Columns / Media / Music

'Riots have been nearly happening all my life,' poet-rapper Speech Debelle tells Louise Gray.

The new album by Norwegian artist Jenny Hval is astonishing - as much about poetry and story-telling as performance, says Louise Gray.

By Cheikh Lô

By Street Music of Haiti

By Various Artists

By Various Artists

By Syriana

By Jordi Savall

By Various Artists

Laurie Anderson is no stranger to the political landscape.

By Konono No 1

Dirtmusic's debut album.

The latest album from Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble.

Hoe-down fiddles, the rhythmic rattle of spoons and kazoos with some banjos marking time, and you could be – where? A fictive Appalachian town? Some 1930s travelling music show?

Folk music, as Empire and Love shows so well, is a music that has a grounding in both past and present, both populist and political.

An intimate album with the space for real spontaneity

Assembled under the artistic directorship of Victor Gama, Tsikaya is a superb example of how music is rooted in the society it comes from.

An elegant album, stripped bare to its poetry. Bass notes on the oud ground the songs wonderfully and Jubran’s voice is sinuous and expressive, full of colour tones.

Low whistle, hornpipes, kaval (this is a traditional Balkan flute) and practice chanter (and this a part of the Scots bagpiping set-up) are just a few of the instruments employed by Fraser Fifield on Stereocanto.

Mysterious and opulent in its songs, The Sky and the Caspian Sea is a début album that exudes confidence and poise and promises the start of a great future.