Boom.Diwan Use Jazz for Kuwaiti Pearl Diving Music
Boom.Diwan’s new LP is gorgeous, deeply personal work that emerges from encounters between performers with diverse backgrounds and expertise.
world music
Aboubakar Traoré and Balima Are Irresistible on ‘Sababu’
Sababu is a decisive step forward for Aboubakar Traoré and Balima, moving them toward becoming internationally focused West African folk-pop standouts.
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The 15 Best Brazilian Pop Albums of 2024
In Brazilian pop, it’s hard not to connect the best music released in 2024 with the themes that dominated politics, culture, and social media discussions.
Chatuye’s ‘Ahmuti’ Adds to a Garifuna Cultural Archive
The Chatuye archives offer a broader understanding of how Garifuna artists have sounded their identity in community with one another.
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The 10 Best Global Music Albums of 2024
In 2024’s best global music, celebrations of culture abound, with performers playing with sounds of home and family from the Caribbean to Tanzania and beyond.
Seasoned MPB Artist Rogê Conjures Classic Samba
For fans of samba and bossa nova, Rogê’s Curyman II is a heartfelt homage to these enduring and quintessentially Brazilian styles of music.
Alex E. Chávez’s ‘Sonorous Present’ Is a Beautiful Meditation
Due to the unique mix and execution of all the elements present, Alex E. Chávez’s Sonorous Present is richly rewarding and an astonishing sonic experience.
Dogo du Togo Thrills with the Alagaa Beats of ‘Avoudé’
Dogo du Togo’s music bursts with brilliant shades of funk, rock, and older West African traditions, familiar elements that come together in fresh sounds.
Afro Celt Sound System End a Chapter with ‘OVA’
With OVA, Afro Celt Sound System’s eighth LP, the long-running story comes to what seems to be its coda with the death of Simon Emmerson last year from cancer.
São Paulo’s Nomade Orquestra Sounds a Brassy Revolution
São Paulo band Nomade Orquestra’s ‘Terceiro Mundo’ is a shining example of a group capable of being original, inventive, and nonetheless broadly appealing.
Kolumbo and the Quest to Tour Every Tiki Bar in America
As a kid in landlocked Texas, Frank LoCrastro has wanted to make Exotica music. With Kolumbo’s sophomore LP, his dream of touring tiki bars is within reach.
Punk Troubadour Manu Chao Returns After 17 Years
Latin alternative artist Manu Chao sings for a better future on his first album in 17 years, Viva Tu. This music is meant to be lived with.