World music
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, …
Album Review : iPhupho L’ka Biko- ‘Azania’ : introducing a significant South African jazz collective destined to reach out further.
Another piece of vinyl community service here from the We Are Busy Bodies team, sharing out the treasures of South African jazz to a wider listenership. This time though it’s not about resurrecting a long-lost classic from the golden seventies, ‘Azania’ by iPhupho L’ka Biko is the vinyl debut by a band that are now …
Album Review: El Búho – ‘Strata’: Cumbia infused electronica to celebrate and satisfy.
If anyone was going to justifiably lay claim to the tags ‘organic electronics’ or ‘natural electronica’ with any degree of credibility then that must be El Búho. The UK producer/DJ, otherwise known as Robin Perkins, has always partnered his environmental activism with his music, they are parts of him that in many ways have grown …
Album Review : Ana Frango Elétrico – ‘Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua’ : Another high point for new wave MPB.
Musician/producer Ana Frango Elétrico is one of the pivots of today’s kaleidoscopic Rio scene, who over the last few years has helped power the resurgence of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). As if working with the mercurial Dora Morelenbaum or the sassy Bala Desejo wasn’t enough, Ana has been steadily crafting solo work of parallel quality …
Album Review : Júlio Resende Fado Jazz – Sons Of Revolution : immaculate and moving fusion from the Portuguese quartet.
Portuguese jazz pianist and composer Júlio Resende has just released a fourth Fado jazz journey, ‘Sons Of Revolution’ through the indispensable ACT label and it’s another intriguing excursion. Resende first explored the alchemic potential of blending Fado music with the free spirit of jazz sensibilities on his 2013 album, ‘Amália por Júlio Resende’. A deep …
Album Review : Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers – Somanti : Vodou energy meets electro dub intensity to break new ground.
The partnership between Haitian mizik rasin (or roots music) collective Chouk Bwa and Brussels electronic beat masters The Ångströmers hasn’t exactly had a smooth ride. First connecting in 2016 around Rokskilde Festival time, the idea of fusing potent Vodou sounds with the dance informed, dub wise beat reductions felt like a good one. A couple …
Album Review : Vumbi Dekula – ‘Congo Guitar’ : The much loved Soukous musician’s honestly joyful first solo album.
The feast of goodness that is the Hive Mind Records catalogue is deftly sprinkled with a fair share of the finest guitar-centric albums from Ricardo Tavares ambient leaning ‘Congo’ to Gustavo Yashimura’s rugged and rakish ‘Living Legend’ cassette. Now comes a new addition to the mix, ‘Congo Guitar’ the debut solo album from revered fret …
Album Review : Lalalar – ‘En Kötü Iyi Olur’ : Crunching agit-electro dynamism from Istanbul
Attention, the agit-electro Istanbul trio Lalalar are crashing back through the airwaves with new album ‘En Kötü Iyi Olur’ on Bongo Joe and it’s no soft landing. This is a band geared up for impact, kicking up a fuss and pressing for a reaction with their rebooted Anatolian anarchism powered through electronic-rock, synth funk and …
Album Review: Muito Kaballa – Like A River : a refreshing burst of inventive new fusion.
A transitional album or an album about transitions, well ‘Like A River’ by Muito Kaballa is both. It marks the Cologne based collective’s move from Belgian label Rebel Up to the equally dynamic but maybe higher profile Batov Records and meets the rising levels of expectation surrounding the band within the global beat world. Led …