Soweto Kinch’s White Juju dropped us on a political see-saw of time. Unsettling. Disturbing. But with an overtone of hope. It was a brutally honest and intellectual investigation into the “powerful suspicion that the current receptivity to the black experience… may only be momentary”. All conveyed through an uncommon mix of...
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After winning three Grammys, it’s clear Cécile McLorin Salvant has been faced with artistic compromise. I felt she had sadly succumbed to sticking with her status quo. The performance felt bedded in her safe place. However she is a real master of reinventing songs and it’s her embodiment of every...
Judi Jackson is able to tease out more erotic energy from a crowd than eighteen months of lockdown boredom. Or maybe it’s the combination of both. This was a night packed with couples flirting, whispering and grinding. I was enchanted too, and just one worrying step away from trying to...
Archie Shepp may not have executed his ideas with the same technical dexterity I imagine of earlier years. However in his mid-eighties, he still delivered a beautifully effectual experience that transcended any physical limitations. Alongside Jason Moran, their musical ideas revealed their reverence towards the plight of inequality and the complexities...
With Liraz there are no half measures and once she’s on stage, you end up following her unconditionally. You are initially tantalised by her glittery electro-pop world by the Middle Eastern-scented aromatic vibes of her tunes, then she entraps you in it with her stage presence, dedication and social commitment...
With the dance tent already in full swing, the live accompanying bands Banter and Urban Folk Theory were at large most often and their unflagging efforts were as much of a spectacle as the dance portion itself. The Urban Folk Theory was more favoured among the younger audiences here, challenging...
The London sound has never been so inclusive and welcoming. Soothsayers, one of the most all-encompassing expressions of the British capital’s music scene, will visit Woolwich and Woolwich Works on the 9th of October for a show enriching the Black History Month event calendar. The South-London ensemble has always been...
Ever since the festival relocated to the West Mid Showground in 2007, its varied global line-up has continued to grow. Released from the clutches of its traditional folk narrative, it brought forward the orthodox values of its folkie origins, the Shrewsbury Folk Festival has fostered a place for world and...
There was something extra jubilant and euphoric about the Tallinn Music Week that managed to take place, against all odds, in the latter part of August. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, Estonia invited delegates and music lovers from the world over to flee any which way they could, to Tallinn Medieval Old...
‘Berlin, the city where everything works’, said no Berliner ever. Having witnessed the world-famous German technology out of action and run through the crowded Gneisenaustrasse U-Bahn exit (the one not closed due to construction), we scraped through the front doors of Passionskirche and found empty seats. Ironically enough, around here...