Anoushka Shankar – Chapter I: Forever, For Now (Leiter Verlag, 2023) Anoushka Shankar, the highly acclaimed musician renowned for her mastery of the sitar, firmly…
Masterful Sitarist Anoushka Shankar Unveils ‘Chapter I: Forever, For Now’
Category: Album reviews
A Few Reminders
Every once in a while I endeavor to break myself of one of many bad habits. Not the least of these is a tendency to…
Al Qahwa Ensemble Seeks Spiritual Answers
Al Qahwa – Weyn Allah (Al Qahwa, 2023) Toronto’s world music group Al Qahwa Ensemble have released their fourth album, “Weyn Allah” (Where is God?)…
Preserving Afro-Pacific Colombian Heritage: Cantares del Pacifico’s ‘Aguajes de Mar y Manglar’
Cantares del Pacifico – Aguajes de Mar y Manglar (2023) Aguajes de Mar y Manglar (Sea and Mangrove Tides) presents Cantares del Pacifico, an ensemble…
Oud Virtuoso Joseph Tawadros Releases Solo Master Work
Joseph Tawadros – To Those Who Came Before Us (self-released, 2023) Joseph Tawadros, an Australian-raised musician of Egyptian origin, oud player extraordinaire, masterfully merges ancient…
Gimmie That Old and New Time Reggae
I’ll never lose sight (or sound) of reggae as a musical mainstay of mine, be it through amassing of vintage material or up-to-date reaffirming of…
A Fascinating Retrospective of Martin’s Kalotaszeg Collection
Erdőfű – Martin György Kalotaszegen (Fonó, 2022) Hungary’s Erdőfű Band selected 17 items from hundreds of hours of archival sound recordings to include on this…
Syria, Iran, and India Unite in Musical Harmony with ‘Istehlal’ by Mohamad Zatari Trio
Mohamad Zatari Trio – Istehlal (Zehra Records Berlin, 2023) The Mohamad Zatari Trio’s album, Istehlal, is a unique musical fusion that showcases the talents of…
Ailá Passionately Honors Galician Folk Traditions on Debut Album
Ailá – Ailá (Son Natural, 2022) Folk music band Ailá emerged from the lively foliadas (Galician folk music celebrations and sessions) at Santiago de Compostela’s…
Lovely Vocals and Bass Rooted in Latin American Folk Traditions
Marta Gómez & Andrés Rotmistrovsky – Bajo & Voz (Marta Gómez, 2023) Colombian singer-songwriter Marta Gómez presents her exquisite new album in duo format with…