Iliana Cabrera | World Music Central

This colorful album cover for Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos - Sol features a bold, central title "SOL" surrounded by a striking collage of colorful imagery. Each quadrant shows vivid, surrealist illustrations: a skeletal figure, a bird, intricate flowers, a key, and mystical aquatic elements. The psychedelic palette includes yellows, blues, oranges, and purples.

Album reviews

Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos Illuminate with Sol

Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos – Sol (Olindo Records, 2025) Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos return with Sol (sun), a stunning genre-blurring second album that…

The album cover for "Tenderete en el Azul" presents a collage-like aesthetic that blends rustic charm with surreal undertones. Dominating the center of the design is the title text, rendered in bold, layered fonts with the phrase "En el Azul" prominently displayed in large, textured letters. The words have a faded, hand-painted quality, giving them a vintage feel. In the background, the artwork features a patchwork of images arranged in a grid-like pattern. These images depict a variety of scenes and elements: portraits of individuals, natural textures, architectural fragments, and symbolic illustrations like a crescent moon and a wine glass.

Album reviews

Tenderete: A Decade-Long Reunion Blossoms Into “En El Azul”

Iliana Cabrera January 30, 2025 No Comments Alba Bioque Cuban music Flamenco Plácido Muñoz Tenderete world fusion world music

Tenderete – En el Azul (Bio Sound studio, 2024) Tenderete, the multidisciplinary project led by singer Alba Bioque and percussionist Plácido Muñoz, returns after a…

La Pambelé - Nací Mestizo cover artwork. a psychedelic design fetauring the three band leaders in vintage 1970s clothing.

Album reviews

La Pambelé Revives 1970s Salsa with a Modern Twist in Nací Mestizo

Iliana Cabrera January 22, 2025 No Comments Colombian music La Pambelé salsa world music

La Pambelé – Nací Mestizo (2024) Bogotá’s mighty salsa orchestra, La Pambelé, returns with its second studio album, Nací Mestizo (I was born mestizo, of…

Mulatu Astatke - Tension cover artwork. A colorful illustration of Mulatu's face.

Album reviews

Ethio-Jazz Pioneer Mulatu Astatke Collaborates with Hoodna Orchestra on New Album Tension

Iliana Cabrera January 10, 2025 No Comments Ethiojazz Mulatu Astatke world fusion world music

Mulatu Astatke – Tension (Batov Records, 2024) Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke partnered with Tel Aviv’s Hoodna Orchestra on Tension, a fantastic seven-track album that mixes…

Alvaro Lancellotti - Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné cober artwork. A painting of a tree y a lake with three human figures that seem to represent a man, a woman and a child.

Album reviews

Alvaro Lancellotti Explores Afro-Brazilian Spirituality in ‘Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné’

Iliana Cabrera January 9, 2025 No Comments Afro-Brazilian Alvaro Lancellotti Brazilian music world music

Alvaro Lancellotti – Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné (Amor in Sound, 2024) Brazilian singer-songwriter Alvaro Lancellotti’s third studio album, Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné, goes deeply into…

Mariana Masetto - Cósmica cover artwork. The artist standing in the middle of a road with a guitar on her back, wit her back to the camera.

Album reviews

Mariana Masetto’s Cósmica: A Polyglot Fusion of Art and Spirit

Iliana Cabrera December 30, 2024 1 Comment Argentine music Mariana Masetto

Mariana Masetto – Cósmica (Bumbunita música, 2024) Mariana Masetto, the lovely Argentine singer-songwriter and yoga instructor, celebrates a decade-long career with her latest album, Cósmica.…

Duo Choropo - Filippo Gambetta and Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello - Choropo cover artwork. an illustration of a woman's head with a large colorful hair style.

Album reviews

Choropo: A Transatlantic Musical Project by Filippo Gambetta and Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello

Iliana Cabrera December 21, 2024 No Comments Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello choro Filippo Gambetta joropo world fusion world music

Duo Choropo – Filippo Gambetta and Alessandro Scotto d’Aniello – Choropo (Visage Music s.a.s. di Claudio Carboni, 2024) The album Choropo is a stimulating collaboration…

Lebeha Drummers - Biama cover artwork. A photo from above showing beach sand, someones feet with gree toenail polish and a partial shot of what looks like a musical instrument.

Album reviews

Biama by Lebeha Drummers: A Celebration of Garifuna Heritage

Iliana Cabrera December 17, 2024 No Comments Lebeha Drummers world music

Lebeha Drummers – Biama (Neuma, 2024) In 1635, a European shipwreck off St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles changed history. The West and Central Africans…

Yaràkä - Curannera cover artwork. An image of a woman holding her hands in front of her, prayer-like.

Album reviews

Yaràkä Explores the Healing Sounds of the Curannera Tradition

Iliana Cabrera December 15, 2024 No Comments Curannera Italian music Taranto trance music world music Yaràkä

Yaràkä – Curannera (Zero Nove Nove, 2023) Yaràkä’s music is imbued with ritualistic themes, echoing traditions of exorcism and healing prevalent in Southern Italy and…

Iberoamerican Ensemble - Tocando Raíces cover artwork. an illustration of a tropical forest with a tree in the middle that has an indigenous face with bells as earrings. Brass instruments hang from its branches. Percussion instrument are placed at the bottom by the roots.

Album reviews

Brass Outfit Iberoamerican Ensemble Explores Transatlantic Roots Music

Iliana Cabrera December 11, 2024 No Comments Flamenco Iberoamerican Ensemble world fusion world music

Iberoamerican Ensemble – Tocando Raíces (AudioMaze, 2024) Iberoamerican Ensemble presents an engaging, unconventional mix of jazz, flamenco, and Latin music. Notably, the transnational Netherlands-based Hispanic…