****-

#2

From Japan with Love

MINYO CRUSADERS

Released 26 June 2026

Blue Note Records

JAPAN

A deliriously joyous collision of historic Japanese folk traditions, exuberant Afro-Latin rhythms, irreverent humour and dance-floor swagger.

Formed in the working-class Tokyo suburb of Fussa, Minyo Crusaders are a ten-piece collective dedicated to revitalising min'yō - traditional Japanese working-class folk music. Historically sung by fishermen, farmers, and geishas, min'yō was once deeply ingrained in daily life but gradually receded into cultural preservation. Co-founded by guitarist Katsumi Tanaka and vocalist Freddie Tsukamoto, the group rescues these ancient melodies from dry museum archives and injects them with infectious Afrobeat, cumbia, salsa, and reggae backbeats. By marrying forgotten historical lyrics with vibrant global grooves, they have become international festival favorites and world-music charts regulars.

Topping the Transglobal World Music Chart upon entry this month, From Japan with Love expands Minyo Crusaders' kaleidoscopic vision with undeniable theatrical charm. Rooted in century-old songs about field work, regional festivals, and local legends, the record rescues min'yō from its status as a museum relic and reinvents it as a living party. Pentatonic vocal ornamentation and traditional call-and-response (kakegoe) blend effortlessly with blazing horn sections, tropical percussion, and funky, sun-baked rhythms.

A sly, self-aware humour underscores the entire record: seriousness is discarded in favour of tongue-in-cheek showmanship, syncopated comedic flourishes, and sheer festive abandon - reminiscent of the way UK's Madness took Madness took Caribbean ska and blue-beat and run it through a distinct, cheeky London cultural filter. Traditional chants morph into vibrant cumbia shakers and brass riffs, creating a joyful dialogue between East Asian heritage and Pan-African rhythm. It is a delightfully buoyant, groove-laden masterpiece that proves traditional folk music is at its absolute best when it makes you move your feet.

Minyo Crusaders Official

#3

América!

ORQUESTA AKOKÁN

Released 17 July 2026

Daptone Records

****-

Expanding on the classic Mambo sounds by blending Latin, soul, boogaloo and salsa - all while staying true to their Cuban roots

Orquesta Akokán is a Latin jazz ensemble formed by musicians from Cuba and New York, United States. It takes inspiration from mid-twentieth century mambo musicians such as Perez Prado, Beny Moré and Machito. The ensemble, whose name comes from the Yoruban word for "from the heart", began as a collaboration between US based arranger Michael Eckroth, producer Jacob Plasse, and vocalist Jose "Pepito" Gomez. They took a trip to Cuba together to record in the style of mid-century Cuban band music, and put an ensemble together during a trip to Havana with the help of Cesar Lopez of the group Irakere. Signed to Daptone Records, the ensemble has released three previous albums - a self-titled Grammy Award winning debut (2018), "16 Rayos" (2021) and "Caracoles" (2024).

Recorded live to tape at Penrose Recorders by Gabriel Roth, AMÉRICA! expands on the classic Mambo sounds that the band has become known for - blending Latin
soul, boogaloo and salsa - all while staying true to their Cuban roots. This release
introduces an all-star line-up of New York-based singers including Miriam Elhajli (who draws on Venezuelan, Moroccan and North American heritage), and Carolina Oliveros (of the Colombian diaspora band Combo Chimbita).

Tapping into the raw energy of seminal predecessors Celia Cruz (salsa's definitive global ambassador, who fused dazzling vocal power with joyous charisma) and La Lupe (whose raw, emotionally explosive performances redefined Latin soul and bolero) the ensemble turns the lens toward
something more intimate: themes of loss, upheaval, and the weight of the immigrant experience.

Describing their approach to the music on their website the band describes their approach as "(allowing) full, fearless musical expression and risk-taking outside of their comfort zones...the band continues to explore, develop and expand the island’s (Cuba's) rich rhythmic palette and repertoire - pushing the conventions of what is considered “mambo” - and drawing deeply from folkloric and religious traditions seldom heard in popular music. The Cuban musicians’ deep spiritual reservoir and knowledge of folklore informs the Orquesta’s contemporary sensibilities, allowing the album to remain true and faithful to the spirit of the music’s origins while pushing the grooves into previously uncharted vistas."

There's more...

Orquesta Akokán Official

NEW ENTRY

#4

I Take U Highlife

KAY SLICE

Released 25 September 2026

Agogo Records

****-

An inspired blend of ancestral Ghanaian highlife rhythms and sharp hip-hop storytelling, charting an exhilarating modern course of sound for the African diaspora.

With the release of his sophomore album, Amsterdam-based Ghanaian artist Kay Slice is giving notice as a creative force in the emergence of African sounds on the international stage. Growing up navigating two cultures, he initially connected with his roots through highlife and Afrobeat CDs played at Ghanaian family gatherings. Today, he merges these ancestral rhythms with organic neo-soul, hip-hop, and poetry. Determined to leave a profound impression of Africa's spiritual musical force on his generation, Slice crafts anthems of cultural connection, identity, and empowerment. His dynamic live performances are vibrant celebrations of rhythm, spirit, and liberation.

I Take U Highlife presents a dozen breathtaking songs that balance reverence for heritage with forward-thinking innovation. Co-produced with Anton de Bruin and driven by a robust Ghanaian ensemble, the album pays homage to vintage West African highlife, radically elevated with modern hip-hop energy and poetic lyricism. Two of the album's highlights, opening track "Adwuma" (featuring highlife legend Gyedu-Blay Ambolley) and "Kwame Nkrumah" (with the iconic Pat Thomas) perfectly capture this cross-generational dialogue, blending vibrant Ghanaian drums and balafon chants with Slice’s urgent, thoughtful verses. Elsewhere, "A-Way" , a collaborations with Jembaa Groove, and "Take Time" , with Peter Somuah, reinforce the project’s expansive, diaspora-facing vision.

There's more...

Kay Slice Official

NEW ENTRY

#5

XXX

BABA ZULU

Released 25 September 2026

Glitterbeat Records

****-

Three decades into their extraordinary journey, the legendary Istanbul-based collective BaBa ZuLa return with XXX – a hypnotic, uncompromising and undeniably vital statement of artistic freedom.

There are few groups in contemporary music whose work becomes more unpredictable with time. Fewer still who, after thirty years of existence, sound more adventurous, stranger and more radical than ever before. BaBa ZuLa belong to that rare category.

Often mentioned alongside other internationally acclaimed voices of the Turkish psychedelic resurgence, such as Gaye Su Akyol, Altın Gün and Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, BaBa ZuLa have always ventured furthest into experimentation, improvisation and unconventional song forms. Their music long ago transcended the boundaries of psychedelic rock, evolving into a singular sonic universe where Anatolian traditions collide with dub, electronics, performance art, avant-garde aesthetics and ritualistic trance. It is no coincidence that over the years they have collaborated with visionary artists such as Mad Professor, Jaki Liebezeit of Can, members of Faust and Einstürzende Neubauten and Warren Ellis of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Each encounter left its trace, yet none altered the essence of the band. BaBa ZuLa have remained committed to their own path — restless, exploratory and defiantly resistant to fashions and definitions.

XXX is the latest chapter in that story. The album moves through dreamlike narratives, social commentary and contemporary mythologies. Pulsating rhythms, transformed saz textures, analogue electronics and hypnotic grooves create a space where reality and imagination dissolve into one another.

There's more...

Baba Zulu Official

Bandcamp

Orchestra Mambo International Official

NEW ENTRY

#6

¡Apúntalo!

ORCHESTRA MAMBO INTERNATIONAL

Released 18 September 2026

Loft Recordings

****-

The debut album from group hailed as “the finest Latin orchestra in the UK just now” (BBC 6music The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show.

