria Pomianowska)
Doyenne of the Polish knee-fiddle, Maria Pomianowska, speaks to Simon Broughton about evolving her instrument's repertoire
Features
10 Essential Bulgarian Albums
Nikolas-Kaan Yilmaz picks out ten albums that trace the nation’s fascinating musical timeline, asking Bulgarian musicians and fans of Bulgarian music alike to share some of their favourites along the way
Features
What Can Musicians and Music Lovers Do During a Climate Crisis?
With the earth passing 1.5 degrees celsius of heating in 2024, and recent natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, we asked artists and researchers how to play and enjoy music while respecting and helping the planet
Features
Mighty Sparrow: A Beginner's Guide
Nigel Campbell champions some choice cuts from the rabble-rousing canon of a ‘Calypso King’
A Beginner's Guide
Dervish: a beginner's guide
The Irish supergroup have long been the benchmark for traditional music. Michael Quinn examines their impressive catalogue and achievements to date
Features
Zoë Modiga interview: South Africa’s new voice on language, identity and #BLM
A deft exploration of identity, Zoë Modiga’s latest album proves the South African is on the up. She speaks with Jane Cornwell about topics ranging from Black Lives Matter to the cultural importance of cattle in African society
