Features
Songs for “Great Leaders”: North Korean Music
Keith Howard gives a glimpse into his work on the music of North Korea, uncovering codes, state productions and unsettling consequences
Search results for
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
Take Note: OMIRI and Mynda Guevera
Floor-filling, research-heavy live shows and female-inclusive Creole rap from two of the most exciting artists in Portugal right now.
Live reviews
Tales of bloody murder and trans-Carpathian travails captivate at Ethno Port
Mateusz Dobrowolski dives into the international programme on offer at the risk-taking Poznań festival
Features
The Baltic Sisters: breathing new life into Lithuanian sutartinės
The Baltic Sisters, singers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, open a gate into sutartinės, a beguiling regional treasure
Best New Albums
Best New Albums – January/February 2021 (Mariza, Cocanha, Lolomis, Ayom)
Great new releases from Mariza, Cocanha, Lolomis, Ayom, Star Feminine Band and more... Tracks from all of these albums are included on the free cover-CD with the January/February 2021 issue of Songlines
Features
Roots Round-Up: Watchhouse, Valerie June, The Faux Paws and more
This is quite the grab-bag of music reviews from North American artists, ranging from pop-leaning to super out-there experimental, but still all rooted in tradition
Features
Syrian oud player and composer Rihab Azar discusses new album Dandelion and launch concert in London
Thérèse Wassily Saba speaks to London-based Syrian oud player and composer Rihab Azar ahead of the launch of her new album at London’s Kings Place
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
Features
Peterloo remembered: Sean Cooney’s haunting folk chronicle of resistance and remembrance
A new play about the Peterloo massacre took centre stage at Manchester Folk Festival
Features
Amazigh Renaissance: The Free People
Bianca Carrera meets a new generation of musicians in the Amazigh diaspora who challenge prejudice through their heritage and language
Features
Guitari Baro: the shape of African jazz to come
Robin Denselow speaks with Guitari Baro’s balafon virtuoso Lassana Diabaté and the the trio’s co-producer Lucy Durán about their innovative all-instrumental debut
Features
Duo Ruut: “Whatever is going on around you will influence the art you make”
How does an ancient plucked stringed instrument speak to contemporary Estonian identity? Jane Cornwell tracks down Duo Ruut, the Estonian band reimagining the boundaries of their homeland’s musical tradition
Features
VRï interview: “Traditional music is owned by the people”
The Welsh trio VRï are injecting new life into traditional songs, mining the country’s past for the stories of everyday people
Features
“Capturing the experiences of wildness, loss, queerness, love, and mystery” | Introducing... Dani Larkin
The Irish folk artist talks to Jane Coyle about how living on the Armagh-Monaghan border has shaped both her life and her songwriting