Orchestra Mambo International are an eminently groovy Latin big-band, based in the UK and featuring a multi-generational raft of global musicians from the old quarters of Latin music – Havana, Caracas and Bogotá – including Venezuelan 72-year-old lead-singer Carlos “Pachanga” Peña and driven by two unlikely lads from Yorkshire, in the north of England, Jonny Enright and Lubi Jovanovic.

Formed in 2022 by Enright, a traditional northern brass-band alumni turned songwriter/salsero and Jovanovic, Latin DJ, mentor, promoter and salsa encyclopaedia, Orchestra Mambo International’s debut album ¡Apuntalo! is an impeccable set list of good-time, New Yorican era (1970s) mambo, salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz gems featuring a guest appearance from UK flautist Chip Wickham and Cuban singer Claritzel Miyares.

Afro-Cuban, Afro-Latin, pachanga, guaracha, son montuno, big band salsa – whatever you want to call it, however you want to frame or dissect it – this is deftly played, flagrantly hot-stepping, block-rocking, and seriously swinging Puerto Rican-touched Latin music, with plenty of Tito Puente-inspired timbales and mambo shake. It’s dripping with a kind of groove-based, Latin authenticity that the likes of UK jazz outfit Ezra Collective have been impressing upon its audiences in recent years.

¡Apúntalo!, the group's debut album, derives its title from a catchphrase Carlos “Pachanga” Peña uses in songs during live shows, and it captures the spirit of the record and live show perfectly “get involved, lock into the groove, and make this moment yours”. Whilst the orchestra includes a coro (chorus) Carlos is the leading vocal light on the album.

Fatoumata Diawara Home Page

#7

Massa

FATOUMATA DIAWARA

Released 5 June 2026

No Format!

*****

MALI

A breathtaking, emotionally raw triumph that seamlessly weaves Western pop architecture with West African grit, reinforcing Diawara's status as global music royalty.

Fatoumata Diawara is a Grammy-nominated Malian singer, songwriter, and virtuoso guitarist whose artistic reach spans continents. Emerging originally as an actress, she revolutionized contemporary Wassoulou folk music with her 2011 debut Fatou. Over the last decade and a half, Diawara has established herself as an elite, borderless collaborator, working alongside legends like Herbie Hancock, Damon Albarn, and Gorillaz, and even becoming the first Black woman to design a signature guitar with Gibson Epiphone. Armed with a striking, sharp vocal register and formidable electric guitar chops, she continuously uses her global platform to confront fierce social issues, from female genital mutilation to the complexities of polygamy.

Massa (“The Eternal”) arrives as Diawara's most profoundly personal and authoritative work to date. Co-produced alongside her long-time creative ally, French pop icon -M- (Mathieu Cheddid), the 12-track record pulls off a miraculous balancing act: it embraces a slick, commercially confident global pop aesthetic without ever diluting the raw, subcontinental West African identity at its core.

Rather than treating traditional Malian instrumentation as static window dressing, Diawara and Cheddid use pentatonic scales and Mandinka rhythms to anchor heavy blues and rock inflections. The stellar single "Sigui" is a perfect example, pairing hypnotic, driving grooves with blistering guitar lines to tackle the quiet corrosion of polygamous family dynamics. Elsewhere, the album dives into deep reservoirs of grief and resilience. On the spare, shattering "Denko," sung in Bambara, Diawara delivers a quiet but devastating social critique regarding the isolating burdens faced by mothers of disabled children.

What places Massa on a higher tier than her previous records is the sheer gravity and patience of her voice, which carries the weight of a lived philosophy. It is a masterfully executed, zero-compromise record that captures an artist at the absolute peak of her powers, effortlessly bridging heritage and modern stadium-ready pop.

Mexican Institute of Sound Official

#8

Ruido Tovar

MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND, MERIDIAN BROTHERS

Released 22 May 2026

Ansonia Records

*****

MEXICO | COLUMBIA

A cross-border collaboration that reimagines the tropical traditions linking Mexico and Colombia.

This powerhouse collaboration unites Camilo Lara’s genre-bending project, Mexican Institute of Sound, with Eblis Álvarez’s avant-garde Colombian ensemble, Meridian Brothers. Lara is celebrated for fusing traditional Mexican sounds with modern electronic beats, hip-hop, and sampling. Álvarez is renowned for his eccentric, experimental approach to tropical music and psychedelic cumbia. Together, they represent the vanguard of modern Latin alternative music. By combining Lara's sharp production instincts with Álvarez’s masterful instrumentation and surrealist arrangements, the duo creates a sonic bridge between Mexico City and Bogotá, honorably disrupting and redefining the boundaries of Latin folklore.

Ruido Tovar functions as a thrilling, hallucinatory conceptual narrative honoring the legendary Mexican icon Rigo Tovar, who pioneered the fusion of cumbia with rock and synth-pop. Rather than delivering straight covers, Lara and Álvarez construct a sonic timeline tracking the mutation of tropical music from its analog foundations into a tech-centric future.

The record's narrative arc moves from organic roots to dizzying cybernetic experimentation, anchored by three representative tracks:

"Cumbia del lobo": The opener establishes the classic cumbia framework but immediately distorts it with Álvarez’s signature pitch-shifted guitars and unsettling textures, signaling a departure from standard nostalgia into a strange, dreamlike wilderness.

"Ritmo Babilonia" (feat. Beck): Representing the album’s peak cross-cultural collision, this track injects an urban, mid-tempo groove and eccentric vocal cameos, seamlessly marrying retro dancefloor instincts with modern global indie-pop production.

"Danzón 8bits": This track pushes the narrative into full-blown retro-futurism, completely dismantling traditional Afro-Caribbean ballroom arrangements and rebuilding them with chirping chiptune synthesizers and video-game bleeps.

Packed with analog warmth, distorted keys, and playful subversion, Ruido Tovar captures the camp and charisma of Tovar's original era while proving heritage is best honored through bold, tech-driven reinvention.

Crescendo Sunu Productions

#9

NEW ENTRY

Family Affair

ALUNE WADE

Released TBA

Crescendo Sunu Production

****-

Family Affair is an upcoming album, currently in pre-release, so it is not yet listed or streaming on major commercial platforms like Bandcamp, Spotify, or storefronts just yet.

Family Affair, a new album by Senegalese bassist and composer Alune Wade in collaboration with New Orleans's Neighborhood Story Project, is rooted in Afro-Atlantic memory and contemporary dialogue. In the fall of 2026, it will be released alongside their documentary film TUKKI: From the Roots to the Bayou and accompanying book A Family Affair: Conversations Across the Atlantic (University of New Orleans Press). Building on the acclaimed New African Orleans (2025), which drew widespread praise for its fluid dialogue between West African traditions, contemporary jazz, and Louisiana heritage, Family Affair has the feel of a reunion — one that stretches across centuries of shared and scattered memory. It is not a tribute project. It is a celebration of what these connections actually sound like when musicians on both sides of the Atlantic meet in a room.

National Sawdust

Alune Wade Official

NEW ENTRY

#10

Volume 3 (1988) &

Volume 4 (1989)

DUR DUR BAND

Released 18 September 2026

Analog Africa

****-

Hypnotic Somalian funk and disco gems resurrected from master cassettes, capturing Mogadishu’s golden era in all its joyous, vibrant glory.

Formed in Mogadishu during the mid-1980s, Dur-Dur Band was one of Somalia's most iconic groovesters, dominating hotel lounges, radio airwaves, and nightlife across the horn of Africa. Led by bassist Abdinaji Naji and featuring a rotating cast of virtuosic vocalists, including Sahra Dawo and Mukhtar Ramadan Iidi, the group fused traditional Somali rhythms like Banaadiri and Dhaanto with American funk, soul, and reggae. Following the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991, the original lineup dispersed across the diaspora, but their recorded legacy remains a high-water mark of East African popular music.

