Neil Spencer
Yasmine Hamdan: Ya Nass - review
(Crammed) Since forming electro duo Soapkills in the late 1990s, Beirut-born Hamdan has been reimagining Arabic tradition for modern times. This solo debut, made with French producer Marc Collin , updates the intense, sensual style of bygone divas suc
Patty Griffin: American Kid - review
(Columbia) Centred around her father's passing, this seventh from the American country singer is a suitably ruminative affair, mixing her sadness with cameos from his life. Its gentle acoustic arrangements, full of intricate guitars and mandolin, come w
Kobo Town: Jumbie in the Jukebox - review
(Cumbancha) Oddly, this dazzling update of calypso tradition comes not from Trinidad but Toronto, where Kobo Town founder Drew Gonsalves was relocated at age 13, later setting aside teenage rock interests for the music of his homeland. The result is an i
Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s and 80s - review
(Soundway) The resurrection of Africa's overlooked musical legacy continues apace. This lovingly packaged collection turns to the less celebrated sounds of east Africa during the 1970s and 80s. With Nairobi sucking in acts from DRC and Tanzania, a diversMoussu T e lei Jovents: Artemis - review
(Le Chant du Monde) Gallic charm comes no more engaging than this Marseilles troupe with their melange of cafe chanson, Mediterranean blues and Caribbean flavours, sung in both French and the antique Occitan dialect. This fifth outing typifies their a
Steve Earle: The Low Highway - review
(New West) Steve Earle 's status as American legend keeps growing, helped by a recent role in David Simon's Treme and a book deal for his memoir and a second novel. He covers his musical spectrum on this 15th album, beginning with a stark gaze at Amer
Owiny Sigoma Band: Power Punch - review
(Brownswood) The Euro-African import-export trade continues in full swing. This London-Nairobi troupe were spawned in Kenya when five young Brits met Joseph Nyamungu, a master of the eight-stringed African lyre. Their debut brought deft techno touches to
Rokia Traore: Beautiful Africa - review
(Nonesuch) Ever the shape-shifter, Malian diva Rokia Traore has previously mixed it with such western influences as the Kronos Quartet. That this fifth outing embraces rock is no shock given her guitar playing (she grew up a Dire Straits fan), but it's
Marius Neset: Birds - review
(Edition) Young Scandinavian jazzers continue to surprise and delight with their unorthodoxy. Extravagantly gifted 27-year-old Marius Neset is a case in point. A fluent tenor saxophonist, he's also a composer able to shape-shift between classicism and