In a career which spans over a decade and includes eight collaborative and solo albums, Azam Ali has confirmed her place as one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers in the world music scene today. Looking at her entire body of work, it is hard to deny Azam her rightful place among the best singers and …
There aren’t many hip-hop artists out there today who give a damn about putting positive messages in their music, but Michael Franti is one of them. Ever since his days with seminal group Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Franti has infused his sounds with insightful and thought-provoking lyricism, and this latest Spearhead joint is no …
Chamber Music is a collaboration between Ballake Sissoko, who plays the traditional kora, a lute-harp from Mali, and Vincent Segal, the French cellist who plays for the trip-hop band Bumcello. It is also, quite simply, one of the most elegant and beautiful recordings of world music in recent years. At a time when cross-cultural …
Vas vocalist Azam Ali, Axiom of Choice’s multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian, and producer/remixer Carmen Rizzo have joined forces to create a globe-spanning sound that the trio calls ‘folk music for the 21st century’. Known collectively as Niyaz, the trio’s first eponymous release is a hypnotic, ecstatic, and eminently danceable album that represents the best of both traditional world …