Volume 3 & Volume 4 brings together two lost masterpieces originally released on cassette tape during the height of Mogadishu’s pre-war cultural boom. Remastered by Analog Africa from rare original tapes found in cassette stalls and private collections, this double-compilation vibrates with raw, kinetic energy. Fuzzy rhythm guitars, soaring horn lines, synthesizer stabs, and hypnotic basslines back infectious dual vocal harmonies that bridge ancient Somali poetic traditions with global dancefloor rhythms.

Tracks like "Geesiyada Sharafka Luu" and "Dooxa" demonstrate the band's remarkable tightness, effortlessly gliding between polyrhythmic Afro-funk, brassy disco, and subtle reggae offbeats. It is a stunning, essential historical artifact that sounds endlessly vital today.

There's more...

Based in Oakland, California, Kitka is an internationally acclaimed women’s vocal ensemble that has spent over four decades exploring, preserving, and reimagining traditional vocal music from the Balkans, Caucasus, and Slavic lands. Literally translating to "bouquet" in Bulgarian and Macedonian, Kitka perfectly embodies a vibrant collection of diverse voices. The group is celebrated for its mastery of complex regional techniques, utilizing striking dissonances, asymmetric meters, microtonal ornamentation, and a resonant, chest-voice production that carries immense spiritual and primal power. Through extensive fieldwork and collaborations with traditional masters, Kitka bridges ancient folklore with contemporary, avant-garde vocal art.

#11

We Are Not The Headliner

OMAR SOSA & QUARTETO AMEICANOS

Released 25 June 2026

OTA Records

*****

CUBA / USA

A world-jazz tapestry, blending Afro-Cuban heritage, hip-hop, and global interplay with deep spiritual warmth and boundless improvisational freedom.

Omar Sosa is a multi-Grammy-nominated Cuban composer, pianist, and bandleader whose expansive career bridges world jazz, classical, electronic, and global folk traditions. Following the African diaspora from Cuba to South America, San Francisco, New York, and Europe, Sosa's nomadic spirit makes him a true internationalist. Known for his rhythmic brilliance, improvisational fluidity, and open-hearted collaboration, he routinely connects disparate cultures through music. We Are Not The Headliner, is the debut release from his East-Bay, San Francisco-based ensemble, with saxophone, clarinet and flute master Sheldon Brown, Cuban baby-bass player Ernesto Mazar Kindelán and drummer Josh Jones..

Across 11 dynamic tracks, recorded at Studio 9 in North Adams, Massachusetts, with additional recording and post-production by Greg Landau in Alameda, California the Quarteto Americanos weaves world-class musicianship into a flowing, unpretentious dialogue, capturing the kinetic energy they have honed over their years of touring and performance. Central to the record's appeal is its genre-defying fluidity.

We Are Not The Headliner delivers a rich, multi-layered listening experience that memorialises the Qarteto's live performance chemistry. Eschewing mainstream contemporary trends or production, they have produced a timeless work that is simultaneously sophisticated, grounded, and profoundly soulful.

#12

Kolo

KITKA

Released 25 June 2026

Kitka

*****

USA | E.EUROPE

An exquisitely immersive presentation of the primal power and intricate polyphony of Eastern European women's vocal traditions.

With Kolo, Kitka delivers a breathtakingly curated seasonal cycle of song that feels both ancient and refreshingly modern. Translated as a circular folk dance common across south Slavic regions, the title Kolo underscores the record’s thematic centering around community, celestial alignment, and cyclical rebirth. Recorded and mixed in panoramic Dolby Atmos, the album uses spatial engineering to position the listener directly in the center of their dense, interlocking vocal arrangements.

The record opens with a brilliant showcase of raw communal energy, relying on piercing close harmonies and microtonal frictions that mimic the landscape of the rural villages where these songs originated. The sonic landscape organically shifts as the ensemble guides the listener from festive, rhythmic wedding dances to hauntingly austere winter ritual songs. A stunning highlight arrives with "Gelino," a wedding song from the Shavsheti region, where intricate ornamentation and interlocking vocal lines create a dizzying, hypnotic trance. Later, the mesmerizing "Ruotā, Ruotā" moves the journey toward Baltic traditions, utilizing driving, incantatory repetitions that evoke the timeless mystery of the summer solstice.

#13

Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2

IBRAHIM MAALOUF

Released 12 June 2026

Mister Ibe

****-

KENYA | GERMANY

An ecstatic, borderless celebration of brass - embracing a cultural legacy via the vibrant, microtonal possibilities of the four-valve quarter-tone trumpet.

Born in war-torn Lebanon and raised in Paris, Ibrahim Maalouf has evolved from a prodigy of classical baroque trumpet into a global icon of cross-cultural jazz fusion. A two-time GRAMMY nominee, Maalouf’s identity is anchored by a unique family legacy: the quarter-tone trumpet, an instrument invented by his father, Nassim Maalouf.

Dissatisfied with the boundaries of Western classical music, Ibrahim has spent his career using his father's technical marvel to effortlessly bridge the divide between Middle Eastern modal traditions and Western groove, collaborating with icons ranging from Quincy Jones to Jon Batiste, Angelique Kidjo, Toumani Diabaté, Trombone Shorty and more.

Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2 is a joyous musical celebration and an educational triumph. It advances Maalouf’s initiative to institutionalize his father's four-valve trumpet, utilizing an entire ensemble of musicians trained at his newly formed academy. The result is a staggeringly vibrant, live-in-studio record that explodes with pan-Mediterranean and global energy.

Maalouf handles foreign musical languages with the slick dexterity of a modern Herb Alpert, safely walking the fine line between rich tribute and pastiche. The album is a breathless, rhythmic tour that incorporates everything from Cuban boleros of "Oui, Je Le Veux" (featuring pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba) to the Spanish flamenco textures of "Chasing The Sun", New Orleans brass syncopation , and Lebanese dabke wedding rhythms (Layla's Wedding").

While the relentlessly upbeat tempo - especially of the title track - leaves little room for Maalouf's signature melancholy, the sheer communal ecstasy and staggering virtuosity of the record make it an undeniable triumph of global fusion.

#14

Donn/Dubh

ARUN SOOD & ANGELINE MORRISON

Released 7 August 2026

Real World Records

Folk

*****

An atmospheric, convention challenging, collision of Gaelic song, dub and ambient drone that courageously reclaims and redefines Hebridean heritage.

Multi-instrumentalist Arun Sood and singer Angeline Morrison represent two of the most vital voices in contemporary British folk. Morrison, renowned for her ground-breaking, 2022 albums The Sorrow Songs (Folk Songs of Black British Experience), and The Brown Girl and other Folk Songs and subsequently for Grace Will Leave Me Home and Ophelia (both in 2024) uses what she calls "mythopoeic singing" to invoke forgotten Black British histories.

Sood, a Scottish-Indian acclaimed musician, poet, and writer, explores themes of memory and landscape through field recordings and ambient loops, as heard on his debut solo album, Searching Erskine (2024). Uniting over their shared mixed-race island heritage, the duo coined the term "Brown Hebrideans" to reclaim liminal spaces in the traditional Scottish canonical landscape.

Inspired by Saltair na Rann (a 10th-century Celtic text linking wind directions to distinct colors) Donn/Dubh (Gaelic for Brown/Black) fractures and reimagines Gaelic song archives. Opening track "A Rìbhinn a Bheil Cuimhn' Agad" sets a haunting precedent, layering reverbed flutes and pulse-like bass underneath Morrison's searching vocal refrains. Across 12 tracks, traditional Gaelic texts collide with abrasive guitars, post-rock swells, and deep dub production. Soon's surreal soundscapes feel both ancient and futuristic. Similarly, Morrison's etherial vocals oscillate between the traditional and the otherworldly.

