Album reviews – Page 4 – World Music Central

An album cover with a pale sky-blue background and glossy black calligraphic symbols drifting across the frame.

Album reviews

Wooli Duo Releases Self-Titled Debut Album

Tyler Bennet July 21, 2026 No Comments Wooli world music

Wooli – Wooli (2026) Wooli is the exploratory project of Taiwanese pipa player Fan-Qi Wu and Norwegian drummer Michael Lee Sørenmo as well as the…

Cara - Our Ship Is Ready. A cover featuring a vintage sailing ship sketch, faded maritime maps, and four silhouetted figures standing on a beach at sunset.

Album reviews

Cara Address Emigration, Loss, and Climate Change on Our Ship Is Ready

Cara — Our Ship Is Ready (Artes Records, 2026) Cara’s Our Ship Is Ready, their ninth album, features a fine mix of original compositions along…

uniuni - Valveilla - photo by Mikko H Haapoja cover arwork. The two artistsstanding in front of a house. She is wearing a traditionsl dress.

Album reviews

Uni Uni Introduce Electro-Folk Vision With Debut Album Valveilla

Madison Quinn July 18, 2026 No Comments Ella Isotalo Finnish music folktronica Mikko H. Haapoja uni uni world fusion world music

uni uni – Valveilla (Haapojan studio, 2026) Finnish electro-folk duo uni uni’s enthralling debut album, Valveilla (“Awake”), stirs together folk traditions with ambient, spellbinding electronica.…

Arturo Sandoval - Sangú. A black and white photo of Aturo playing trumpet in the studio.

Album reviews

Arturo Sandoval’s Sangú, A Fusion of Cuban Tradition and Contemporary Jazz

Iliana Cabrera July 16, 2026 No Comments Arturo Sandoval Cuban music trumpet world fusion world music

Arturo Sandoval – Sangú (TM Records, 2026) Cuban trumpet maestro Arturo Sandoval’s new album Sangú presents a remarkable amalgam of Cuban musical traditions such as…

Ibrahim Maalouf _Trumpets of Michel-Ange vol.2 - credits Tibor Lukacs and Guillaume Saix. An illustration of a large ensemble of musicians wearing fez hats. Some of them hold trumpets and drums.

Album reviews

Ibrahim Maalouf Opens New Horizons on Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2

Angel Romero July 15, 2026 No Comments Anthony Evans Antoine Gauthier Ashly Williams Cherise Coaches Diwan Fortecoëf Elise Caetano François Delporte Gonzalo Rubalcaba Hafsatou Saindou Hamilton de Holanda Ibrahim Maalouf Issa Hassan Jaden Gray Jazzy Patton Jon Batiste Julien Tekeyan Kaleb Carson Las Migas Manel Girard Mihai Pîrvan Mohamed Derouich MonoNeon Nai Barghouti Nizar Ali Peaches West Pedrito Martinez Rasika Shekar Ravaughn Brown Rémi Stengel Richard Galliano Rita Haykal Roxane Charbonnier Safaa El Moutaouakkil Sarah Bigot Sunny Jain Trombone Shorty trumpet Trumpets Of Michel-Ange Wadie Naim Weedie Braimah world fusion world music Yanis Belaïd Yvan Djaouti

Ibrahim Maalouf – Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2 (‎ Mister I.B.E., 2026) On Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2, the French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf invites musicians…

An album cover featuring a soft pale-gray background and a four-panel photo collage: a sunlit meadow, a bird in flight, a star-filled night sky, and glowing winter trees.

Album reviews

Neale Eckstein Returns With Build Our Dreams, An Album of Personal Stories and Reflection

Ryan Emmert July 14, 2026 No Comments American folk music Americana Andre Vasconcellos Ben Trigg Bruno Migliari Chris Powers Eric Schwartz Josué González Keris Choi Matt Nakoa Neale Eckstein Nikos Mavridis Pedro Silveira Rene Pfister Sophie Buskin Steve Lewis

Neale Eckstein – Build Our Dreams (self-released, 2026) Singer-songwriter Neale Eckstein’s Build Our Dreams, presents a series of character-driven stories based on personal memories, real-life…

Marina Paredes - Para Nacer cover artwork. A woman standing at the edge of the shore with the sea and far away mountains behind.

Album reviews

Marina Paredes Introduces Debut Album Para Nacer

Iliana Cabrera July 13, 2026 No Comments Marina Paredes neofolk Spanish music world music

Marina Paredes – Para Nacer (Metales Preciosos Música, 2026) Marina Paredes, a neofolk singer-songwriter and physical theater performer from Villajoyosa, Spain, released her debut album,…

The McDades - Thread The Light cover artwork. An ornate, symmetrical Art Deco-style cover in indigo, gold, cream, and green. Floral motifs, geometric lines, circular emblems, and mirrored architectural forms radiate around a central sunburst medallion containing the title Thread The Light.

Album reviews

The McDades Move Tradition Forward on ‘Thread The Light’

Angel Romero July 10, 2026 No Comments Canadian music Celtic music Irish folk music The McDades world music

The McDades – Thread The Light (Free Radio Records, 2026) Thread The Light finds The McDades in exceptional form: agile, inventive, and vividly alive. The…

Elif Sanchez - Así pues… cover artwork. elif with her head resting on a table full of tapas and next to a violin.

Album reviews

Elif Sanchez Collaborates with O Kwarteto and International Guest Artists on Así pues…

Angel Romero July 8, 2026 No Comments Elif Sanchez Turkish music world fusion world music

Elif Sanchez – Así pues… (Pasion Turca, 2026) Turkish singer-songwriter Elif Sanchez’s fourth album , Así pues…, was recorded in collaboration with Madrid-based multinational string…

Msindaba Jazz Band - Msindaba Jazz Band cover artwork. A closeup of the trumpet bell. A man plays the trumpet.

Album reviews

Tanzanian Ensemble Msindaba Jazz Band Documents Dar es Salaam’s Tarumbeta Tradition on Debut EP

Angel Romero July 5, 2026 No Comments brass band Msindaba Jazz Band Tanzanian music Tarumbeta world music

Msindaba Jazz Band – Msindaba Jazz Band (Imetoka Collective, 2026) Dar es Salaam ensemble Msindaba Jazz Band recently released its self-titled debut EP. The four-track…