Live reviews
Black Flower and Shake Stew, Brussels Jazz Festival, January 13-14
Jazz goes global in the Belgian capital with two troupes combining horn-heavy arrangements and adventurous international rhythms
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Features
Cosmo Sheldrake: Birdhouse In Your Soul
Jane Cornwell speaks to eco-minded composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Cosmo Sheldrake, whose interest in endangered species and enigmatic writers inspires works such as his new sophomore set, Wake Up Calls
Features
Soapbox: Racism and the Music Industry
“What may begin with the throwaway use of language ends with economic, social and artistic injustice”
Features
The Lost Words: Spell Songs
Nathaniel Handy is captivated by the musical spells conjured up by a collective of artists in response to The Lost Words book
Features
Baaba Maal: Return of the Podor Son
A spokesman for his people and proud champion of West African culture, Katharina Lobeck Kane salutes the Senegalese sensation Baaba Maal.
Features
“Drums are spiritual – however they are used” | Alai K interview
Prescribing some dance floor therapy with the Kenyan-born, Berlin-based ‘musical witchdoctor’
A Beginner's Guide
Thierry ‘Titi’ Robin: A Beginner's Guide
Jo Setters examines the career of the visionary French multi-instrumentalist who has been experimenting for over 30 years
Features
Korean singer Jaram Lee on reinterpreting Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
Jaram Lee dives deep into the story of The Old Man and the Sea for a unique pansori retelling. Christopher Conder reports
A Beginner's Guide
Bassekou Kouyaté: A Beginner's Guide
Simultaneously innovating and upholding the traditions of the ngoni, Bassekou Kouyaté is a name synonymous with his instrument’s modern sound. Nigel Williamson rounds up his sparkling career
Features
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
News
Obituary: Toots Hibbert (1942-2020)
The Jamaican reggae legend dies at the age of 77. Garth Carthwright reports
Features
The great musical genres of the 20th and 21st centuries
The music of the world has been constantly shaped by its wider contexts – from politics to economics and social movements. Here Chris Moss selects the most important genres to have been born across the last 100-plus years
Features
At home with Ali Farka Touré
To record Ali Farka Touré’s album 'Niafunké', World Circuit took a mobile studio all the way to Mali. Nigel Williamson went to meet Touré for Songlines in the summer of 1999 and found out why his commitments at home meant that the mountain had to go to Mohammed
Features
Setting the Scene: Mary Ocher
We speak to Mary Ocher, a musician, performer, poet and visual artist to find out where she calls ‘home’
