Features
How Astor Piazzolla transformed tango
Chris Moss assesses the intrepid composer’s impact on music – and why his legacy, 100 years on since the great man’s birth, remains a challenge for contemporary tangueros
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Essential 10
Essential 10 Topic Records
One of Britain’s most iconic folk imprints is 85 years old and to celebrate we’ve asked ten artists who have history on the label (Martin Carthy, Angeline Morrison, Seth Lakeman and others) to pick a favourite from Topic’s catalogue
Live reviews
Review: WOMAD 2019 – Day 1
Indian and Cuban brass – the leading factors in the opening night of ‘the world’s festival’
Features
The 4 Corners and Centre of Julie Fowlis’ Universe
The Scottish singer picks the albums that have stayed with her through pivotal moments of her life. “I keep coming back to ones that have a Gaelic heartbeat to them”, she confesses
Features
The 4 Corners and Centre of Dawn Landes' Universe
Ahead of a UK tour performing The Liberated Woman’s Songbook, the North Carolina singer-songwriter talks us through five formative albums
News
With Earth Day approaching, 'Nature' has officially become a recording artist
Brian Eno, Bomba Estéreo, Cosmo Sheldrake, Blinky Bill, Anuv Jain, Aterciopelados and Los Amigos Invisibles have all collaborated with NATURE, who a little belatedly has just started a recording career
Features
“Geomungo playing is a combination of melody, percussion and bass” | Hwang Hyeyoung
One half of the South Korean duo Dal:um, Hwang Hyeyoung speaks about her deep-toned, bamboo-plucked zither
Features
My Instrument: Hyelim Kim and her daegeum
The doyenne of the Korean bamboo flute talks about the power of distortion and diverse dictionaries of tonal colours
Live reviews
globalFEST at Lincoln Center's Summer for the City, NYC, Saturday July 30
Behind the frontlines for an evening of disparate musical discovery, with the first live globalFEST event since the start of pandemic
News
Obituary: Elza Soares (1930-2022)
One of the greatest Brazilian singers of all time, the glamorous genre-straddling samba star Elza Soares, has died aged 91
Features
Eliza Carthy... on morris dancing and the future of folk music
Eliza ponders folk music’s need to evolve and wonders if morris dancing could be key to the tradition’s future
Features
Mamadou Diabaté: master of the balafon
The West African xylophone is steeped in the mythology of the Mali Empire. Simon Broughton meets balafon player Mamadou Diabaté, who is helping to keep the instrument’s 800-year history alive
Features
Ballaké Sissoko and Derek Gripper: “We’re happy to disrupt”
Kora music gets a radical reworking with Ballaké Sissoko welcoming South African guitarist Derek Gripper into the tradition
News
Towersey Bows Out With A Bang
UK’s longest-running indie festival to end with special 60th celebration featuring Billy Bragg, Seth Lakeman and The Staves
News
Estonian guitar-picker Andres Roots offers a hardcore reshaping of the blues
Estonian blues guitarist visited the East Riding Theatre in Beverley on March 7, 2025 as part of an extensive UK tour
