Rachid Taha – Je Suis Africain (Naïve/Believe, 2019) Rachid Taha, a leading figure in modern Algerian and French music died in late 2018. Je Suis…
Extraordinary Final Recording from Rachid Taha
Category: Album reviews
The Soulful Afro-Roots of Ajoyo
Ajoyo – War Chant (Shems Records, 2019) War chant is the new EP from New York-based Afro-roots band Ajoyo. Led by saxophonist Yacine Boularès, Ajoyo…
The Middle Eastern Aspect of Gordon Grdina
Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow – Ejdeha (Songlines Recordings, 2018) Ejdeha presents the Middle Eastern music side of Canadian guitarist and ud player Gordon Grdina. Here,…
SugaTree, Celtic Crossover from Australia
SugaTree – This Time (Two Tails, 2017) Australian band SugaTree combines Celtic music, folk rock, bluegrass and pop on This Time. The songs have pop…
Paulo Tato Marinho’s Masterful Portuguese Bagpipes
Paulo Tato Marinho – Gaitas de Fole em Portugal (Fundacao GDA, 2018) Portuguese multi-instrumentalist Paulo Tato Marinho dedicates Gaitas de Fole em Portugal (Bagpipe music…
Futuristic Cuban and Brazilian Sounds Rooted in Yoruban Traditions
Afrosideral – El Olimpo de los Orishas (Wonderwheel Recordings, 2019) El Olimpo De Los Orishas is an irresistible global electronica album by Cuban musician Kumar…
Ajay Srivastav: Indian Folk Music Meets Delta Blues
Ajay Srivastav – Karmic Blues (Scion Records, 2019) British composer, singer-songwriter and guitarist Ajay Srivastav combines American Delta blues resonator and slide guitar with Indian…
Accessible Nueva Trova from Alex Cuba
Alex Cuba – Sublime (Caracol Records, 2019) Canada-based Cuban singer-songwriter is known for his pop-leaning style, including catchy hooks commonly used in Spanish-language commercial productions.…
Garden Quartet‘s Contemporary Iranian-Australian Fusion
Garden Quartet – Garden Quartet (Bleemo Music, 2019) Australian audiences were reported to be “spellbound throughout” recent performances by Garden Quartet’s performance of music from…
Masterful Mehmet Polat Outside His Harmonic Comfort Zone
Mehmet Polat and Embracing Colours – Quantum Leap (Aftab Records, 2019) Ud virtuoso and composer Mehmet Polat presents a new band and direction on his…