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Santrofi - Making Moves cover artwork. A photo of the band.

Album reviews

Highlife in Motion: Santrofi’s “Making Moves” Charts a Bold New Journey

Santrofi – Making Moves (Outhere Records, 2025) Some albums arrive like old friends returning home, carrying new stories yet familiar scents of the past. Making…

The album cover for Rituals by Watchhouse features a two-tone illustration in white against a deep blue background. It depicts a domestic scene: a dish rack or shelf lined with bowls and kitchenware, draped with various cloths and towels.

Album reviews

Watchhouse Taps Into the Sacred: Rituals Finds Grace in the Act of Letting Go

Ryan Emmert May 30, 2025 No Comments American folk music Americana Watchhouse world music

Watchhouse – Rituals (Tiptoe Tiger Music/Thirty Tigers, 2025) Watchhouse (Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz) offer a quiet invocation on their exquisite new album Rituals. This…

Album reviews

Nordic Lights in Persian Sky Bridges Traditions with Dazzling Dialog

Angel Romero May 29, 2025 No Comments Benedicte Maurseth Constantinople Hardanger fiddle Kiya Tabassian Norwegian folk music setar world fusion world music

Constantinople & Benedicte Maurseth – Nordic Lights in Persian Sky (Glossa, 2025) In Nordic Lights in Persian Sky, Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople joins forces with Norwegian…

The album cover for Enten Hitti's Mistiche Ribelli features an abstract painting. Deep indigo hues dominate the upper part, gradually blending into fiery shades of gold, ochre, and burnt orange below. The band name and album title appear in a delicate, minimalist white font, floating across the transition between dark and light.

Album reviews

Mystic Rebels With a Cause: A Sacred Sound Journey

Angel Romero May 28, 2025 No Comments Ensemble Enten Hitti Gino Ape Italian music Pierangelo Pandiscia world music

Enten Hitti – Mistiche Ribelli (Lizard Records, 2025) Mistiche Ribelli (mystic rebels) is the latest musical project from Pierangelo Pandiscia and Gino Ape, performed by…

Tanya Ekanayaka - Piano Isles cover artwork. A photo of the artists.

Album reviews

Island Suite Symphony: Tanya Ekanayaka’s “Piano Isles” Maps New Terrain

Tyler Bennet May 27, 2025 No Comments Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka piano western classical music

Tanya Ekanayaka – Piano Isles (Naxos Records, 2025) Outstanding Sri Lankan composer and pianist Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka explores uncharted musical ground with Piano Isles, a…

The album cover for The Devil Rides Again by Adrian Raso & Fanfare Ciocărlia features a vintage-style illustration of a demonic carousel. At the center, a devilish guitarist rides a horse labeled “Diablo,” flanked by a red-dressed femme fatale on “Jezebel” and a crowned figure on “El Moro.” Flames encircle the ride.

Album reviews

Brass Meets Class: The Devil Rides Again Is No One-Hit Wünderkind

Angel Romero May 26, 2025 No Comments Adrian Raso brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia Romani music Romania Romanian music world fusion world music

Adrian Raso featuring Fanfare Ciocarlia – The Devil Rides Again (Asphalt Tango Records, 2025) More than a decade after Devil’s Tale took the European World…

Various Artists - Roots Rocking Zimbabwe: The Modern Sound of Harare Townships 1975–1980 cover atwork. A photo of s black singer holding a microphone.

Album reviews

Harare Hits the High Notes: Analog Africa Digs Deep with ‘Roots Rocking Zimbabwe’

Tyler Bennet May 25, 2025 No Comments world music Zimbabwe Zimbabwean music

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…

Teija Niku & Juha Kujanpää: Aamunkoitto cover artwork. A black and white photo of the two artists.

Album reviews

Dawn Duet: Niku and Kujanpää Break New Ground With Aamunkoitto

Angel Romero May 24, 2025 No Comments Finnish music Juha Kujanpää Teija Niku world music

Teija Niku & Juha Kujanpää – Aamunkoitto (Rockadillo Records ZENCD2197, 2025) Finnish musicians Teija Niku and Juha Kujanpää reunite on Aamunkoitto, a splendid collaborative album…

The album cover for Bonifica Emiliana Veneta – Quattro features a quadrant design with each section saturated in a different color—yellow (top left), blue (top right), red (bottom left), and green (bottom right). Large, translucent letters “B,” “E,” “V,” and the number “4” appear prominently in each quadrant, respectively. Across the center, the band's name is written in white: BonificaEmilianaVeneta Quattro. The abstract background textures resemble turbulent water or rock.

Album reviews

Back to the Quattro: BEV Reclaims Tradition with a Twist

Iliana Cabrera May 23, 2025 No Comments Bonifica Emiliana Veneta Italian music world music

Bonifica Emiliana Veneta – Quattro (Visage Music, 2025) Bonifica Emiliana Veneta’s Quattro marks the group’s first new recording in nearly two decades, a return shaped…

The album cover for Meybahar features an orange background with shadowed silhouettes of musicians playing traditional instruments. The composition is divided into four sections, each highlighting different instrumentalists—one playing a frame drum, another a bowed instrument, a third with a santuri instrument, and a duo with a percussive element.

Album reviews

Meybahar’s Debut: A Daring Fusion of Greek and Hungarian Traditions

Tyler Bennet May 21, 2025 No Comments Greek music Hungarian music santouri santuri world fusion world music

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…