Madison Quinn | World Music Central

Hirundo Maris – Looking for New Horizons cover artwork. An illustration of a sailboat.

Album reviews

Hirundo Maris: A Fusion of European and Ottoman Early Music Traditions

Hirundo Maris – Looking for New Horizons, Book I (Seyir Müzik, 2025) Looking for New Horizons is the lovely debut album by Hirundu Maris, a…

Ali Farka Touré - Niafunké cover artwork. Ali Farka Touré playing guitar in a home studio.

Album reviews

Ali Farka Touré’s Niafunké Brought Desert Blues Back Home

Madison Quinn February 9, 2026 No Comments Affel Bocoum Ali Farka Touré desert blues Djeneba Doukoure Fatoumata Traore Hamidou Sare Hamma Sankare Malian music Souleye Kane world music Yoro Cisse

Ali Farka Touré – Niafunké (World Circuit Music, 1999) Malian guitarist and singer Ali Farka Touré released Niafunké on World Circuit Music in 1999, a…

A dark, nearly black background holds a few blurred streaks of orange and white light that ripple like reflections on water. The group name “Cuerdas Trio” appears in a light serif font at the upper left, while the album title Gentile rests in the lower right in the same tone.

Album reviews

Strings In Flight As Cuerdas Trio Debuts Gentile

Madison Quinn December 24, 2025 No Comments Cuerdas Trio world music

Cuerdas Trio – Gentile (Visage Music, 2025) Cuerdas Trio introduces Gentile, a 2025 release that reflects the group’s cross-cultural identity and its commitment to dialogue…

The album cover for Maame by Cheikh Lô shows the artist seated with a guitar, smiling as he plays. He wears a wide-brimmed hat and patterned robe, set against a surreal desert landscape with red sand, rocky formations, a barren tree, and a glowing full moon in a starry night sky. The design combines earthy tones with cosmic blues and purples.

Album reviews

Lô And Behold: Maame, a DYI Effort

Madison Quinn December 17, 2025 No Comments Cheikh Lô world music

Cheikh Lô – Maame (World Circuit, 2025) A decade has passed since Cheikh Lô last offered a studio album, and Maame feels like a homecoming…

A swirl of deep blue and violet surrounds a burst of orange, with scattered black marks. The lower right corner presents the artist’s name, Shane Shanahan, above the title Audacity (Live) in modern lettering.

Album reviews

Shane Shanahan’s Audacity (Live) Rallies An All-Star Ensemble

Madison Quinn December 6, 2025 No Comments Shane Shanahan world fusion world music

Shane Shanahan – Audacity (Live) (Bright Shiny Things, 2025) Percussionist Shane Shanahan released Audacity (Live), a project that highlights his cross-cultural collaboration. These stem from…

Iver Kleive & Knut Reiersrud - Vidunderligst av alt på jord cover artwork. a photo of the immense cathedral with the musicians playing at the bottom left.

Album reviews

Precious Midnight Melodies In Nidaros Cathedral

Madison Quinn November 26, 2025 1 Comment Iver Kleive Knut Reiersrud Norwegian music world music

Iver Kleive & Knut Reiersrud – Vidunderligst av alt på jord (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2025) Vidunderligst av alt på jord (The most wonderful thing on earth)…

The cover of Album n°1 by Les Abranis features a monochromatic landscape framed by two rows of stone columns stretching into the distance. Broken chains lie scattered across the ground, with a human figure collapsed in the foreground. Above, a large black eagle spreads its wings over the band’s name.

Album reviews

Les Abranis’ Coveted 1983 ‘Album No. 1’ Returns

Madison Quinn October 29, 2025 No Comments Algerian music Kabyl Les Abranis world music

Les Abranis – Album No. 1 (WeWantSounds, 2025) WeWantSounds has reissued Les Abranis’ sought-after 1983 LP Album No. 1, also known as Id Ed Was,…

The album cover for Radio Sevdah by Divanhana features a glowing white heart-shaped flame set against a swirling night sky filled with star trails. At the center, a band of the Milky Way cuts through the darkness. The band’s name and album title appear below in modern lettering.

Album reviews

Tuning Into the Heart of Sarajevo: Divanhana’s Radio Sevdah

Madison Quinn October 23, 2025 No Comments Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian music sevdah world music

Divanhana – Radio Sevdah (CPL-Music, 2025) When Radio Sevdah begins, it feels like stepping into a warmly lit kitchen filled with familiar voices. The static…

The cover of A Piece of Infinity by Meklit features a black-and-white portrait of the artist overlaid with the repeated word “INFINITY” in a grid-like pattern. Her name, MEKLIT, appears boldly at the bottom in large white capital letters, while the album title sits above her head in smaller text.

Album reviews

A Piece of Infinity, Meklit’s Smithsonian Folkways Debut

Madison Quinn October 21, 2025 No Comments Ethiopian music Meklit world music

Meklit – A Piece of Infinity (Smithsonian Folkways, 2025) Meklit will release A Piece of Infinity, her first album for Smithsonian Folkways, on September 26.…

The album cover for O Rom – Radio Rom features curved typography that fills the top half, spelling out the album’s title in large red, teal, yellow, and black letters. Below, six stylized figures, dressed in patterned, colorful outfits, form a lively circle dance, with one musician strumming a guitar.

Album reviews

‘O Rom’s “Radio Rom” Dials Up Southern Italian Melting Pot

Madison Quinn October 20, 2025 No Comments ‘O Rom Italian music world fusion world music

‘O Rom – Radio Rom (Phonotype Records, 2025) I pressed play, expecting a postcard from Naples, and heard a joyful traveling station. Radio Rom recounts…