Album Review: Ariwo – Quasi [MANANA Records; May 2019]

A four piece, Ariwo is made up of: Hammadi Valdes from Cuba on percussion; Oreste Noda; Canadian Jay Phelps (a renowned trumpeter who has played with Hugh Masekela, Wynton Marsalis and Soweto Kinch, among others); and Iranian-born composer/producer Pouya Ehsaei. They specialise in bringing traditional rhythms together into a modern…

Artists: Ariwo

Event Review: Womad 2017 (Malmesbury, 30th July 2017)

This year, we only got a glimpse of the music bonanza offered by the Womad UK weekend. Our stay in Malmesbury consisted of a hit-and-run or a ‘toccata-and-fugue’, in-keeping with the musical topic, and saw us pay a visit to Charlton Park on the last day of the event. Still,…

Artists: Ariwo , Benjamin Zephaniah , Benjamin Zephaniah and The Revolutionary Minds , Chico Trujillo , King Ayisoba , Msafiri Zawose , Noureddine Khourchid , Noureddine Khourchid & the Whirling Dervishes of Damascus

Album Review: Ariwo – Ariwo [Manana Records, June 2017]

Ariwo‘s eponymous EP may only be four tracks long, but the length of the tracks gives it more of an album feel and, indeed, one on an opus level. Bridging an extraordinary cultural and global gap, this quartet is one part Iranian and three parts Cuban and explores the rich…

Artists: Ariwo

Event Review: Manana//Cuba – A Night of Afro-Cuban Collaborations @ Barbican (London, 26th May 2017)

That euphoric swelling an artist feels when they connect with their audience is what rumba musicians describe as ‘Manana’. The purity of this Cuban chemistry was the motivation behind the 2016 Manana//Cuba Festival in Santiago de Cuba, the Manana record label, and subsequently this month’s Barbican gig. Three friends are…

Artists: Ariwo , Dj Tennis , Obbatuké , Plaid , Soundspecies , Yelfris Valdés

Review: Ariwo & A Guy Called Gerald @ The Pickle Factory (London, 16th April 2016)

Ariwo are a little-known, and newly-established, world fusion act. Led by sound designer, Pouya Ehsaei, they are a quartet of celebrated instrumentalists exploring Afro-Cuban, Iranian and electronic atmospheres. Their ever-growing list of accolades and projects is immense, including trumpeter Yelfris Valdes’ participation in the Buena Vista Social Club, and Latin…

Artists: A Guy Called Gerald , Ariwo

Preview: La Linea Festival (London, 17th – 28th April 2016)

As it’s happening since 2001, for ten days in April, London sounds and plays Latino. The responsibility rests on ¡COMO NO! which, 15 years ago, started to organise one of the most chéveres Festivals of the London music scene. La Linea has indeed brought to the British capital some of the finest,…

Artists: A Guy Called Gerald , Ana Moura , Ariwo , Baloji , Calexico , Chico Trujillo , Criolo , Daymé Arocena , La Yegros