Ayany Jowi ~ The Raging Buffalo

Kuku Sebsibe ~ Kuku Sebsibe

Nueen ~ Link

V/A ~ Zar: Songs for the spirits

“Zār is a possession cult practised on the outskirts of the rapidly modernising societies of North Africa and the Middle East. It’s a phenomenon that crosses not only geographical boundaries but also those determined by the rational mind. The boundaries here are not clearly defined; multiple worlds intertwine. Zar cant be enclosed in a single

RP Boo ~ I’ll Tell You What!

“The richest place in the world is the cemetery. And it’s not because of the jewelry that people might have on. It’s because of what they had in their mind that they wanted to give, but didn’t have anyone to give it to. That’s how I learned that it’s not about me, it’s about the

Bradford Thomas ~ Bradventure 4

“Another journey of freestyle flips, sketches and loops.” — Bradford Thomas

Vague Imaginaires ~ L’île D’or

“The music of Grenoble gardener Denis Morin aka Vague Imaginaires cross-pollinates modal synthetics, equatorial ambience, and drum circle minimalism into ecological fantasias of “natural forces and enchanted worlds,” seven of which comprise his spacious debut, L’île D’or. Recorded in anticipation of the birth of his daughter (an experience Morin likens to “an ancestral journey”), the

Lingo Seini et son groupe ~ Musique Hauka

“One of the first full-length recordings of Hauka ritual music. Praise songs and sacred incantations to the spirits to inhabit the body. Call and response chants, the pluck of a monochord lute and relentless pounding percussion combine in a dizzying nonstop session. The Hauka movement started nearly a century ago and has persisted on the

Taarab: Songs of the Swahili Coast

“Poetry and languid charm,” is how legendary recording pioneer Hugh Tracey once described the city of Mombasa, and the phrase applies just as nicely to the music known as Taarab. Taarab consists of sung poetry with Arabic-influenced melodies and a laid back groove that gives the music a pleasing, hypnotic sound. Taarab was born in

Lee Evans ~ Aphasic Forest

“Weaving an intricate web of biomorphic tones, modular synthesist Lee Evans constructs the transportative Aphasic Forest. Improvisational and winding generative structures slowly expand to encompass the chattering of virtual insects and synthesized bird calls in a hypnotic habitat of chance. Biomimicry is a central theme in Evans’ work from sound design to auto-compositional process and