World music
Album Review: Maalem Houssam Guinia – ‘Dead Of Night’ : An unforgettable, intense offering from the Gnawa master-musician
We should be mighty thankful for the long and strong relationship that’s grown between Brighton’s Hive Mind Records and Guinia family of Gnawa musicians in Morocco. Back in 2017, the label’s inaugural release was the first vinyl press of ‘Colours Of The Night’ by the legendary guembri player Maalem Mahmoud Guinia. It was a poignant …
Track/Video : MPB new wave mover Dora Morelenbaum previews incoming album with the lush and lyrical ‘Essa Confusão’.
The jet-stream of MPB may stretch right back to the sixties but it keeps powering onwards with singer/songwriter Dora Morelenbaum right there at the epicentre of this latest surge. She’s an artist steeped in a weighty musical heritage with parents, composer Jacques and vocalist Paula, having CVs which include work with Tom Jobin, Gal Costa …
Album Review: Inês Loubet – ‘Senga’: vibrant samba-fusion sounds from a song-writer to watch.
Portuguese, London-based singer-songwriter Inês Loubet makes Tropicalia toned music of openness and honesty, which reaches out to people while following its own course. She was vocalist and co-writer in the latin-jazz, fusion-facing ensemble Caravela whose intoxicating album ‘Orla’ sent the UK scene slightly giddy in 2021 (see Backseat’s review HERE). That document was shaped during …
Album Review : Ghana Special Volume 2 : a thrilling ‘burger-highlife’ compilation charting the roots of today’s afro-beats and so much more…
So, what makes a great compilation album? It so much more than flinging a gaggle of tracks together which have got a loose connection to a time or place or label or genre….and let’s not get started on the ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. No, outstanding compilation albums are assembled by people who know and care about …
Track/Video: Groove conscious, Ethio-jazz fusionists Sandman Project step forward to announce debut album ‘Where Did You Go?’
Tel Aviv based, global grooving combo Sandman Project are spot-on calling their new album (due June 7th via the irrepressible Batov Records) ‘Where Did You Go?’ It’s been six years since they whipped up the outer-national dance floors and airwaves with their ethio-jazz meets Habibi funk mega-EP ‘Royal Family’. DJ Kobayashi, Gideon Coe, Laurent Garnier …
Album Review : Arthur Melo – ‘Mirantes Emocionais’ : a dazzling alt pop escapade from the Brazilian guitarist and composer.
In the same way that last year Bala Dejeso and Ana Frango Elétrico swung the spotlight back on the wild creativity of the Brazilian pop scene, 2024 looks like it’s facing a repeat. Alongside the whispers of the enigmatic Sessa, gathering a new album together, there’s another name filtering through to the surface, the multi-talented …
Track/Video: Jazz/afrobeat fusionists TC & The Groove Family announce new EP with the dynamic ‘Stand Strong’.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from TC & The Groove Family but you can’t keep a good collective down. Led by drummer Tim Cook (TC) and based around players who originally crossed paths in Leeds, the band’s 2022 debut ‘First Home’ (reviewed in BSM HERE) made a sizeable dent in the listening schedules. …
Track/Video : Rising singer-songwriter/producer Inês Loubet announces debut album ‘Senga’ with glistening new single ‘Sab Sabim’
Any musician who asks the audience at a show to write down some words about how the tunes made them feel and then gathers up this feedback has some nerve but that’s exactly what Inês Loubet did last year. The Portuguese, London-based singer-songwriter makes Tropicalia toned music of openness and honesty, that aims to reach …
Album Review : Mohammad Syfkhan –‘I Am Kurdish’ : Bouzouki driven song and dance soul- music which makes a mighty impression.
Singer/ bouzouki player Mohammad Syfkhan’s bio underlines the fact that some back stories are more important than others. His journey to the release of his debut solo album ‘I Am Kurdish’ on Nyahh Records, while clearly fuelling his joyous North African electric dance sounds, has significance that extends far beyond music. Syfkhan began playing the …
Album Review: Ëda Diaz– Suave Bruta : electro – Colombian rhythms and song for today.
Bridges are not just about the places and people they connect, crossing them is an experience in itself. Colombian singer/bassist and song-writer Ëda Diaz’s music is a thrilling reminder of the wonders such a journey can deliver. As a child she shuttled regularly between Paris and Medellin with her French Colombian family, absorbing the languages, …