The Rough Guide to World Music
The Music of Afghanistan: A Rough Guide
Despite continued fighting, there is new musical life in Afghanistan and new interest abroad. Simon Broughton and Veronica Doubleday report
Search results for
A Beginner's Guide
Master Musicians of Jajouka: A Beginner's Guide
Tim Cumming delves into the history and mystical appeal of the Moroccan musicians from Jajouka
Features
The Rough Guide to World Music: Ethiopia
Explore the land of wax and gold, a country full of fascinating music, in this complete guide by Francis Falceto
Features
Introducing... Balimaya Project
The 16-piece are reclaiming Mande tradition and helping to educate their communities. Jane Cornwell catches up with bandleader Yahael Camara Onono
Features
Kokoroko: riding high on the soulful grooves of Tuff Times Never Last
Andrew Taylor Dawson talks with the Londoners fusing Afrobeat, highlife, jazz and inner-city vibes
News
Exclusive bonus CD of music from Switzerland
Discover the latest musical talent coming from Switzerland on an exclusive bonus CD, compiled by artlink, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and FONDATION SUISA and free with the December issue of Songlines (#163)
Features
Quickfire: James BKS
Hyping favourite hip-hop releases and musical heroes with the French-Cameroonian producer and son of Manu Dibango
Live reviews
Lake of Stars, Nkhotakota, Malawi, September 6-8
The 20th-anniversary edition of Lake of Stars shows how much Malawi's music scene has grown
Features
Roots Round-Up (Willie Nelson, Ruthie Foster, Joel Wood and more)
Essential Roots releases from the US and Canada, featuring Ruthie Foster, Noeline Hoffman, Willie Nelson, George Jackson & Brad Kolodner and Joel Wood
Features
Get acquainted with Dusking, a new ritual to welcome the winter
Sophie Parkes dances down the sun with Lucy Wright, choreographer of a new ritual for solo morris performers ushering in the oncoming winter
Features
Anoushka Shankar’s most daring chapter yet: “I feel like I'm in my power”
Thirty years in, the sitarist is releasing one of the most daring albums of her career, and she’s doing it on her own terms. Russ Slater Johnson heralds a return to the light…
Features
Musicians of the Nile pay tribute to Oum Kalthoum in Paris
Egyptian musicians come together in Paris to celebrate the life of one of the world’s most iconic singers
Features
Songhoy Blues: “[We] like to make people dance… but our social concerns are the reason for the music”
From their discovery in Bamako by Damon Albarn’s Africa Express in 2013 to the global release of their latest stripped-back album in 2025, Robin Denselow traces Songhoy Blues’ journey through exile, resistance and optimism
Features
Lido Pimienta rewrites the score, turning orchestral tradition on its head
For her latest project, Colombian singer Lido Pimienta wanted to shake off the shackles of categorisation and do what nobody expected her to do
Genres
Ethio-jazz
From the late 1950s through to the 1970s, the thriving music scene in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa resounded to the beat of what became known as Ethio-jazz
