Les Amazones d’Afrique – République Amazone République Amazone (Amazon Republic) brings together some of West Africa’s best female singers with highly percussive electronic music. While…
Explosive Drum and Bass from African Amazons
Category: Album reviews
The Thunderous Sound of Red Baraat
Red Baraat – Bhangra Pirates (Rhyme & Reason Records, 2017) American brass band Red Baraat is heading in an exciting new direction. Their 2017 album,…
Old Time Balkan from Lapland
Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha – Näennäinen (Playground Music, 2016) Jaakko Laitinen and his band Väärä Raha hail from Lapland in northern Finland and they…
Blue Harp Perspectives
Amelia Romano – New Perspectives (indie release, 2017) American harpist Amelia Romano plays a mix of instrumentals and songs on New Perspectives, scheduled for…
Paris Texas via Tucson
Naïm Amor and John Convertino – The Western Suite and Siesta Songs (Living Music Duplication, 2016) The first thing that springs to mind listening to…
Tamikrest, The Sahara Desert as a Place of Freedom
Tamikrest – Kidal (Glitterbeat Records, 2017) Sitting back and listening to the latest recording Kidal by Mali’s desert blues/rock group Tamikrest, I wondered if I…
Hot 8 Brass Band, Masters of New Orleans Jazz
Hot 8 Brass Band – On The Spot (TruThoughts, 2017) The best American brass band tradition in the United States comes from New Orleans and…
A Remarkable New Voice from Cuba
Daymé Arocena – Cubafonía (Brownswood Recordings, 2017) If you haven’t heard yet about Daymé Arocena, her new album Cubafonía is a great opportunity to listen…
The Hybrid Sounds of Belgium’s Zanzibar
Zanzibar – Fiali in Chicago (Home Records, 2016) Belgian multi-ethnic band Zanzibar plays an unexpected mix of rhythmic Afropop music, harmonica-based American blues, boogie woogie,…
Darandi Celebrates 30 Years of Garifuna Icon Aurelio Martinez
Aurelio – Darandi (Real World Records, 2017) Honduran singer-songwriter Aurelio Martinez’s fourth album celebrates his thirty years as a performer and defender of Garifuna culture…