World music
New Track: Noori & His Dorpa Band release debut single ‘Al Amal’, scorching ethio-soul vibes from Port Sudan.
So TikTok does have a function! Excavated from the app by those seekers of the undiscovered at Ostinato Records, Noori & His Dorpa Band bring the power and passion of Beja culture direct from their home base on the Sudanese coast. Out front, leader Noori plays a self- built, hybrid tambo-guitar, a welded wonder that …
Album Review: Satellites’ self-titled debut – re-energising Anatolian rock and looking beyond…
When you enter the deified Anatolian Rock arena you’ve got to be sure you bring something new to the show, otherwise you’ll disappear under the weight of comparison with the past greats, from Mogollar to Koray to Karaca. In recent years Babu Zula have pumped the bass bins of dub and reggae into their spiralling …
Track/Video: Sessa previews new album ‘Estrela Acesa’ with ‘Gostar do Mundo’, a shimmering slice of Brazilian pop from Tropicalia’s new frontier
You would be wrong to pass off Sessa’s music as laid back. The Sao Paulo born singer – songwriter has already demanded much more than casual attention with his sultry and sensual 2019 debut album ‘Grandeza’. That record introduced a musician entwined with the pulse and poetry of Brazilian music but not engulfed by the …
New Track: Akusmi previews ‘Fleeting Future’, title track from his forthcoming album of intricate minimalism and vibrant electro-acoustic conversations.
London based composer/producer Pascal Bideau aka Akusmi doesn’t do music that simply grows on you. Want proof then tune into those digi-platforms and catch his new track ‘Fleeting Future’ from his soon-come album of the same name. It’s a piece that draws you into a world of sound which flourishes as you listen, from the …
Track/Video: Istanbul’s dark electro-rock agitators Lalalar deliver ‘Alba Deme Lazim Olur’ ahead of album debut ‘‘Bi Cinnete Bakar’.
The sound of the Istanbul underground is juddering ever nearer to your listening posts in the shape of electro-alt-rock agitators Lalalar. With a name that approximates (semi-ironically) ‘The Wise Guys’, this trio has the in-built swagger, edge and beat power to tear up any template of new wave Anatolian psyche that you might cosy up …
Album Review: The Ano Nobo Quartet – ‘The Strings of Sao Domingos’: guitar driven rhythms and sumptuous songs from Cabo Verde’s soul.
New York’s Ostinato Records mission to recover and re-examine the rich legacy of lost musical cultures is tireless. You may have already been knocked out by the label’s benchmark trio of retrospectives that charted the rippling currents of Cabo Verde’s music but now they are bringing our attention to more contemporary sounds from the community …
Track: Global beat fusionists The Bongo Hop drop ‘The Red Hill’, prime Latin hip hop vibes to announce soon come mini album.
French musician/producer Etienne Sevet (aka. The Bongo Hop), traveller, sound selector, trumpeter has his finger on so many pulses. Funk, soul, jazz, afro-grooves all pumped up with that racy Latin heartbeat from his one time home Colombia. It’s a blend that makes for a distinct Bongo Hop sound, rhythmically slick, smartly arranged songs for head, …
Album Review: Gonora Sounds – Hard Times Never Kill: Jump, jive, bounce and bite, direct from Harare.
Heard about ‘paying your dues’– well Gonora Sounds leader and inspiration Daniel Gonora’s back-story makes him a bone fide member of the dues-paying club. Twenty years ago the blind guitarist and song writer was a key player in Zimbabwe’s ground-breaking Jairos Jiri Band, a group that tragically imploded as successive members passed away. Forced to …
Track: Happening afro-soul fusionists Jembaa Groove present ‘Mokole’ ahead of debut album ‘Susuma’
A lot of bands get together from chance meetings in a bar, or a gig or knowing friends of friends but not usually after a chat in a Berlin kindergarten playground. Still that’s how Jembaa Groove got started, co-founding musicians Yannick Nolting and Eric Owusu on the school pick up run, bonding over the possibilities …
Album Review: Dowdelin – ‘Lanmou Lanmou’: Creole rhythms and a Soul-Jazz twist make for the sound of now.
It’s been over a couple of years since Lyon located fusionists Dowdelin were last seen bouncing across the WOMAD stage and pulling the horizontal sun soakers up onto their dancing feet. Now comes evidence of renewed activity with their latest album ‘Lanmou Lanmou’, available from 28th January from Underdog Records, and proof that the band …