Thomas Blondet Futureworld (Rhythm & Culture Music, 2014) Futureworld is one of the most exciting albums I’ve heard so far in 2014. It’s the latest…
Irresistible Global Electronic Dance Music
Category: Album reviews
Superb and Masterful Hafez Nazeri
Hafez Nazeri Rumi Symphony Project Cycle 1 Untold (Sony Classical, 2014) There are music critics out there that sit back stone faced like some disinterested…
Haitian Cross-pollination and Compas Explosion
Various Artists Haiti Direct – Big Band, Mini-Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds 1960-1978 (Strut Records STRUT093, 2014) This 2-CD compilation showcases the exciting Haitian music scene…
Dynamic Pairing
Daby Toure and Skip McDonald Call My Name (Real World Records, 2009/U.S. release 2014) Music fans looking for a little sunny bounce might want to…
A World Beneath The Ocean
Rahul Sharma Samandar (Music Today, 2006) “Samandar is all about life beneath the ocean. About the colors of the sea,” according to santoor virtuoso Rahul…
Utterly Evocative and Imaginative Anne Hytta
Anne Hytta – Draumsyn (Carpe Diem Records, 2014) Stepping off the well-worn path of world music, I don’t often come across solo hardanger fiddle (a…
A Planetary Musical Peak globalFEST
Various Artists globalFEST Selector (Magenta, 2014) The producers of world music showcase globalFEST have released a revealing album titled globalFEST Selector. It’s a very affordable…
Effervescent Ibibio Sound Machine
Ibibio Sound Machine Ibibio Sound Machine (Soundway, 2014) London-based group Ibibio Sound Machine released its self-titled debut album Ibibio Sound Machine this month. Their multifaceted…
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars Never Forget Their Roots
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars Libation (Cumbancha, 2014) Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have traveled far from its modest beginnings as a music band formed…
Villa-Lobos is the Fountain
Mario Adnet Um Olhar Sobre Villa-Lobos (Boranda, 2013) Brazilian musician and composer Mario Adnet celebrates the music and spirit of the great Brazilian composer Heitor…