By associating centuries-old melodies and words with fragmented drones, lush synths and contemporary media, Sood and Morrison have constructed an immersive masterpiece that is comparable in it's significance to predecessors such as Bill Laswell, Martyn Bennett, Transglobal Underground and Afro Celt Sound System - if not redefining traditional folk, then pushing it's envelope into mesmerising new shapes.

There's more...

Arun Sood Official

Angeline Morrison Official

Real World Records

#15

Mari e Marenne

OFFICINA ZOÈ

Released 25 June 2026

Linfa

****-

ITALY

A hypnotic celebration of Salento (Southern Italian) maritime roots that channels ancient pizzica trance traditions into a profound sonic journey.

Formed in 1993, Salento’s legendary folk ensemble Officina Zoè has been a driving pioneer behind the modern revival of pizzica tarantata, a fast-paced traditional folk music and dance from Southern Italy (specifically the Salento region of Puglia) that was historically used as an ecstatic ritual to cure people - mostly women - believed to be poisoned by the bite of a tarantula spider. Spearheaded by core founding members including vocalist Cinzia Marzo and multi-instrumentalists Donatello Pisanello and Lamberto Probo, the Italian collective has spent over three decades crafting trance-inducing music anchored in southern Italy's heritage. Their intoxicating rhythm centres on driving frame drums, accordion, strings, and visceral vocal incantations.

On Mari e Marenne, Officina Zoè returns with a commanding nine-track work that bridges traditional Salentinian folklore with the rhythmic expanse of the sea. Centred on themes of maritime journeys, memory, and coastal identity, the album weaves repetitive tamburello frame drum patterns with soaring violin lines and accordion swells. Cinzia Marzo’s raw, emotive vocals anchor standout tracks like "Furiusa", "M'invento," and "Pipinanà", carrying the ancestral weight of regional storytelling over hypnotic percussive grooves. Rather than resting on nostalgia, the arrangements feel alive and cinematic, capturing the dual tranquillity and tempestuous force of the Mediterranean tide. It is a compelling, deeply authentic record that reaffirms their masterclass in folk trance.

Officina Zoè Home Page

#16

Sümbül

HILAL KAYA

Released 28 August 2028

CPL-Music

Folk Rock

Türkiye / Denmark

*****

An outstanding, sometimes startling debut album, rich in heritage, passion and soul, that fuses Anatolian roots with psychedelic modernism.

Turkish-Danish vocalist, songwriter, and composer Hilal Kaya has rapidly emerged as a prominent voice in Europe’s contemporary Anatolian psychedelic scene. Building momentum through acclaimed singles "Perişan," "Sultan," and "Harabe"- the latter earning her nominations at the 2025 Danish Music Awards Roots - Kaya seamlessly bridges cultural worlds. Her music honours traditional Anatolian folk structures while injecting modern jazz, rock, and experimental energy into the arrangements.

Sümbül is a masterpiece of cultural bridge-building, weaving longing, belonging, and heritage into a fiery tapestry of Anatolian psychedelia. Kaya’s expressive microtonal vocal delivery commands every track, floating effortlessly over rich acoustic textures and electric improvisations. The album balances striking original compositions with deeply personal re-imaginings of traditional folk songs.

Guitarist and producer Søren Bigum plays a central role in shaping the album’s musical identity. Through layers of electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, steel guitar and keyboards, Bigum creates much of the album’s sonic landscape, while oud and bağlama player Orhan Özgür Turan brings a strong Anatolian character to the recordings. Long time collaborators Henrik Poulsen and Søren Poulsen contribute significantly to the album’s rhythmic depth and dynamic flow. Henrik Poulsen’s use of bass guitar and Moog bass, combined with Søren Poulsen’s groove-oriented drumming, percussion work and sense of swing, form an essential part of the album’s distinctive atmosphere.

In addition to the released singles, the album's additional standout tracks include: enchanting opening track "Bir Lokma Sevda", "Başındaki Yazma / Avşar Elleri", merging historic poetry with Afro-influenced rhythms and driving guitar; "Alma Attım Yuvarlandı", a spellbinding vocal transition from anguished prayer to a fragile lullaby; "Fasl-i Thrakien", a startling mid-album rocker, dominated by ringing guitar and "Sen Olmasen", a smouldering, acoustically-backed counterpoint.

There's more...

JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra Official

NEW ENTRY

#17

M'T.T. (Money Talk Talk or Mad Tyrant T.)

JARIBU AFROBEAT ARKESTRA

Released 21 August 2028

JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra

*****

Tokyo’s premier Afrobeat collective delivers a searing, polyrhythmic critique of greed with explosive horn lines and hypnotic funk grooves.

Formed in Tokyo, Japan, JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra has spent over a decade establishing itself as one of Asia's most authentic and powerhouse Afrobeat ensembles. Drawing deep inspiration from Fela Kuti's Afrika 70 and Tony Allen's relentless drumming style, the instrumental outfit blends traditional West African rhythms with sharp Japanese musical precision and jazz improvisation. Across a string of celebrated releases and dynamic international festival appearances, the Arkestra continues to champion the classic Afrobeat tradition while weaving contemporary political commentary and sprawling, hypnotic instrumental arrangements into their high-energy soundscapes.

M'T.T. (Money Talk Talk or Mad Tyrant T.) finds the Arkestra operating at the absolute peak of their powers. Across seven tightly woven tracks, the Tokyo band unleashes a barrage of heavy basslines, biting brass fanfares, and complex interlocking percussion. The title track sets a furious tone, balancing fiery instrumental soloing with a sharp, subtextual critique of corporate greed and authoritarian overreach. Cuts like "Invisible Line" and "Army Of Sorrow" show off the group's dynamic range, moving seamlessly from slow-burning, dark grooves into explosive, horn-driven climaxes.

Recorded with a warm, analog clarity that captures the kinetic energy of a live session, M'T.T. is a thrilling, uncompromising statement that proves Afrobeat's radical global spirit is alive and thriving in Tokyo.

There's more...

NEW ENTRY

#18

Africa 80

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Released 11 September 2026

Strut Records

****-

NIGERIA

Strut presents Nigeria 80, the next essential chapter in the legendary Nigeria 70 series, diving deep into the explosive sound world of 1980s Nigeria.

Despite economic instability and restrictive political conditions in the 1980's, Nigeria’s music industry flourished, driven by a growing network of independent labels such as Tabansi and Phonodisk, which championed local artists and expanded creative freedom. The 1980s also marked a significant rise in visibility for female artists, with trailblazers like Onyeka Onwenu helping to reshape the landscape and open doors for a new generation of performers, writers, and producers.

Nigeria 80 showcases the extraordinary breadth of this era, with all tracks reissued here for the first time. The compilation brings together essential recordings from across Nigeria’s musical spectrum: highlife greats Victor Uwaifo and Nico Mbarga appear alongside Paulson Kalu, whose personal favourite “Akugbue Nwa Ewu” stands out as a prime example of the style. Prince David Bull’s “Soko Soko” (later reinterpreted in Starboy’s Afrobeats hit “Soco”) features as a key touchpoint between eras. Segun Adewale delivers a driving juju workout, while Lekan Animashaun, longtime bandleader of Africa 70, contributes a late-era Afrobeat classic produced in collaboration with Fela Kuti.

The compilation also highlights more experimental and hybrid sounds, from I.C. Rock’s proto–hip hop gem “Advice” to Evi-Edna Ogholi’s self-produced reggae statement “The World”. The set closes with “Apama” by Ibealaoke Chukwukeziri, the “Apama Boy” from Achi in eastern Nigeria, featuring hypnotic vocals and percussion from his Anaedeonu band.

