Album reviews | World Music Central

The album cover for Thanos Stavridis & Drom – Fygame features a smiling boy in striped clothes and a beret riding a donkey while holding a large retro radio. The title "DROM" appears prominently in bold, red and blue shadowed letters, with "Thanos Stavridis" above it in a handwritten font. The backdrop consists of stylized clouds.

Album reviews

On the Drom Again: Thanos Stavridis & Drom Explore Macedonian Roots with Fygame

Thanos Stavridis & Drom – fygame (self-release, 2025) Thanos Stavridis & Drom released their new album Fygame on April 1, 2025. The ensemble, formed in…

Patricio Morales - La Tierra Canta cover artwork. A photo of mountain tops with fog.

Album reviews

Patricio Morales Lets the Earth Sing on “La Tierra Canta”

Angel Romero April 24, 2025 No Comments guitar Patricio Morales South American music world music

Patricio Morales – La Tierra Canta (Northsound Records, 2025) Patricio Morales’ La Tierra Canta (the Earth Sings) presents nine reimagined, finely crafted compositions for classical…

The album cover for Ra di Spina – Vocazioni features a symbolic image: a heart-shaped metallic emblem radiating like a sacred icon sits atop a stylized, glossy torso-like form. The central figure is encased in a dark, marbled texture, resembling cracked earth or burning roots. Beaded in silver edging. Set against a pale background.

Album reviews

Calling Back the Voices: Ra di Spina’s “Vocazioni”

Madison Quinn April 23, 2025 No Comments Calabrian music Italian music Ra di Spina world music

Ra di Spina – Vocazioni (Agualoca Records, 2025) Vocazioni, the debut album by Ra di Spina (King of Thorn), is a project deeply rooted in…

Album reviews

Miramar’s “Entre Tus Flores” Revives and Reimagines Bolero

Angel Romero April 22, 2025 No Comments bolero bolerobeat Miramar world music

Miramar – Entre Tus Flores (Ansonia Records, 2025) Miramar, the Richmond-based bolero ensemble fronted by Reinaldo “Rei” Álvarez and Laura Ann Singh, returns with Entre…

The album cover for Born in the City of Tanta presents a vintage photograph of a traditional Egyptian musical gathering. Musicians in red fezzes and embroidered garments play instruments like the oud, kanun, and tambourine, flanked by seated women in ornate dresses. The setting is framed by intricate decor and green drapery, while a hookah rests in the foreground.

Album reviews

Tantalizing Sounds: Unearthing Egypt’s Lost Urban Folklore

Madison Quinn April 21, 2025 No Comments Egyptian music shaabi world fusion world music

Various Artists – Born in the City of Tanta: Lower Egyptian Urban Folklore and Bedouin Shaabi from Libya’s Bourini Records 1968-75 (Sublime Frequencies, 2025) Throughout…

The album cover for At the Feet of the Beloved by Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali features a symmetrical courtyard framed by ornate arches. The group, dressed in yellow and black traditional attire, is seated in a circle on a marble floor, centered beneath soft natural light. Behind them, a patterned wall of silhouettes and motifs adds depth.

Album reviews

Qawwali Royalty: Rizwan-Muazzam’s Latest Album Honors Tradition with a Fresh Voice

Angel Romero April 20, 2025 No Comments qawwali Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali world music

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali – At the Feet of the Beloved (Real World Records, 2025) Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, the nephews of the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, return…

The album cover for Roi De L’Agbadja Moderne by Gnonnas Pedro & His Dadjes’ Band has a vintage, retro aesthetic, dominated by red and green colors. The central element is a sepia-toned photograph of the band performing live, with Gnonnas Pedro at the microphone, playing a guitar. Surrounding the image are geometric red and green shapes, with small white African continent icons on each side.

Album reviews

Agbadja King Reigns Again: Gnonnas Pedro’s Legacy Restored

Tyler Bennet April 19, 2025 No Comments Beninese music Gnonnas Pedro world fusion world music

Gnonnas Pedro & His Dadjes Band – Roi De L’Agbadja Moderne 1974-1983 (Analog Africa, 2025) Gnonnas Pedro, the Beninese icon who modernized Agbadja (a percussive…

Elana Sasson - In Between cover artwork.

Album reviews

Elana Sasson Elegantly Bridges Traditional Folk and Jazz on In Between

Angel Romero April 18, 2025 No Comments cello Elana Sasson Kaveh Sarvarian Manos Stratis Matthieu Saglio Miron Rafajlovic ney Santiago Bertel Victor Goldschmidt world fusion world jazz world music

Elana Sasson – In Between (PKMusik, 2025) With her beautifully crafted debut album In Between (PKMusik, 2025), Persian-Kurdish-American vocalist and composer Elana Sasson unveils an…

The album cover for Alorí by Violeta Veinte is an abstract landscape bursting with color. It features brushstrokes in shades of red, pink, orange, and turquoise, blending into a textured horizon that evokes a sunlit countryside. The title "ALORÍ." is written in white lettering at the center, while the artist's name appears just below in a handwritten script.

Album reviews

Harvesting Spanish Folk: Violeta Veinte’s Fusion of Tradition and Modernity

Angel Romero April 17, 2025 No Comments Violeta Veinte world fusion world music

Violeta Veinte – Alorí (self-release, 2024) Alorí takes its name from a childhood greeting between enchanting singer and fiddler Violeta Veinte and her grandfather, Argimiro,…

The album cover for Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar features a young man sitting atop a green, dust-covered vehicle, playing an electric guitar amid large, weathered speakers and megaphones. Below him, a crowd gathers, many wearing straw hats.

Album reviews

Amped Up and Unruly: Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar

Madison Quinn April 14, 2025 No Comments Madagascan music Madagascar tsapiky world music

Various Artists – Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar (Sublime Frequencies, 2025) This compilation introduces a raw and electrifying portrait of tsapiky, the high-energy music…