The Voodoo Drummer Duo – HELLaS SPELLS (2025) At first glance, HELLaS SPELLS might appear to be an experiment born of whimsy, a cello, a…
Dionysian Rites and Rhythmic Spells: The Voodoo Drummer Duo Casts a HELLaS of a Trance
Author: Tyler Bennet
Makgona Tsohle Band Reclaims the Groove on Makgona Tsohle Reggi
Makgona Tsohle Band – Makgona Tsohle Reggi (Umsakazo Records, 2020) In the lexicon of South African music, few names carry the sheer weight of legacy…
Áššu Rekindles Sámi Fire on Luohtenlegut
Áššu – Luoteniegut (Nordic Notes / CPL-Musicgroup, 2025) Áššu, the trio led by veteran Finnish Sámi singer Ulla Pirttijärvi, intertwines traditional joik with contemporary sounds…
Soundplaces Weaves a Bowed Dialogue Across the Aegean
Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinopoulos – Soundplaces (Seyir Muzik, 2020) Soundplaces, the 2020 release by Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos, offers a contemplative, transcultural conversation…
Dal:um Explore Vast Emotional and Conceptual Terrain with Korean Zithers
(headline image: Dal:um – Photo by Jaeyoung Park) Dal:um, a Seoul-based duo composed of Ha Suyean and Hwang Hyeyoung specializes in traditional Korean zithers, the…
Femi Kuti’s Next Act: Journey Through Life Balances Protest With Personal Insight
Femi Kuti – Journey Through Life (Partisan Records, 2025) On his 2025 album Journey Through Life, Nigerian Afrobeat stalwart Femi Kuti turns inward, pairing his…
Island Suite Symphony: Tanya Ekanayaka’s “Piano Isles” Maps New Terrain
Tanya Ekanayaka – Piano Isles (Naxos Records, 2025) Outstanding Sri Lankan composer and pianist Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka explores uncharted musical ground with Piano Isles, a…
Harare Hits the High Notes: Analog Africa Digs Deep with ‘Roots Rocking Zimbabwe’
Various Artists – Roots Rocking Zimbabwe: The Modern Sound of Harare Townships 1975–1980 (Analog Africa, 2025) Analog Africa returns to its roots with Roots Rocking…
Meybahar’s Debut: A Daring Fusion of Greek and Hungarian Traditions
Meybahar – Meybahar (Fonó, 2019) Meybahar‘s self-titled debut album bridges Greek and Hungarian musical traditions through the interplay of the santuri (Greek hammered dulcimer) and…
Duan Yaocai and the Enduring Spirit of the Bai Dabenqu Blues
Duan Yaocai – Fu’s Mother Died. Dabenqu Blues from the Bai in Yunnan (Pan Records, 2022) The “Anthology of Music in China #12: Duan Yaocai…