Beyrouth-Express Official

NEW ENTRY

#19

Meanwhile (في حين أن )

BEYROUTH EXPRESS / FI HIN ANNA

Released 11 September 2026

VDE Gallo

****-

LEBANON

“Life, spring, poems, the sound of the oud, songs—they will never die.”

"Beyrouth-Express Quintet is a skillful blend of jazz and Arabic music in which Dida's voice shines with unparalleled talent and warmth. Jazzmen Noé Tavelli and Manu Hagmann provide a solid rhythmic foundation for this new project.
Multidisciplinary pianist Mirko Maio brings an inspiring and vibrant touch alongside Samir Nasr Eddine, a master of the oud, the Arabic lute.”
Jazz Under the Stars, Sion

"Meanwhile" (في حين أن ) was recorded at the Carte Postale studio in Savigny by Antoine Quinet with Dida Guigan, Samir Nasr Eddine, Manu Hagmann, Mirko Maio, and Noé Tavelli. It is a nod to the various ceasefires called for and displayed over the past two years by citizens of all nationalities around the world.

Choosing to showcase a majority of reimagined pieces, drawn from Lebanese popular culture and classical Arabic music, Dida - of Lebanese origin and the project's founder - felt a duty to preserve and make accessible a culture and history she hopes will endure and shine beyond the violence currently inflicted upon her people and their neighbours.

"Because Lebanon reminds us that nothing is permanent and that life is lived in the present."

#20

The Other Side

SEU JORGE

Released 8 May 2026

Black Service / Amor In Sound

*****

BRAZIL

Warm, intimate and sophisticated, this groove-rich collection brings samba, soul and Brazilian MPB together, with a lived-in vocal charisma

Few contemporary Brazilian artists have balanced international visibility and deep musical authenticity as naturally as Seu Jorge. Emerging from Rio de Janeiro’s samba and soul traditions, he became globally recognised through both his solo recordings and his unforgettable Portuguese-language David Bowie interpretations (Starman, Rebel Rebel, Rock N' Roll Suicide, Life On Mars?), for the Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Yet beyond the cult appeal lies a serious songwriter and cultural figure whose work has consistently drawn from samba, MPB, funk and classic soul without reducing any of them to nostalgia. His voice - warm, conversational and humane - has always been his greatest instrument. The Other Side continues that tradition, sounding less like reinvention than a deepening of the elegance and rhythmic ease that define his best work.

The album succeeds because it understands that sophistication does not require distance. There is no need for dramatic reinvention here; instead, he leans further into the qualities that made him singular in the first place: melodic patience, understated charisma and an instinctive command of rhythm that makes even the smallest phrase feel like part of the percussion.

Across the record, samba remains the spiritual centre. The arrangements are rich without becoming ornate: guitars, percussion, bass and soft brass lines move with the kind of confidence that comes from musicians who understand groove as conversation rather than decoration.

This is music built on feel, with Seu Jorge’s vocal performance the true anchor. He sings with the same quality that defines the greatest samba interpreters - an ability to sound emotionally direct without theatrical excess. There is warmth in the phrasing, but also a reflective maturity that gives the album its title real weight.

Like the finest Brazilian records, The Other Side trusts rhythm, space and emotional understatement to do the work.

NEW ENTRY

#21

Meanwhile (في حين أن )

BEYROUTH EXPRESS / FI HIN ANNA

Released 11 September 2026

VDE Gallo

****-

LEBANON

An inspired selection of rarely performed works from the muwashshaḥ tradition, placed in dialogue with earlier Ottoman sources, alongside medieval Florentine repertoire.

Montreal-based, singer and oud player of Lebanese origin, Lamia Yared specializes in the repertoires of classical Arabic and Ottoman music. She is actively involved in projects dedicated to preserving the musical heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Her discography includes Chants des Trois Cours (2019), Ottoman Splendours (2022), recorded in collaboration with Didem Başar and guests, as well as From Minho to Euphrates (2025), in collaboration with Efrén López and guests. She has performed at numerous festivals in Canada and internationally. As both an artistic curator and performer, Lamia brings together outstanding artists from diverse cultural backgrounds and has been invited to present her projects through international collaborations with ensembles such as Takht Attourath (France), and Canada's Ensemble Scholastica, Labyrinth Ontario, Ensemble La Cigale, and the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal.

Rooted in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic classical repertoires, and in dialogue with the Italian Trecento, this recording brings together Lamia Yared (vocals, composition) alongside an ensemble of distinguished collaborators: Antonino Anastasia (tamburello, riqq), Nikos Andrikos (lavta), Volkan Ertem (cello), Peppe Frana (lute, oud, arrangement), Savaş Özkök (kanun), Fahrettin Yarkın (daîre, bendir), and Nağme Yarkın (Istanbul kemençe).

At the crossroads of Istanbul, Florence, and the Mashreq, the album unfolds as a musical journey shaped through both collective and individual arrangements. Zalzalian Crossings brings together muwashshaḥāt, şarkılar, and Trecento repertoire within a modal suite inspired by the wasla form. The program highlights rarely performed works from the muwashshaḥ tradition by composers such as Omar al-Batch and Ali Darwish, placed in dialogue with earlier Ottoman sources, including Dede Efendi, alongside medieval Florentine repertoire.

Lamia Yared Official

NEW ENTRY

#22

NKATI

ISABEL NOVELLA

Released 8 October 2026

Nice One Music

****-

MOZAMBIQUE

“Life, spring, poems, the sound of the oud, songs—they will never die.”

Isabel Novella is a singer, composer, and performer from Mozambique whose music is rooted in African rhythms and shaped by soul, jazz, and traditional Mozambican sounds. With rich, multilingual vocals in Portuguese, English, and indigenous languages such as Chope and Changana, she crafts songs that explore love, healing, identity, and social transformation.

Her sound is best described as a graceful balance between African rhythm and Western influence. A creative soul, Isabel remains open to learning, sharing, and connecting through music - always exploring new paths to express truth, memory, and transformation.

NKATI is Novella's third album. Rooted in Mozambique's memories, rhythms and cultural identity, the new work crosses traditional Mozambican rhythms, jazz and contemporary sounds. ‘NKATI’ is also an invitation to return to memory, community, and the places - indoor and outdoor - we call home.

Isabel Novella Official

Spotify

NEW ENTRY

#23

Nuba Nova 2

MERYEM KOUFI & MEHDI HADDAB

Released 9 October 2026

Buda Musique

****-

ALGERIA

A startling contemporary update of Algerian classical with contemporary dance forms - an enthralling inversion of the appropriation of "Eastern" forms by contemporary European selectors.

Nuba Nova: the title rings out like a manifesto. Think of it as a transgressive descendant of Algerian classical music, offspring of the Nuba form which gave birth to the famous stylistic movements of Tlemcen, Algiers and Constantine. Crucibles of the Arab-Andalusian heritage of Seville, Granada and Cordoba, established between the 8th and 15th centuries in royal courts and intellectual circles where Muslims and Jews celebrated courtly love and devotion to the divine.

It began with Mehdi Haddab, Franco-Algerian magician of the electric oud, and his ambition to compare notes and share inspiration with the master of the malouf annabi, Sheikh Hamdi Benani. Raised in a rich family of artists (his father a painter, his uncle and great-grandfather both malouof masters), Benani was a noble humanist of the city of Saint-Augustin, El Ghriba and Sidi Bou Merouane. It was a matter of curiosity and intuition. A meeting arranged by David Queinnec, then director of the French Institute of Annaba, helped the project along. The two musicians quickly found themselves on the same wavelength.

The founder of Speed Caravan agrees: “We hit it off right away.” It remained to choose the pieces that would spark the daring revision of a legacy: an attractive prospect for the sheikh, improv enthusiast, movie buff and Eddie Constantine fan. Throughout his career, hadn’t he already been presented as a renovator and put certain “purists” at ease? A choice was made, a mosaic of classical pieces, mostly instrumental, short pieces, songs, and a long suite chosen for its temporality. The challenge? To find new proposals, some totally new combinations of sounds, to revise a well-worn repertoire and somehow give it a new appeal.

