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Berkshire Choral Festival

Music and World

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Ben Zabo - Ben Zabo

Ben Zabo - Ben Zabo

Vibrant and inventive Malian Afro-beat, occasionally let down by naff blues guitar

(3 stars)22 May 2012

Described as Malian Afro-Beat, Ben Zabo’s music expands its scope well beyond the Fela Kuti-inspired sounds of 1970s Bamako to incorporate the bwa rhythms and melodies of his own Bo region, alongside elements of funk and rock. Slick production has…

Tinariwen - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Thu 5 Apr 2012

Tinariwen - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Thu 5 Apr 2012

An evocative but occasionally flat show from the Tuareg blues guitarists

(3 stars)23 Apr 2012

A beguiling mix of blues guitar sounds, gently insistent but sometimes complex rhythms and desert sensibilities is what’s always made Tinariwen unique. Live, the blend is all the more compelling, which must be due, at least in part, to the sheer…

Kuljit Bhamra, Jacqueline Shave, John Parricelli - Postcards From Home

Kuljit Bhamra, Jacqueline Shave, John Parricelli - Postcards From Home

Cross-cultural fusion partly inspired by the Hebrides

(3 stars)18 Apr 2012

(Keda Records) A fresh and deftly executed cross-cultural fusion featuring a tabla player with strong jazz connections, a classical violinist and a jazz guitarist, playing music inspired in part by the Hebrides. Violinist Jacqueline Shave’s ‘Machair to…

Various Artists - Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2

Various Artists - Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2

Two-album reissue of classic compilations from 1989 and 1993

(3 stars)18 Apr 2012

(World Circuit) The sinuous dance rhythms of the Colombian music known as Cumbia are captured in this nicely packaged and documented two-album reissue of two compilations regarded as the classics of the genre, which first brought Cumbia to wider…

Batida - Batida

Batida - Batida

African-inspired electronica record that probably works best in a club setting

(3 stars)8 Mar 2012

(Soundway) Having carved out a reputation for unearthing rare tracks of touchstone Latin musics, Soundway now champions hot sounds heard today on the streets of Luanda. Angolan/Portuguese DJ Mpula (aka Pedro Coquenão) creates electronic dance music…

Various Artists - World Routes: On The Road

Various Artists - World Routes: On The Road

30-track BBC Radio 3 compilation featuring Toumani Diabaté, Tito Paris and Ilham Al Madfai

(4 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Nascente) How would we hear diverse world musics without Radio 3? Thank goodness they still have the budget to travel to far-flung places to capture stunning sounds from ordinary musicians we’d never know about otherwise. Since 2000 the World Routes…

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

A groundbreaking album of brooding French-Arabic tones from trumpeter

(5 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Harmonia Mundi) The brooding French-Arabic quarter tones of Ibrahím Maalouf’s trumpet first seduced as guest on the late Lhasa de Sela’s desert island disc The Living Road. Bewitching then, Maalouf’s own debut with a brace of tremendous musicians…

Vieux Farka Touré set for Celtic Connections 2012

Vieux Farka Touré set for Celtic Connections 2012

Blues and country influence from son of legendary Malian guitar player

27 Jan 2012

Farka Touré. Where have you heard that name before? Vieux is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, one of the true stars of the world music scene. Farka Touré senior passed away in 2006, but junior has picked up where he left off…

Five picks from the Celtic Connections programme

Five picks from Celtic Connections 2012

Featuring Zoe Muth, Jack Bruce, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins and Vieux Farka Touré

6 Jan 2012

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers The year in Americana 2011 belongs to Gillian Welch and the release of her album The Harrow & the Harvest, but amongst a promising field of young female country singers, Zoe Muth stands out. With her ear for an instant…

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Orchestral backing and lots of special guests leads to a fun if over-wrought latin-funk-rock record

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

(Rubyworks) For their fifth studio album the Mexican acoustic rock duo have teamed up with 13-piece orchestra C.U.B.A. to rework nine previous compositions. The radically increased personnel (which is also augmented by several guests including Cuban…

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