MUSIC

The Dark, Brainy and Radiant Rap of an Ex-Offender From Belarus—Sirop, ‘Strashila,’ 2020

March 11th, 2020|Country: Belarus|

Once an aspiring musician, Sirop (Сiроп) became addicted to heroin and spent two decades in and out of detention. Now in his late forties, he is the rising star of Belarusian hip-hop.

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part III: East African Express

February 3rd, 2020|Country: Burundi, Rwanda|

Our last dispatch from the musical scene of Burundi, where genocide survivors, Christian youth ministers, and rural dwellers make fantastic music you know you want to dance to

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part II: Keeping Up With Kirundi

January 21st, 2020|Country: Burundi, USA|

Burundi has it all: afrobeat, gangsta rap, golden-voiced goddesses, bongo flava and boy bands. Come for them, stay for the zip bag suits and Cassava-themed trap anthems

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part I: Behold the Buja Beats

January 8th, 2020|Country: Burundi, Sweden|

Crooners, rappers and comeback kids, a diva and a soccer hymn: our first dispatch of freshest tunes from Burundi will satisfy your Afrobeat, R&B and hip-hop cravings and lift you up

The True Treasure of Monaco Is Its Deranged Music: Hardcore Hydrogen Anal, Hypercut, 2018

December 20th, 2019|Country: Monaco|

An avant-garde space adventure into the music of the 20th century from Monégasque metalheads who made a music video using Artificial Intelligence

Avant-Garde Music, Abstract Art, and Good Friends: ‘Do.So’ by Rolando Renè and ‘Trónco’ by Trónco from Torto Editions, 2019

December 9th, 2019|Country: Canada, Italy|

An Italian music label makes a premiere with two records of experimental music. One is a dramatic showcase of string musicians playing dangerously, another—an immersive easy listening experience

From Beslan hostage to hip-hop artist—Indi, ‘Perviy’, 2019

December 5th, 2019|Country: North Ossetia, Russia|

A survivor of the Beslan school siege and chronic illness creates soulful hip-hop about love, faith, and perseverance, blending Moscow moodiness with Caucasus mountains flair

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Music: Senyawa, Sujud, 2018

November 26th, 2019|Country: Indonesia|

Dark experimental doom folk duo from the center of Javanese culture makes bringing music back to nature a visceral, earthy experience with handmade instruments and radical approach to vocals

Music: Rytmus, Krstný Otec, 2016

November 15th, 2019|Country: Slovakia|

An exploration of Slovakia's cultural and political contexts as a rapper reflects on the two decades of his career which made him, a working class Roma boy, into a superstar

Music: Davlatmand Kholov and Abdoussatar Abdoullaev, Tadjikistan. Davlatmand, Art and Folk Music, 1992

November 5th, 2019|Country: Tajikistan|

Music from the mountains of Pamir infused with Sufi mysticism as performed by its master: a testament to the power of Tajik-Persian culture that will entice lovers of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Music: Mighty Sparrow, Soca Anthology: Doctor Bird, 2011

October 21st, 2019|Country: Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago|

The most honored king of calypso whose sharp tongue had turned to a variety of topics, like sex, race, slavery and politics, which he then fearlessly explored—a musical treasure still performing at 84

Music: Laetitia Zonzambe, Sanza Soul, 2017

October 10th, 2019|Country: Canada, Central African Republic|

A singer's resilient voice serves as a reminder that the Central African Republic isn't just about war and poverty, but has quite a cultural heritage that is reimagined for the contemporary audience

Music: Mitra Sumara, Tahdig, 2018

September 6th, 2019|Country: Iran, USA|

An NYC-based avant-garde band fronted by a singer who found her Persian roots reimagines the music of pre-Islamic Revolution Iran: a delectable adventure into Tehran's sexy disco past

Music: Cherrie, Sherihan, 2016

August 17th, 2019|Country: Somalia, Sweden|

The first album by the Somali-Swedish R&B diva whose song “163 För Evigt” became a sensation worldwide despite the language barrier: powerful music informed by growing up black in Europe

Music: Narasirato, Inoni Ana Totoraha, 2015

July 26th, 2019|Country: Solomon Islands|

A perfect soundtrack for preventing climate change from a 17 piece panpipe orchestra who live and work near the rainforest: traditional yet modern Solomon Islands music that lights up rock festivals

Music: Huarere, Homson Tribute, 2004

July 14th, 2019|Country: Vanuatu|

Reggae from Vanuatu that’s both a testament to the genre’s power and a potent reimagining of it, drenched in Oceanian culture and realities. Archipelago dwellers sure know how to make intelligent beach music

Music: Afro-Beat Airways, West African Shock Waves: Ghana & Togo 1972-1978, 2010

July 2nd, 2019|Country: Ghana, Togo|

1970s psychedelic funk from the less explored musically regions of West Africa: fresh soundings of the epoch that sometimes doesn’t seem like it could be cool again

Music: Tenzin Choegyal and Taro Terahara, The Awakened Heart, 2011

June 21st, 2019|Country: Australia, Japan, Tibet|

Calming, healing collection of mantras, both ancient and contemporary, in a collaboration between Tibetan musician based in Australia and the Japanese master of the bansuri flute

Music: Ngaiire, Blastoma, 2016

June 11th, 2019|Country: Australia, Papua New Guinea|

Dark, danceable future soul from Papua New Guinea in a sophomore album named after the singer’s childhood cancer: Ngaiire is a talent from Oceania to look out for

Music: Bamba Pana, Poaa, 2018

May 29th, 2019|Country: Tanzania|

Singali reimagined for Dar Es Salaam’s dancefloors in this album of Tanzanian electronica of the future

Music: M.I.A., Arular, 2005

May 22nd, 2019|Country: Eelam Tamil, United Kingdom|

The vernacular of rootlessness, multiculturalism and politics of war in one of the greatest albums to come out in the 21st century so far

Music: Deben Bhattacharya, Zingari, 2011

April 25th, 2019|Country: Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Roma, Romania, Spain|

Following the routes of Roma migration across Europe via music

Music: Širom, I Can Be a Clay Snapper, 2017

April 19th, 2019|Country: Slovenia|

Imaginative, experimental take on multi-instrumental folk music

Music: Kondi Band, Salone, 2017

April 13th, 2019|Country: Sierra Leone, USA|

Thumb piano electronica that brings tradition to the dancefloor

Music: Yma Sumac, Mambo!, 1954

April 9th, 2019|Country: Peru|

Peruvian goddess sings: four and a half octaves and a whole lot of mambo

Music: Panama! 2: Latin Sounds, Cumbia Tropical & Calypso Funk on the Isthmus, 1967-77

April 2nd, 2019|Country: Panama|

Music: Bombino, Deran, 2018

February 4th, 2019|Country: Niger|

Music: Ne Zhdali, Hey Driver Cool Down the Horses, 1994

January 25th, 2019|Country: Estonia|

Multicultural polyphony with Jewish and Mediterranean roots from Tallinn created during the era of underground Soviet rock music

Music: Noisia, Split the Atom, 2010

January 17th, 2019|Country: Netherlands|

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