A reformulated work that was endorsed by “L’Ange blanc du malouf” (“The White Angel of the Malouf”, in reference to his white suit and violin) before confirming its validity with an Algerian concert tour.

There's more...

Buda Musique Official

#24

Ilch

TENGERTON

Released 6 March 2026

Routes Nomades / Buda Musique
****-

MONGOLIA

Music shaped by the morin khuur horse-head fiddle and the captivating khöömii throat singing, the two emblematic elements of Mongolian culture.

Described as "a new quartet of super soloists" Tengerton's debut album, Ilch symbolizes gentle human and musical warmth, with a poetic meaning they describe as "a sound (that) came from the sky, through the yurt’s crown".

Born in 2023 from the legendary Egshiglen, this four-generation-ensemble crosses traditional and classic Mongolian music with contemporary musical experiences. The blues, flamenco, jazz influences can be savoured, while the chamber music arrangements enhance the steppe music.

Tengerton's four members are - Uuganbaatar Tsend-Ochir (vocals, ikh khuur fiddle, tovshuur lute), Nasanjargal Ganbold (throat-singing, morin khuur fiddle, bishguur oboe, tovshuur lute), Yesun-Erdene Bat (throat-singing, morin khuur fiddle, mouthharp), Dalaijargal Daansuren (throat-singing, morin khuur fiddle, tsuur flute).

Tengerton reveals its richness in the quartet’s subtle sound, the beauty of the vocals, and the precision of the rhythmic, all delivered with perfectly controlled energy. The virtuosity of their music is imbued with nuances like the reflections of clouds drifting across the landscape.

By sharing the deepest sounds and emotions with its audience, the group recalls the symbiosis between human and nature, appeals to respect for Mother Earth and traditional cultures. From Mongolia to the West, Tengerton has established itself as a major international group, a leading force in the dissemination of traditional Mongolian music. A new musical wind is blowing across the steppe…

Footnote: Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the Spotify playlist for this album, so we will have to make do with the YouTube link below, for now.

Routes Nomades

AWAITING RELEASE

#25

Abaraz

SAFFARINE

Released 16 October 2026

Seffarine
****-

CANADA/MOROCCO/SPAIN

As we await the imminent release of the listed album "Abaraz", we present as a placeholder, the duo's 2015 debut, which captures the intoxicating mix of Arabic and Andalusian music that straddles the Straits of Gibraltar, where continents and cultures touch.

At a momentous first meeting at a coffee shop in Fez, Moroccan vocalist Lamiae Naki and multi-instrumentalist Nat Hulskamp composed their first song and decided to get married. Brought together by their deep knowledge of the music of both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar — Spanish flamenco and Moroccan Arabic music — they created Seffarine.

Seffarine takes its name from the ancient metalworking square in Fez, which is famous for the complex rhythms that ring out from the blacksmiths' hammers, and where Lamiae's family is well known as masters of the tradition. Seffarine's music embraces and extends Morocco's musical collision between Arabic, Iberian and West African cultures, forging vibrant original music deeply rooted in their backgrounds in flamenco guitar, oud and Arab Andalusian music. Nat and Lamiae built an international quintet bringing in all star musicians from Iran, the US and Spain, who infuse the sound with textured instrumentation and inspired improvisation. Sweeping kamancheh (Persian spike-fiddle) ornamentation plays off gritty bass grooves and explosive flamenco footwork, with Lamiae's fluidly riveting voice at the center, sending up sheets of cascading Andalusi melodies punctuated by the catchy hooks of North African Chaabi, sung in her native Moroccan Arabic. Their sound has taken them around the world, from touring Indonesia and Europe to receiving grants to study Ottoman singing in Turkey, to recording with top flamenco musicians in Spain such as Diego del Morao and Latin Grammy Award winner Antonio Rey.

#26

Made in Lyublino: Afghan Songs

PANJSHANBE MUFTAN

Released 15 July 2026

Anonovka Records / Hindukush Tapes

****-

AFGHANISTAN

An intimate, evocative field recording capturing raw Badakhshani folk traditions, transposed against the quiet backdrop of a Moscow suburb.

Carrying the revered musical legacy of northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan region, Panjshanbe Maftun is a master virtuoso of regional folk strings and deeply soulful vocal traditions. The son of iconic musician Mir Maftoon, Panjshanbe continues to champion the distinctive falak and qataghani styles that define Pamiri culture. Balancing traditional repertoire with contemporary diaspora realities, his art bridges regional heritage with modern migratory journeys. Recorded thousands of miles from his homeland in the industrial outskirts of Moscow's Lyublino district, Maftun’s music remains an indispensable, living vessel for Central Asian roots and cultural preservation.

Made in Lyublino: Afghan Songs is a hauntingly beautiful document thast speaks to displacement, ancestory, and enduring artistic identity. The album places Panjshanbe Maftun's raw vocal expression and intricate dambura playing front and center.

Song titles such as "Ah, You Afghan, Your Gait Is Like That of a Highlander | چه چه افغانی", "I Will Kiss You Under a Pretext, With Fire and Passion | ببوسم به بهانه، با یک شور و", "Pomegranate, Pomegranate, My Fresh Pomegranate | انار انار اناری نوبری من هی" and "Oh, My Naughty and Beautiful, These Folds on the Shoulders of Your Dress | سبزینه جان بیاید" may appear sentimental and over-wrought compared to contemporary western conventions, but what they lack in brevity they make up for in sincerity. Elsewhere, "Pamir Falak | آهنگ اول: پامیری فلک " highlights Maftun's command of grief-laden improvisational phrasing, while rhythmically vibrant entries like "Ah, You Afghan..." and "Oh, My Only Beloved Sheikh Ali | آهنگ هزارگی: شیخ علی " weave infectious, hypnotic grooves reminiscent of songs heard at regional gatherings.

The sparse, unpolished acoustics of the recordings, combined with the profound warmth of Maftun’s performance, imparts an unmistakable intimacy. Free of overproduction or artificial polish, this release captures the raw, beating heart of Afghan folk music thriving and surviving across distance and dislocation.

#27

JID027 Joyce e Tutty Moreno

ADRIAN YOUNGE, JOYCE E TUTTY MORENO

Released 7 August 2026

Jazz Is Dead

USA/BRAZIL

Brazilian MPB royalty receives Adrian Younge’s vintage analogue production, yielding an emotional, improvised masterclass of samba and soul.

For over five years, multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s Jazz Is Dead imprint has revitalized music culture by uniting iconic global masters with custom analog production. JID027 brings together two widely celebrated architects of Brazilian sophisticated samba: legendary singer-songwriter/guitarist Joyce Moreno and her musical and life partner, master drummer Tutty Moreno. Emerging from the tail end of the Bossa Nova movement into the vibrant MPB (Música Popular Brasileira - Brazilian Popular Music) era, Joyce and Tutty redefined Brazilian pop by blending complex jazz harmonies with fluid, syncopated samba rhythms.

Recorded directly to tape, the session captures the intimate dance between Tutty’s elastic, brushed drumming and Joyce’s signature syncopated nylon-string guitar riffs. Joyce uses her voice as a woodwind instrument, on cuts like "Mandala" and "Is This Love?", soaring above Younge’s vintage organ and bass arrangements, without the need for words. The interplay shifts fluidly between breezy bossa grooves and cinematic neo-soul. The album reaches its emotional zenith on the closing track "Círculo Vicioso," where Joyce recites Machado de Assis’ iconic poem in her native Portuguese over haunting instrumentation, turning the album into a meditation on time and memory.

There's more...

