Features
“Just accept yourself and see the beauty” | Eyal el Wahab (El Khat)
The frontman with Tel Aviv four-piece El Khat outlines the DIY aesthetic that has him digging into his Yemeni roots and through the neighbourhood's rubbish bins
Search results for
Features
Music in Malawi
After receiving an invite to attend the annual Lake of Stars festival, Christopher Conder heads to Malawi, finding local musicians en route to international stardom and others proudly fulfilling roles as social historians and bearers of their nation’s richest traditions
Features
Timba rising: 'Cuban Sundays – Live Music Series' brings a new wave of Latin heat to London
Jane Cornwell finds out about a residency bringing the popular Cuban sounds of timba to London. “February was a masterclass in Cuban genres… The crowd were going crazy”, she hears
News
Latina Power
Erin Cobby watches four of London’s finest Latina singers come together for a show that’s all about celebration, solidarity and creating a Latin-London scene free of ego
Features
Babatoni | Musical Instrument Guide (with Gasper Nali)
A sucker for curious instruments, Simon Broughton catches up with Malawian musician Gasper Nali and his homemade babatoni
Features
Eliza Carthy's News of the Whirl: Wassailing We Will Go
‘A Wassail, a Wassail, a Wassail we’ll begin, with sugar strands and cinnamon, and other treasures in…’ In her latest column for Songlines, Eliza is preparing for winter...
Features
Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko: 21 Strings
With Toumani and Ballaké’s epochal New Ancient Strings to be reissued for its 25th anniversary, we speak to Lucy Durán, the album’s producer, about the unique recording and her documentary tracing the history of the kora
Features
Tracy Chapman on the show that changed her life
Tracy Chapman recalls how Stevie Wonder’s lost hard drive inadvertently gave her debut album the extra exposure it needed to kickstart her career and become a still-loved classic
Features
Searching for the Folk Songs of the Channel Islands
Devon Léger speaks to Lihou, a group reviving the rich multicultural folk songs of the Channel Islands
Features
“Humanity keeps experiencing the same feelings, asking the same questions” | Tarta Relena
The young Catalan duo explain how their polyphonic folk creations bridge the divides of space and time
Features
Eliza Carthy's News of the Whirl: Rituals
From smashing eggs to spitting at horses to shouting ‘Yellow car!’, Eliza unpacks the strange daily rituals and superstitions that we indulge in
Features
Celebrating 25 editions of the Gnawa festival in Essaouira
The annual Gnawa festival in Essaouira, Morocco has just celebrated its silver anniversary. Torben Holleufer has been a regular visitor since its first incarnation and returns to assess its impact, reflecting on some of the magical, unique and heartbreaking moments of the past 25 editions
Live reviews
Zakir Hussain & Les Amazones d’Afrique: Live In Brussels
Martin Longley reports from a long weekender in Brussels with tabla legend Zakir Hussain, pan-African supergroup Les Amazones d'Afrique and frenetic Ugandan DJ Kamire.
A Beginner's Guide
Eliades Ochoa: A Beginner's Guide
Mary Farquharson marvels at the career of the much-loved former Buena Vista Social Club musician who is still highly influential today
Features
Introducing... Altın Gün: “We just want to keep spreading the positive Turkish vibes”
Robert Rigney speaks to the sextet appealing to new audiences with their blend of vintage Turkish psychedelia and traditional folk music
