Album reviews – Page 4 – World Music Central

Album reviews

American Folk Song Favorites, Reimagined With A Norwegian Lens

Aasmund Nordstoga og Åsmund Reistad – Tom Duley og andre viser (Lydpressa, 2023) Aasmund Nordstoga (born 1964) and Åsmund Reistad (born 1969) are a Norwegian…

Ancient Future — Purple Spirits cover artwork. A purple cover with three images inside circles. One of the images is a photo of Zakir Hussain.

Album reviews

Ancient Future Honors Musical Lineage on Purple Spirits

Angel Romero May 23, 2026 No Comments Abbos Kosimov Aditya Kalyanpur Ancient Future Benjy Wertheimer Bui Huu Nhut flamenco guitar fretless bass George Brooks Glissentar 11-string fretless guitar Kai Eckhardt Mariah Parker Matthew Montfort Paul McCandless santur scalloped fretboard guitar tabla Uzbek percussion Vietnamese music world fusion world music

Ancient Future — Purple Spirits (Tributes to Musical Giants) (Ancient-Future.Com Records, 2026) On Purple Spirits, Ancient Future has gathered multifaceted and imaginative tributes to artists…

Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo - Historia cover artwork. A color photo of the musicians outdoors, holding their musical instruments.

Album reviews

Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo Launch Exuberant New Album Historia

Iliana Cabrera May 22, 2026 No Comments Benji Baliardo Ciryl Cable Cyril Cablat Cyril Seguy Fausto Cuevas Frederic Marchal Gipsy Kings Jean Claude Bila Jean Claude Vila Jean Michel Kerwich Jean Samuel Rey Jose Fernandez Mikael Baliardo Rey rumba flamenca Samuel Debout Thomas James Potrel Tonino Baliardo world fusion world music

Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo – Historia (Cooking Vinyl, 2026) Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo will release Historia on May 29, 2026. Led by the…

Naragonia Quartet – Nehalennia cover artwork. A yellow cover with a dragonfly landing on a branch.

Album reviews

Naragonia Quartet’s Nehalennia Evoke Village Halls and Coastal Air

Madison Quinn May 20, 2026 No Comments Belgian music Flemish music Naragonia Quartet world music

Naragonia Quartet – Nehalennia (Trad Records, 2025) Naragonia Quartet’s Nehalennia is a finely constructed chamber-folk album with a strong sense of memory and motion. Named…

Seu Jorge sits alone on a weathered green dumpster beneath a mural of athletes and boxers, while a vintage black car drifts through the sunlit background.

Album reviews

Seu Jorge Revisits Brazil’s Musical Soul With Majestic Precision

Angel Romero May 19, 2026 No Comments Adriano Trindade Afro-Brazilian music bossa nova Brazilian soul cinematic music Claudio Andrade contemporary Brazilian music Daniel Rosenboom Fernando Vidal funk Gabe Noel Garrett Smith Jazz Latin jazz Leo Costa Mario Caldato Jr.Michael Valeanu Miguel Atwood-Ferguson MPB orchestral jazz Pedro Dom Peter Jacobson Philip Dizack Pretinho da Serrinha psychedelic soul Rodrigo Tavares samba Sara Andon Satch Hoyt Seu Jorge Sidao Santos Tropicalia world music

Seu Jorge – The Other Side (Amor in Sound, 2026) Sixteen years after its inception, Seu Jorge presents The Other Side as an invitation into…

The cover for Medzotermina by Mimika Orchestra presents a weathered landscape split into two contrasting zones. A large gray, skull-like rock formation dominates the upper half against a barren horizon, while the lower half glows in warm pink and orange tones around an eroded canyon or sinkhole. An inset detail box highlights textured terrain patterns. At the bottom right, two small silhouetted children stand beside a dog.

Album reviews

Mimika Orchestra Completes Album Trilogy With Medzotermina

JGurski May 18, 2026 No Comments Croatian music world fusion world jazz world music

Mimika Orchestra – Medzotermina (Menart, 2025) Mimika Orchestra has released Medzotermina, its fifth studio album. The 20-piece ensemble, conducted by composer Mak Murtić, recorded most…

Karen Marshalsay - Eadarainn A’ Chruit: Between Us The Harp cover artwork. A photo ofKaen holding a small harp.

Album reviews

Karen Marshalsay Connects Scottish And Irish Harp Traditions On Eadarainn A’ Chruit

Ryan Emmert May 15, 2026 No Comments Celtic music harp Karen Marshalsay Scottish music world music

Karen Marshalsay – Eadarainn A’ Chruit: Between Us The Harp (Cramasie Records, 2025) Scottish harper Karen Marshalsay released her brilliant second album, Eadarainn A’ Chruit:…

Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express - Ranjha cover artwork. A black and white photoof the musicians posing outdoors.

Album reviews

Ranjha, a Window into a Phenomenal Desert Tradition

Madison Quinn May 13, 2026 No Comments Indian music Jonny Greenwood Rajasthan Express Rajasthani music Shye Ben Tzur world fusion world music

Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express — Ranjha (World Circuit, 2026) A decade after Junun, Ranjha is a recording with deeper confidence…

Saied Silbak — Oud for Palestine. A black and red design wityh an original Tatreez-inspired artwork featuring an oud encasing an olive tree.

Album reviews

Saied Silbak Finds Beauty, Tradition, and Resilience in Oud for Palestine

Angel Romero May 12, 2026 No Comments Arabic music Gaza oud Palestine Palestinian music Saied Silbak world fusion world music

Saied Silbak — Oud for Palestine (self-released, 2025) Saied Silbak has emerged as a prominent London-based oud player and composer whose music is deeply influenced…

Martin Cooper — American Portraits cover artwork. A man in a cowboy hat watching an art gallery exhibition.

Album reviews

Marty Cooper Revisits His Catalog On American Portraits

Ryan Emmert May 10, 2026 No Comments American folk music Martin Cooper

Martin Cooper — American Portraits (Howlin Dog Records, 2025) American Portraits by folk singer-songwriter Marty Cooper gathers Cooper’s own versions of songs long associated with…