by Steven Miller
The music of The Zawose Queens reverberates with spirit and fire, drawing from ancestral vibrations through traditional instruments like the chizeze fiddle, illimba thumb piano, and ngoma drums. Voices soar and intertwine, evoking a deep connection to nature, ceremony, and ritual. Their debut album, Maisha, captures this blend of organic and electronic elements, presenting an album rich in the Gogo people’s musical tradition from central Tanzania’s Dodoma region.
Pendo and Leah Zawose’s debut marks a significant milestone as they become the first women in their famed musical family to lead an album. [...]
Released under Nefarious Industries on September 29, 2023, Bite of the Street by Mac Gollehon & The Hispanic Mechanics is a global music expedition. This collection of six tracks forges a thrilling pathway through the worlds of Latin, jazz, progressive rock, and electronic beats, interwoven with the rhythmic pulses and melodic phrasing typical of vibrant world music landscapes. This album is a celebration, a dynamic carnival of sounds that promises to whisk listeners from the familiar streets of their musical expectations into the bustling, vibrant avenues of the unknown.
Gollehon, a seasoned trumpet and [...]
The album My Land by Chiyomi Yamada & Baobab represents a cross-cultural experience that weaves the nostalgic threads of ancient Japanese folklore with the vibrant hues of modern European folk-pop. Spearheaded by the classically trained soprano Chiyomi Yamada, born in 1956, and backed by the eclectic indie folk group Baobab, the album is a bridge between the mystic past and the eclectic present.
Chiyomi’s musical evolution is remarkable, from studying classical music in Tokyo to immersing herself in Baroque and polyphonic vocal music in The Netherlands. Her tenure with ensembles like Alba Musica Kyo and her exploration of [...]
In world music, the fusion of traditional forms with contemporary sounds often results in a sound rich in heritage and expression. Fiesta at Caroga, the latest offering from The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, is a vibrant program of this synthesis, marrying the rhythms and textures of Afro-Caribbean music with the expansive possibilities of world music. Under the leadership of guitarist Jose Guzman, this octahedron ensemble embarks on a celebratory journey that is sure to get your blood and feet moving.
The album starts with “Descarga 2,” a track that sets the tone with its robust Afro-Caribbean salsa [...]
