![Album Review: Oumou Sangaré – Timbuktu [World Circuit; April 2022]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/oumou-sangare_timbuktu_lp_4050538752564_front-lo-res-335x335.jpeg)
Oumou Sangaré is back on the World Circuit and we are here for it. After a hiatus from the British label during which she recorded Mogoya and Acoustic on the French label Nø Førmat! Mali’s Oumou Sangaré returns with Timbuktu, a luminous collection of eleven songs recorded between Bamako and...
Album Review
Articles![Album Review: Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee – BAMANAN [Real World Records; February 2022]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bamanan-rokia-kone-cover-335x335.jpeg)
The roses go to Rokia… New on Real World Records and fresh from a coveted Songlines cover, Mali’s Rokia Koné, nicknamed “The Rose of Bamako”, blesses us with BAMANAN, which has been out since February 18th, and is a collaboration realised remotely with Irish super producer Jacknife Lee. Already a...
![Album Review: Alabaster DePlume – GOLD [International Anthem; April 2022]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/alabaster-deplume-gold-cover-335x335.jpeg)
Alabaster DePlume’s warmth shines through on the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2020 album To Cy and Lee but listeners beware: it’s not for the faint-hearted. GOLD is an exploration of being human at a time when love, war, justice, self-care, selfishness and over-sharing compete and collide, showering us with...
![Album Review: Ry Cooder & Taj Mahal – Get on Board [Nonesuch Records; April 2022]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/get-on-board-cover-335x335.jpeg)
Bringing forward influences from the American folk and blues revival of the 1940s, Get on Board (2022) by Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal is a joint love affair with the music of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, an album in particular, Get on Board (1952). As Taj Mahal reminisced, “If we wanted...
![Album Review: Bandua – Bandua [Frente Bolivarista; February 2022]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/bandua-cover-335x335.jpeg)
In this thoughtful and heartfelt offering, Portuguese duo Bandua rework local folklore for a modern audience. Deep grooves and downtempo electronica interweave with traditional instruments, songs and stories on timeless themes of revelation, transformation and human expression. It’s a self-proclaimed love letter to their home, and it’s easy to fall...
![Album Review: Renu – You Are Fearless (Tumi Obhoi / তুমি অভয়) [November 2021]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/renu-you-are-fearless-335x335.jpeg)
The music of percussionist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist RENU (Renu Hossain) is a tour de force of experimentation from a maestro craftswoman informed by decades of practice and study by way of the Queer British Asian experience. RENU’s work is skilfully textured and sonically varied, with each new addition to...
![Album Review: El Buho – Natura Sonora [Shika Shika; November 2021]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/el-buho-natura-sonora-cover-335x335.jpeg)
El Buho – globetrotting DJ and producer Robin Perkins – took nature as inspiration for this latest release, a marrying of folk, electronica and found sound. Self-proclaimed ‘owl by night, environmentalist by day’, Perkins’ reverence for the natural world shines through in this downtempo organic electronica that is bright with...
![Album Review: Manzanita y su Conjunto – Trujillo, Perú 1971 – 1974 [Analog Africa; July 2021]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/manzanita-y-su-conjunto-trujillo-335x335.jpeg)
Savour, swing, rhythm and joy distinguish the magic guitar of Manzanita, spanning around the golden age of Peruvian Cumbia. Trujillo, Perú 1971 – 1974 comprises the personal style developed by the self-taught guitarist Berardo Hernández (1943-2007). Along with his Conjunto: Antonio Medina (bongos), Héctor Mattos (congas), Ricardo Valles (timbales), Enrique Ibérico...
Familial and unrefined, Binga encompasses the fundamental sounds of Samba Touré’s heritage. It is named after Samba’s hometown and its focus of thought is rooted deep within his culture. It is the most nostalgic Samba Touré Glitterbeat‘s album to date and also the most intimate, giving Wande a run for its...
![Album Review: João Selva – Navegar [Underdog Records; April 2021]](https://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/joao-selva-navegar-cover-335x335.jpeg)
João Selva spent years as an unofficial ambassador for traditional Brazilian music, touring as part of an ensemble across the world before settling in France. Yet it was here, meeting and collaborating with French producer Patchworks, that allowed Selva to tap back into the roots of his musical upbringing. The...
