World music
Track/Video : Revered Soukous musician Vumbi Dekula announces his first solo album ‘Congo Guitar’ with the joyous ‘Maamajacy’.
Incoming alert from the indispensable Hive Mind Records of a new pop thrill for the Autumn. Teaming up with Stockholm label Sing A Song Fighter they’ve conjured up the release of ‘Congo Guitar’, the debut solo album from revered fret wizard Kahanga ‘Vumbi’ Dekula, due for delivery to your turntables from 15th September. Dekula is …
Album Review: Jonny Wickham – Terra Boa: Vibrant new jazz with a Brazilian heartbeat
Well you can’t say that Jonny Wickham’s first solo album lacks ambition. ‘Terra Boa‘, out now via Fresh Sound Records sees the jazz bassist and composer leading a sizeable band through a set of originals that in his words make up a ‘love letter’ to the complex tapestry of Afro-Brazilian rhythms. Added to that he’s …
Gallery: Jah Wobble & the Invaders of the Heart – The Grand Social, Dublin 10.06.2023
The Legend that is Jah Wobble brought his band The Invaders of the Heart to Dublin’s The Grand Social as part of his latest tour, known from their blend of Dub/World/Punk & Experimental. Cormac Figgis was there to catch the action. Photos Cormac Figgis:
Album Review: ‘Yalla Miku’ – Yalla Miku : Gnawa rhythms, East African roots and post punk dynamism connect on this electric debut.
Every city has a true face, a side which, as Lydon said ‘the tourists never see” and revealing that real identity is what Yalla Miku are all about. Formed by the founder of Swiss label Bongo Joe, musician Cyril Yeterian and his band mate from the aptly named Cyril Cyril, percussionist Cyril Bondi, Yalla Miku’s …
Live Review + Gallery: WOMADelaide Day 4 (Monday, 13th March, 2023)
Day 4, and after the previous three wonderful days, there was a sense of relief entering the final day, as the constant roving from stage to stage to get the shots had taken a bit of a collective toll on my lower body. However, in the name of my art, I push through the discomfort …
News: Xylouris White announce new album, The Forest In Me, for April release, and accompany it with first single, the jaunty Latin White.
The duo of Jim White (Dirty Three and regular Ed Kuepper collaborator) and Greek laouto player, Giorgos Xylouris, collaboratively known as Xylouris White have announced news of upcoming album, The Forest In Me. It is the duo’s sixth studio album, and seventh overall following the release of their self-released Live At Columbus Theatre 2013 in …
News/Tracks : Afrobeat alumni Dele Sosimi announces new album ‘The Confluence’ with a mighty double single shake down.
You wouldn’t bet on some collaborations happening. So having a touchstone afrobeat musician and band leader Dele Sosimi team up with long standing indie songsmith Sam Duckworth (aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) sounds almost like one of those longshots. Except now comes news of Sosimi’s next album ‘The Confluence’ coming to the shelves via …
Album Review: João Selva- Passarinho : Re-shaping samba soul, funk and pop with a fresh momentum.
The troubadour will travel but they always have roots. Brazilian song-crafter João Selva may have ended up in Lyon but those formative years in Ipanema and Rio is at the heart of his borderless grooves. Schooled in bossa nova and the traditions of Capoeira, steeped in the diasporic riches of Brazilian music and gifted with …
Album Review: Seljuk Rustum – Cardboard Castles : melodic, mischevious and magical, fresh soundscapes and songs from Southern India.
Womad used to run the strapline ‘bringing you the best music you’ve never heard’. Well the sonic explorers at Hive Mind Records are working on their own version of the same mission. Theirs is an internationalist mindset, navigating the rich expanse of contemporary global music and sharing the work of forward thinkers with a similar …
Track: Sao Paulo’s Tagua Tagua delivers natural nu-soul vibes with ‘Colors’, a taster from new album ‘Tanto’.
Signs are that Sao Paulo singer-songwriter Felipe Puperi (a.k.a Tagua Tagua) is really finding his groove. Known in Brazil for his sharp production work and fronting the slick alt-rockers Wannabe Jalva, his debut solo record, 2019’s Inteiro Metade, turned the spotlight on Puperi as a crafter of fresh tunes leaning in a soul pop direction. …