Pepe Deluxé Are in Exquisitely Eccentric Form on ‘Phantom Cabinet Vol. 1’
When you open Pepe Deluxé’s Phantom Cabinet, you have to jump in with both feet. Even setting wacky instrument antics aside, it’s a musical baptism worth total immersion.
Adriane Pontecorvo
Adriane Pontecorvo is a native San Franciscan with a penchant for global beats. She is a music programmer for community radio station WFHB and studies ethnomusicology at Indiana University.
Istanbul’s Islandman Sounds the World on ‘Godless Ceremony’
Islandman want to learn more about the world through every sound they play, and it’s hard to argue with that kind of driven desire.
Park Hye Jin Is an Electronic Anti-hero on Effortless ‘Before I Die’
Before I Die has a fashionably unfinished quality, something that works in electronic producer Park Hye Jin’s favor. Park makes for an ideal musical antihero.
Guitarist Guy Buttery’s ‘One Morning in Gurgaon’ Is a Spontaneous Dream
Guy Buttery, Mudassir Khan, and Mohd. Amjad Khan’s music on One Morning in Gurgaon is inspired, a transcontinental encounter that stirs the imagination.
Cochemea’s ‘Vol. II: Baca Sewa’ Brings a Unique Point of View to Spiritual Jazz
Cochemea’s Vol. II: Baca Sew is an outstanding example of music and meaning working in tandem to produce an impactful record. This is soul music in every sense of the word.
Fatima Al Qadiri’s ‘Medieval Femme’ Finds Strength in Dreamy Electronic Subtlety
Fatima Al Qadiri’s Medieval Femme possesses loping curves and jagged edges, luscious melodrama balancing ultra-cool and contemporary beats.
Rey Sapienz and the Congo Techno Ensemble Debut with Viscerally Stunning ‘Na Zala Zala’
Rey Sapienz and the Congo Techno Ensemble’s jarring electronics and vocals are distressing by design, telling stories through multiple musical dimensions and flexing their skill for invention.
Perila’s Ambient Debut Is a Waking Dream in Constant Motion
Perila creates uncanny worlds crackling with both elemental force and human ingenuity. How Much Time is a glowing debut worth a full and dedicated listening.
Avant-Garde Tuvan Group Yat-Kha Return with Stripped-Down Folk-Rock on ‘We Will Never Die’
It is immensely satisfying to hear new music from the ever-innovative minds of Yat-Kha. Even better, though, is the sheer quality of We Will Never Die.
Angélique Kidjo Continues to Shine with Timely ‘Mother Nature’
The common thread on Mother Nature is Angélique Kidjo’s energy, shining through in a voice that never seems to lose strength or agility.
Sunny Jain Keeps Community Alive Through Music and Image on ‘Phoenix Rise’
Making music in quarantine, isolated from bandmates and audiences, feels like the antithesis of everything Sunny Jain has done so far.