Jazz Is Dead Official

NEW ENTRY

#28

Invisible Threads

ADAM RUDOLPH

Released 18 September 2026

Omni Sound

USA/TURKIYE

Together, the ensemble creates a sense of openness and emotional richness that is innately human while refusing to be anchored by familiar landmarks of culture or genre

Over the course of more than half a century, the visionary percussionist and composer Adam Rudolph has been a pioneer in weaving together inspirations and collaborators across cultures, traditions, backgrounds and styles.

Long-standing collaborations with the three major figures of spiritual jazz, Don Cherry, Yusef Lateef, and Pharoah Sanders, helped shape Rudolph's expansive musical philosophy, one rooted in improvisation, deep listening, and cultural exchange. As ever in Rudolph’s non-idiomatic vision, Invisible Threads is no mere fusion of musical traditions; instead, it is a journey of discovery shared and shaped by the merging of profoundly individual voices.

At the center of Invisible Threads is a constantly evolving sonic landscape shaped by Rudolph's live electronic processing, the electronic manipulations of Danish bassist and sound artist Jesper Pedersen, and the circuit-bending guitar work of Marco Cappelli.

The rest of the ensemble is from Türkiye where the album was recorded. Together, the ensemble creates a sense of openness and emotional richness that is innately human while refusing to be anchored by familiar landmarks of culture or genre - a testament to music as a healing bridge across cultures, and to the power of collective creation to find meaning within unity.

Originally commissioned for the 35th anniversary Akbank Jazz Festival and dedicated to the late Mehmet Ulug.

There's more...

Adam Rudolph Official

#29

Sounds of Malawi, Vol. 1

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Released 24 July 2026

Hen House Studios

MALAWI

An exquisitely immersive presentation of the primal power and intricate polyphony of Eastern European women's vocal traditions.

Working with Deschamps and Makhala, in 2024 Los Angeles recording engineer/producer and record label director Harlan Steinberger spent ten days at Jacaranda Studios in the outskirts of Blantyre city recording as many Malawian artists as possible. Steinberger had been coming to Malawi since 2009, working with artists and producing previous albums from Keturah and The Kasambwe Brothers, but this trip was on another level. During the ten days of marathon recording sessions, Steinberger recorded 18 bands and 85 songs total! Once word spread of what he was doing, hopeful singers dressed in their Sunday best showed up hoping to get recorded. It was an impossible choice narrowing down the offerings, Sounds of Malawi, Vol.1 presents fourteen songs from these recording sessions. It’s a compilation aimed at showcasing the breadth of Malawian roots music.

#30

Bayati-Isfahan Dastgah

ELKHAN MANSUROV

Released 12 June 2026

Felmay

AZERBAIJAN

A majestic, historically resonant suite in which a rare, forgotten modal masterpiece of Azerbaijani mugham tradition is revived with virtuosic tar technique.

Born into a prominent dynasty of Azerbaijani classical musicians, Elkhan Mansurov is widely recognized as a master virtuoso of the tar, the hour-glass shaped, skin-topped, long-necked lute central to Caucasus musical culture. Grounded in decades of archival preservation and performance, Mansurov's mastery spans both the rigorous, improvisational modal structures of mugham (an Azerbaijani art form that weds classical poetry and modal-scale musical improvisation) and the delicate nuances of regional folk songcraft. As a performer and scholar, his work focuses on reviving forgotten compositional movements (gushas) and historical modal suites that fell out of common performance practice throughout the 20th century.

Bayati-Isfahan Dastgah represents a work of monumental archival and artistic significance, capturing a complete rendering of a rare modal suite long considered nearly extinct in live performance. Mansurov’s breathtaking tar technique, captures the instrument's piercing dynamic range, from shimmering, rapid trill techniques to deep, resonance-rich bass bends. Supported by subtle, rhythmic accompaniment on kamancha (an Iranian bowed string instrument commonly used in the region) and ghaval (frame drum) Mansurov navigates the suite’s intricate modal undulations with extraordinary emotional sensitivity, as its narrative arc moves effortlessly between yearning, melancholy and ecstatic rhythmic resolutions.

The pristine, acoustic-focused engineering of the recording preserves every subtle fingernail tap against the skin body, making this release an unmissable masterpiece for traditional music enthusiasts.

NEW ENTRY

#31

Canto Cimarrón

MULATO BANTÚ

Released 28 August 2026

Palenque Records

COLUMBIA

A majestic, historically resonant suite in which a rare, forgotten modal masterpiece of Azerbaijani mugham tradition is revived with virtuosic tar technique.

About Mulato Bantu is a Caribbean singer-songwriter whose work fuses Afro-Colombian roots music with global sounds. With two previous albums and a career defined by socially conscious lyrics and the defense of ancestral territory, he has established himself as a key figure in the new Caribbean song movement.

Canto Cimarrón, his third studio album is a sonic journey comprising eleven songs that celebrate Afro-Caribbean identity, freedom, and the memory of the Colombian Caribbean. Cimarrón considers the album a manifesto of life, identity, and resistance. The songs are born deep within the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, connecting with the palenque of Benkos and reaching the Caribbean Sea; here, son palenquero, nueva trova cubana, and Latin American singer-songwriter traditions converge, giving rise to a style the artist has dubbed "Afrotrova."

Each track is a port of call, a story told by the warmth of a fire, a chronicle of contemporary cimarronaje - the spirit of those who flee the city to find themselves, who resist through art, and who defend their land and their heritage. "This album descends from the Sierra Nevada and reaches the Magdalena River - much like my grandparents' stories - all the way to the Palenque of Benkos. I wanted each song to be a voice passed down by word of mouth, telling the stories of people who liberated themselves. That is why this record is a Canto Cimarrón," says Mulato Bantú.

#32

Flame Folclòre

COCANHA

Released 15 May 2026

Les Disques Bongo Joe

FRANCE

A stark, compelling reclamation of Occitan vocal traditions, driven by hypnotic stringed tambourines and an expansion into collective studio experimentation.

Hailing from the Occitan region of southern France, the duo Cocanha - vocalists and percussionists Caroline Dufau and Lila Fraysse - has spent years redefining regional folk traditions. Through vocal polyphony and the rhythmic pulse of the tambor de còrdas (stringed tambourines), they strip away centuries of pastoral nostalgia and treat historical memory as a living political landscape.

Following their acclaimed 2020 record Puput, Cocanha has re-positioned the Occitan language as a vibrant vehicle for contemporary resistance, feminism, and communal organizing, firmly anchoring ancient sonic structures into modern independent music spaces.

"Flame Folclòre" translates from Occitan to English as "Flame Folklore" (or "Folklore in Flames" / "Blazing Folklore"), reflecting the album's core themes: of treating traditional folklore as a living, burning fire that actively fuels present-day political struggles and as a vehicle for collective creativity and community cohesion. In doing so, Cocanha masterfully balances historical reverence with contemporary artistry: minimalism in the composition and production and physical urgency in the arrangements and playing. The core of their sound remains beautifully intact: tight, mesmerizing vocal harmonies that lock into the deep, grounding drone of traditional percussion from the six-stringed instrument they play is called the tambor de còrdas (in Occitan) or the tambourin de Béarn (in French), frequently referred to in English as a string drum or Pyrenean string drum.

However, this record marks a courageous shift toward a multi-handed creative model for their "polyphonic songs to dance to". Partnering with producer Raül Refree, Italian producer Walter Laureti and CxK's Paulin Courtial, the duo expands their sonic palette across eleven distinctive collaborations. Rather than muddying the waters, this sprawling assembly introduces subtle shifts in depth and spatial texture, proving that traditional music can be radically decentralized without losing its essence.

NEW ENTRY

#33

La Raive

BRAMA

Released 25 September 2026

Airfono

FRANCE

A soulful, masterfully crafted tribute to Macedonian folklore that unites Budapest’s acoustic duo with elite Balkan virtuosos in raw, timeless harmony.

