Tyler Bennet | World Music Central

The album cover shows a black-and-white photograph of a dirt path rising toward a bright, clouded horizon, flanked by dark grass.

Album reviews

Folk Dances, Fresh Ears: Topos Reimagines Bartók

Sokratis Sinopoulos and Yann Kirim – Topos (ECM, 2025) Lyra meets piano on Topos by Greek duo Sokratis Sinopoulos (lyra) and Yann Kirim (piano). This…

The album cover for Be The Sky by Philip Glass and Tenzin Choegyal combines traditional Tibetan artistic motifs with modern geometric designs. Centered within a mandala-like structure, a Tibetan lute (dranyen) rests at the heart of a maze of interlocking shapes. Surrounding the central design, swirling clouds and stylized waves. The palette includes blues, golds, reds, and greens. On the left, bold vertical text presents the album title and artists’ names, accompanied by Tibetan script. The upper panels feature close-up sections of the main artwork, including a golden handprint and intricate symbolic patterns.

Album reviews

Tenzin Choegyal Unveils Be The Sky: a Call Toward Renewal, Courage, and Harmony

Tyler Bennet November 8, 2025 No Comments Dalai Lama Philip Glass Tenzin Choegyal Tibetan music world fusion world music

Tenzin Choegyal – Be The Sky (2025) Tibetan-Australian artist Tenzin Choegyal is set to release his new album Be The Sky (ནམ་མཁའ་རང་གི་ངང་དུ་ཞོག།) in Australia on…

Various Artists Made in Aktobe Romani, German and Korean Songs from Kazakhstan cover artwork. A collage of 3 photos featuring the three sets of artists.

Album reviews

Aqtöbe And Stirred: Diaspora Songs With Local Gravity

Tyler Bennet November 6, 2025 No Comments German music Gypsy music Korean music world music

Various Artists – Made in Aktobe: Romani, German and Korean Songs from Kazakhstan (Antonovka Records, 2025) Antonovka Records’ 2025 release Made In Aktobe: Romani, German…

Los Cinco Cardones - El Quinto Cardón cover artwork. A black and white photo of a saguaro cactus.

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Spiky Grooves: Los Cinco Cardones Unveil Debut Album

Tyler Bennet October 19, 2025 No Comments Los Cinco Cardones Mexican music world fusion world music

Los Cinco Cardones – El Quinto Cardón (Some Other Planet, 2025) Mexico-based collective Los Cinco Cardones brings together a diverse range of musical genres such…

Julian Kytasty Songs of Truth cover artwork. a photo of Julian Kytasty sitting on a chair outdoors playing the bandura

Album reviews

Julian Kytasty’s Kobzar Album “Songs Of Truth”

Tyler Bennet September 24, 2025 No Comments bandura Julian Kytasty kobzar Ukrainian music world music

Julian Kytasty – Songs Of Truth: Music And Song From The Kobzar Tradition Of Ukraine (Smithsonian Folkways, 2025) Smithsonian Folkways released Songs Of Truth: Music…

The album cover shows a stylized, cartoon-like dancer adorned with jewelry, moving behind a curtain of colorful beads. The title “Oriental Soul” appears at the top in bold yellow lettering, while the artist’s name, “Chettini and the Turkish Trio,” is displayed in a decorative box at the bottom.

Album reviews

East Meets Best: Chettini’s ‘Oriental Soul’ Returns on Vinyl

Tyler Bennet September 16, 2025 No Comments Anatolian music Chettini and the Turkish Trio Turkish music world music

Chettini and the Turkish Trio – Oriental Soul (Ironhand Records, 2025 reissue) Oriental Soul, the 1972 album by Turkish multi-instrumentalist Çetin Bükey, credited here as…

Album reviews

Desert Dreaming: Warlpiri Wisdom Meets Minimal Electronica

Tyler Bennet September 10, 2025 No Comments

Crown and Country – Crown and Country (ABC Music and Akuphone, 2025) Crown and Country is an ambitious audiovisual project that fuses ancestral Warlpiri ceremony with…

The album cover for Etno Grupa Bosiljak – Made in Brčko: Serbian Songs from Bosnia and Herzegovina features a close-up of a young woman in traditional folk attire. she wears an embroidered white blouse, colorful woven belt, and golden skirt.

Album reviews

Brčko Beats: Serbian Folk Finds a Home in the Borderlands

Tyler Bennet August 29, 2025 No Comments Anastasija Ilić Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian music Dalioborka Živković Dragana Radovanović Elena Živković Etno Grupa Bosiljak Helena Ćurčić Jovana Pajkanović Lara Zekonja Milan Marković Milica Antić Nikolina Antić Serbian music Snežana Mitrović Suzana Đurković Svjetlana Nedeljković Svjetlana Popić world music

Etno Grupa Bosiljak – Made in Brčko: Serbian Songs from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Antonovka Records, 2025) This release by Etno Grupa Bosiljak presents deeply rooted…

The album cover for Africa Express Presents... Bahidorá features a lush, tropical scene with crystal-clear water reflecting palm trees and dense greenery. The title appears in bold pink letters at the bottom left,

Album reviews

Africa Express Heads West Across the Atlantic

Tyler Bennet August 22, 2025 No Comments Africa Express African music world fusion world music

Africa Express presents… Bahidorá (World Circuit Records, 2025) Eighteen years after its unannounced Glastonbury debut, Africa Express continues to defy categories and borders. The collective’s…

The album cover features a futuristic, armored figure with a patterned red hat and shoulder designs, set against a background of gold, blue, purple, and black swirls. Origami-like star shapes in various colors float around.

Album reviews

Zambia’s WITCH Looks Ahead on ‘Sogolo’

Tyler Bennet August 19, 2025 No Comments Charlie Garmendia Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda Hanna Tembo Jacco Gardner Nicola Mauskovic Patrick Mwondela Theresa Ng’ambi world music Zambian music Zamrock

WITCH – Sogolo (Partisan Records, 2025) WITCH, the pioneering Zamrock band from Zambia’s Copperbelt, continues its 21st-century resurgence with Sogolo, an exciting, groove-driven follow-up to 2021’s Zango.…