De’Anza Despertar (Fusion Beats, 2015) Despertar (Awaken) is the title of the debut EP by a young Hispanic singer-songwriter from Santa Fe (New Mexico) called…
De’Anza’s Musical Awakening
Category: Album reviews
Beyond the Steel Pan Stereotype
Rudy Smith What Pan Did for Me (Caprice Records, 2015) Steel pans. Evoke musical images of a slick band of dressed in brightly colored shirts…
Sundanese Nyckelharpa Adventures
Ana Alcaide Tales of Pangea (Ana Alcaide TP01/ARC Music, 2015) We received two versions of this album, the original Spanish edition and the international release…
Rhythm Kings of Venezuela
Akende Herencia Africana (Centro Nacional del Disco, 2011) Akende is one of the leading Afro-Venezuelan ensembles in the current Venezuelan music scene. Their album Herencia…
A Tribute to the Songs of Women in the Holocaust
Shulamit For You the Sun Will Shine – Songs of Women in the Shoa (2015) For You the Sun Will Shine is a collaboration between…
Global Friendly Daby Toure
Daby Toure Amonafi (Cumbancha, 2015) Set for release on September 18th on the Cumbancha label, Amonafi is Mauritanian born and Senegal raised Daby Toure’s sweet,…
An Intricate Classical-Folk Machine
Spiro Welcome Joy Welcome Sorrow (Real World, 2015) Sometimes there is just no practical description for some of the recordings that cross my desk. Sometimes…
Lavish World of Middle Eastern Flavors
Niyaz Fourth Light (Six Degrees Records, 2015) Dipping into a dense world filled with the strains of oud, santur and rabab, labyrinthine rhythms, delicious electronica…
Sheer Skill and Pure Passion
Mr. Sun The People Need Light (Compass Records, 2015) It’s always been my belief that the best recordings out there are the ones where the…
Vintage Reggae and Pop Sensibility
Dubbest Light Flashes (Dubbest DBBST003, 2015) Light Flashes is the third album by Boston-based band Dubbest. The group plays a mix of ear friendly reggae-pop…