world music – Page 89 – World Music Central

The album cover features a folkloric design with a central tribal mask flanked by two trumpets. Above, the artist name “Haris Pilton” and band “Balkan Voodoo Orchestra” appear in distressed white lettering on a dark red and black floral border. The bottom reads “Soon In Your Village” in the same vintage font. The artwork mixes Balkan textile motifs with voodoo iconography in a red, black, and cream palette.

Album reviews

Brassed Off the Map: Balkan Voodoo Orchestra Rewrites the Rules

Haris Pilton & The Balkan Voodoo Orchestra – Soon in Your Village (Asphalt Tango Records, 2025) The Balkan Voodoo Orchestra is a genre-defying ensemble led…

Cover for C.J. Lewandowski and Del McCoury, joined by Ronnie McCoury She’s No Angel. Photo of the back of a woman wearing a dress in a club.

Music videos

Heavenly Chorus: McCourys and Lewandowski Revive “She’s No Angel”

World Music Central News Room June 25, 2025 No Comments Bluegrass C.J. Lewandowski world music

C.J. Lewandowski and Del McCoury, joined by Ronnie McCoury, have released a new version of the Osborne Brothers and Red Allen’s 1957 classic “She’s No…

The album cover for Remon Nakanishi's Hinanoiezuto features a soft, watercolor-style illustration of three traditionally dressed Japanese figures engaged in cheerful conversation. The art evokes a classical Edo-period aesthetic, with warm, earthy tones and expressive faces. The title is written vertically in playful blue hiragana, with the artist's name in smaller kanji beside it.

Album reviews

Remon Nakanishi’s Hinano Iezuto Rewrites the Japanese Folk Canon

Madison Quinn June 24, 2025 No Comments Japanese music Remon Nakanishi world music

Remon Nakanishi 中西レモン – Hinano Iezuto ひなのいえづと (DOYASA! Records, 2022) Remon Nakanishi ‘s Hinano Iezuto album’s title, drawn from an archaic Japanese phrase meaning “a…

Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinopoulos - Soundplaces cover artwork. a photo of the two artists side by side, looking to the right, holding their musical instrument.

Album reviews

Soundplaces Weaves a Bowed Dialogue Across the Aegean

Tyler Bennet June 23, 2025 No Comments Greek music kamancha lyra Turkish music world fusion world music

Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinopoulos – Soundplaces (Seyir Muzik, 2020) Soundplaces, the 2020 release by Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos, offers a contemplative, transcultural conversation…

Koko Taylor - Crown Jewels covr artwork. A photo of the artist performing live, holding a microphone.

New Releases

Crown Jewels Anthology Celebrates Koko Taylor’s Legacy

Angel Romero June 22, 2025 No Comments blues Koko Taylor world music

Alligator Records is set to release Crown Jewels, a new compilation that features some of the finest performances by the legendary Koko Taylor, known worldwide…

A solitary boat floats on abstract, windswept waters in this watercolor cover. Soft blue, brown, and white brushstrokes.

Music videos

A Parting Song: Mike Vass Sets Sail With “Leaving St. Kilda”

World Music Central News Room June 22, 2025 No Comments Celtic music Mike Vass Scottish music tenor guitar world music

Scottish composer Mike Vass draws inspiration from history in “Leaving St. Kilda,” a solo tenor guitar piece rooted in his time as artist-in-residence at the…

Kolintang class in middle school. As a regular curriculum in some schools in Indonesia, it is a way to pass the technics of playing the instrument through generations. Photograph: Julius Widjojono © Manado Independent School, Indonesia, 2023.

Articles

Kolintang: The Wooden Wonder of Minahasa

Angel Romero June 21, 2025 No Comments Indonesia Indonesian music Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Kolintang world music xylophone

(headline image: Kolintang class in middle school. As a regular curriculum in some schools in Indonesia, it is a way to pass the technique of…

The album cover for Music from Macbeth by Gaelynn Lea features a central illustration of a lantern with a burning fire inside, set against a radiant red and pink background. The title is stylized in hand-drawn white lettering, with a Celtic-inspired border of thistles, skulls, and knotwork.

Album reviews

Gaelynn Lea’s Haunting Macbeth-Inspired Album Takes the Stage

Angel Romero June 21, 2025 No Comments Celtic music Gaelynn Lea world music

Gaelynn Lea – Music From Macbeth (self-released, 2025) Gaelynn Lea, the American violinist, composer, and disability rights advocate, rose to prominence after winning NPR Music’s…

The single cover for Inmigrante Y Qué? by Yeisy Rojas features a young woman gazing pensively through a chain-link fence at night. Dramatic lighting casts the fence’s shadow across her face.

Music videos Single reviews

It Begs the Question

Tom Orr June 21, 2025 No Comments Cuban music world music Yeisy Rojas

With immigration being the hot button issue it is nowadays, Cuba’s Yeisy Rojas brings her own take on it into focus via “Inmigrante y qué?”…

Showcases

World Music Showcase Babel Music XP Opens 2026 Artist Call

World Music Central News Room June 21, 2025 No Comments Babel Music XP global music world fusion world music

Babel Music XP, an international showcase and professional springboard for emerging world music artists, has officially launched its call for participants for the 2026 edition.…