French artists Brama describe themselves as "a psychedelic power trio from central France, combining droning hurdy-gurdy, sharp cut guitar riff and energy blasting drums."

Returning to the recording studio after an intense period of international festivals and touring to record their sophomore release album, "La Raive" opens a new chapter in the band's development that they call "a space where beats and language intertwine." The group describes its intention as "...seek(ing) to weave the light and dark of folklore into the mesmerizing rhythms of krautrock - a direct forerunner to rave - enhanced by the spring-loaded reverb of repetitive music."

With La Raive, Buma has expanded to a four piece, as foundation members Paolo Gauthier (drums), Simon Guy (guitar), Dominique Decomps (lyrics) and Baptiste Lherbeil (Hurdy-gurdy) are supplemented by new members Antony Miranda (bass) and Amandine Pauvert (Hurdy-gurdy, replacing Lherbeil).

La Raive weaves a path between dream and reality, memory and imagination,
where dance becomes a space of living memory, as Brama seizes rhythm to build an architecture where each motif is a door, each variation a secret path.

The album also uses Occitan language (also known by its native speakers as lenga d'òc and sometimes also referred to as Provençal), the Romance language that was once spoken throughout southwestern France and parts of Italy, Spain and Morocco.

There's more...

#34

Makedonija

BUDAPASME

Released 15 July 2026

Bulkan Heritage Cultural Center

MACEDONIA

A soulful, masterfully crafted tribute to Macedonian folklore that unites Budapest’s acoustic duo with elite Balkan virtuosos in raw, timeless harmony.

BudaPesme is a Budapest-based acoustic duo formed by vocalist Veronika Varga and accordionist Benedek Réti. Bound by a deep shared reverence for Balkan musical traditions, spanning Macedonian folklore, Bosnian sevdah, and Greek rebetiko, the pair has earned international acclaim for their intimate, emotionally transparent interpretations of regional heritage. Recorded in Skopje under producer Zlatko Panzov, their ambitious project Makedonija marks a pivotal milestone: transitioning the duo from passionate interpreters into preservationists, collaborating alongside venerable Macedonian folk legends to bridge authentic regional songcraft with an expressive, acoustic sensibility.

On Makedonija, BudaPesme delivers an authentic eight-track anthology honoring the rich, lyrical legacy of Macedonian folk music. Rather than over-producing, Varga and Réti build a stark, delicate framework around traditional bards’ songs, letting complex asymmetrical rhythms and melancholic vocal lines breathe naturally. The duop collaborates with legendary guest virtuosos - vocalist Naum Petreski ("Podigni si bre neveste dulačeto" ), gajda master Gorancho Angelov ("Ajde sonce") and accordionist Michel Trajkovski ("More, čičo reče"), producing understated, but exquisite music that shimmers with deep, ancestral feeling. Varga’s striking vibrato-edged vocal delivery captures the delicate balance of grief and joy inherent to Balkan folk, making Makedonija a deeply moving, beautifully executed testament to cultural preservation.

There's more...

Veronica Varga Official

Benedet Reti Instagram

Linear Labs Music Official

#35

Weaving Gold in Broken Places

MEDUSA QUARTET

Released 19 February 2026

Independent

CANADA

A spellbinding celebration of global chamber-folk heritage, presented with room-filling virtuosity, and inspired by the transformative art of Japanese Kintsugi.

Medusa Quartet is a Toronto-based folk ensemble that is redefining the boundaries of classical string instrumentation. Comprising Georgia Hathaway, Saskia Tomkins, Lea Kirstein, and Elise Boeur, the four innovators who draw upon rare and forgotten bowed instruments - such as the Swedish nyckelharpa, Polish suka, and Norwegian Hardanger fiddle - alongside traditional violin, viola, and cello. By interweaving chamber composition, global fiddle traditions, and stories of historical misfits and marginalized voices, the quartet constructs a rich, cinematic soundscape. Their cross-cultural approach bridges centuries of heritage with forward-thinking folk arrangements, establishing them among Canada’s most compelling modern acoustic acts.

Inspired by the Japanese concept of Kintsugi - the practice of mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold to accentuate its fractures - Weaving Gold in Broken Places embraces vulnerability as an artistic superpower. Across ten energised arrangements, the Quartet navigates complex narratives of trauma, resilience, and repair through global chamber-folk traditions.

From the driving 9/8 pulse of the traditional Armenian "Tamzara" to the intricate clash of Bulgarian rhythms on "Vulgar Bulgar," the record effortlessly blends historical repertoire with striking original compositions. The quartet's rare, resonant instruments shimmer alongside guest contributions from Persian percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand, while classical references fold organically into lively Celtic and Scandinavian jigs.

Gorgeous textures, adventurous arrangements, and deep emotional resonance make Weaving Gold in Broken Places a triumphant, genre-defying masterpiece of contemporary string craft.

Medusa Quartet Official

NEW ENTRY

#36

Slovakia: Folk To Global

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Released 19 September 2026

CPL-Music

****-

SLOVAKIA

Slovakia: Folk to Global presents a contemporary side of the Slovak music scene that remains deeply rooted in its musical heritage while looking outward. Slovak traditional songs meet influences from Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Jewish, German and Roma cultures . Traditional melodies are reinterpreted, acoustic instruments encounter modern sounds, and original compositions enter into dialogue with inherited musical traditions.

There's more...

Xango Music

NEW ENTRY

#37

Sound Sketches

(Music Composed For The Giorgio Armani Prive Exhibition 2005 - 2025)

L'Antidote

Released 25 September 2026

Ponderosa Music

****-

IRAN, ALBANIA, LEBANON, FRANCE, ITALY.

An exquisite fusion of virtuoso acoustic instrumentation and ambience, capturing two decades of collaboration with the haute couture through hypnotic, luminous soundscapes.

L’Antidote is an extraordinary collaborative trio featuring three master instrumentalists: Iranian tombak and zarb virtuoso Bijan Chemirani, Albanian cellist Redi Hasa, and French-Lebanese pianist and composer Rami Khalifé. Blending Mediterranean folk traditions, contemporary classical composition, Middle Eastern rhythms, and subtle electronic sound design, the ensemble creates immersive, genre-defying music. Brought together under the artistic curation of sound engineer Valerio Daniele, their refined synergy bridges acoustic purity and modern ambient minimalism, earning them acclaim across international world music and cinematic soundscape circles.

Ponderosa / L'Antidote

#38

Afro-Disco Makossa (EP)

ADRIAN YOUNGE

Released 17 July 2026

Linear Labs Crew / Sony

****-

GHANA / USA

A vibrant 1970s Ghanaian disco-funk fantasy that fuses irresistible dancefloor urgency with Adrian Younge's trademark cinematic, vintage-analog wizardry.

Adrian Younge is a Los Angeles-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinctively analog sound design has redefined modern retro-soul, hip-hop sampling, and psych-funk. Famous for his groundbreaking work with The Delfonics, Ghostface Killah, and the Jazz Is Dead series, where in a partnership with Ali Shaheed Muhammed, he has collaborated with icons like Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, and Roy Ayers among many others (especially little known veteran American and International jazz artists), he builds complex, multi-layered arrangements strictly using period-accurate vintage recording equipment.

Through his flagship label Linear Labs, Younge continuously constructs expansive, immersive sound worlds that bridge the historical roots of global Black music with contemporary groove aesthetics.

On Afro-Disco Makossa, Younge again crafts a vibrant dance-floor record designed around a clear creative premise: what if a 1976 Ghanaian producer set out to make an American disco record for their hometown? The resulting six-track EP delivers a relentless fusion of Makossa rhythms, infectious highlife guitar licks, and pulsing Afrobeat percussion. