A Nigerian called Tae mixes touches of Afropop and hip hop on “About Us.” The song itself could afford to groove much longer than it…
Tae’s Effective Afro-Rooted Grooves
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.
Classic Reggae from Luxembourg
Ah, Luxembourg, an epicenter of reggae music. No? I guess nobody told that to Le Vibe, whose track “Nobody Knows” handily echoes the classic Jamaican…
Substantial Reggae by Togo’s Yao Olagbedji
African reggae has always been a robust genre, and it gets an even bigger boost on “Sunday Morning” by Yao Olagbedji, who hails from Togo.
Adam Raad’s Soulful Reggae Reflections
His background is Lebanese/West African/Canadian, his song “Reminisce” is a powerful piece of heart-searching reggae, and Adam Raad has got my attention.
Portugal’s Retimbrar Unleashes a Fusion of Tradition and Innovation
Portugal’s Retimbrar takes their nation’s traditional music and lets it run through their own crisp compositions. “Maneio” (from the album Levantar do Chão) shows how…
Temidayo Balogun’s Enchanting Pan-African Jazz Journey
It may be his use of the talking drum that makes him sound at once the Nigerian he is, but the African jazz piece “Ìbà”…
PJ Far-west selecta Presents Spellbinding Roots Reggae
“Vybz It Up” is trance-jamming roots reggae with bits of electronic seasoning, an impressive piece of work for Belgium’s PJ Far-west selecta. The same artists’…
The Light Remains Bright
Rightly hailed as an influential band themselves, Talking Heads was also a band that absorbed influences. Their 1980 album Remain In Light incorporated rhythms, arrangements,…
Maija’s Splendid Song “Lonely Old Man in the Moon”
Just so you know, the name of American singer Maija is pronounced “Maya.” And her splendidly jazzy “Lonely Old Man in the Moon” is a…
Jacques Bailhe Captivates the Imagination on “Desirs De La Basque”
Slow, mysterious and sonically adventurous, “Desirs De La Basque” by the U.S.’s Jacques Bailhe is a grabbing mixture of classical, Latin, and jazz sounds.