Category: Album reviews

Väsen Live på Gamla Bion (NorthSide DS01322NORT, 2014) Through years of hard work and touring, Swedish band Väsen has become one of the leading Nordic…

View More Perfectly Synchronized Nordic Folk Ensemble Capture Live

Tony Succar Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson (Universal Music Classics, 2015) Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson takes some of Michael Jackson’s…

View More Latin Music Artists Celebrate Michael Jackson

Randy Armstrong & Volker Nahrmann Beyond Borders (UMP Records, 2015) As the title indicates, this collaboration between American multi-instrumentalist Randy Armstrong and German bassist Volker…

View More Smooth Borders Crossings

Ola Fresca Elixir (Pipiki Records, 2015) New Yok-based Cuban-American musician José Conde returns to his tropical Caribbean music roots on the remarkably good Elixir, the…

View More Son and Salsa Living in Harmony

Eliseo Parra El Man Sur (Mirmidón/Karonte, 2015) Spanish folk music icon Eliseo Parra dedicates his album El Man Sur to his southern Spanish roots. For…

View More Eliseo’s Southern Roots, Recreations of Spanish Folk Music

  Totó La Momposina y sus Tambores – Tambolero (Real World Records, 2015) Afro-Colombian music, in its variant forms, has come a long way toward…

View More A Classic for Your Reconsideration

Kardemimmit Onni (Kardemimmit KARCD-001, 2015) Onni is the new independent release by Finnish quartet Kardemimmit. The title of the album translates as happiness. Kardemimmit is…

View More Vocal and Kantele Beauty

Balbir Kumar, Gunnar Muhlmann Essence of Delhi (Music Today, 2005) This album tries to capture the cultural and social diversity of Delhi, which Indian writer…

View More The Cultural and Social Diversity of Delhi

Francesca Blanchard Deux Visions (Vis-A-Vis, 2015) Okay, I’ll admit it – sometimes when I read “deeply personal” and “singer-songwriter” on press material I inwardly cringe…

View More Francesca Blanchard’s Poignant Eulogy and Whole-Hearted Welcome