If you’d like to know more about, understand and deep dive into the last two decades of the London grassroots scene, you can’t help but reach out to Adir Tov. The Hackney-based singer/songwriter, guitarist, band-leader, producer and event organiser, better known as Planetman, is one of the most representative characters...
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Alostmen, a percussive four-piece from Ghana, made their UK debut at Womad this year following a 2021 Songlines Newcomer of the Year award win. Stevo Atambire, charismatic band leader with a knot of hair coiled across his forehead, belts out the vocals and attacks his kologo. The skin-covered gourd with...
Early in October, the Argentinian electronic music producer and ethnomusicologist Uji (Luis Maurette) shared “Lunay”, giving us a glimpse of a harmonious, calming landscape made of flowing waters, motionless bodies and capturing vocals. The track is the final single taken from Uji’s upcoming album, TIMEBEING, which will be released on...
Son Rompe Pera electrified a sleepy Sunday tent at Womad this year; their high-energy cumbia-punk kicked off an early afternoon tropical dance party. Thrash marimba and infectious rhythms punctuated by searing guitar and wild yells drove a dazed crowd into a joyful frenzy. The band’s passion for the new-from-old sound...
Pascuala Ilabaca wants us to take heed, as she responds to traditional Andean folks songs with a fierce feminist voice. Now she tells us, it is the time to respond to an old rhetoric. Misogyny has no place in the future of her Chilean culture. Her new production Por Qué Se...
We don’t know if a biography of Alex Figueira will ever be published, but if it is, it’s arguably going to be such an intricate, complex and of course, interesting work that its author will eventually end up on the Booker Prize shortlist. Jokes apart, to recall, discern and write...
The Maghreban. Even the name had enough air of mystery about it that you could be forgiven thinking this was the new alter ego of Hussein Sherbini or Maga Bo. The first 15 seconds of ‘Eddies’, the intro of the debut album 01DEAS released on R&S, only confirmed the impression. Not...
To save the world you have to start somewhere… And what’s better than the smooth and soothing sound of a marimba as an inception? At Rhythm Passport, we always look forward and warmly embrace projects aiming to effectively make a real difference through music. Some months ago, at Womex in...
Vieux Farka Touré‘s sixth solo album, Les Racines [the roots], was released on June 10th 2022 via World Circuit. The album’s sole purpose was to address more of the unavoidable conflicts going on in Mali today, not forgetting the fundamental topics at the core of this music. In light of the lockdowns in 2020, Vieux...
In times of social distancing, travel chaos and restrictions, it’s uplifting to meet up (even if only figuratively speaking) with people who made cultural and musical inclusivity and collectivism their credo. Since the meaning of the band’s name (‘serendipity’ in English), Nasip Kismet is a breath of fresh air in the...
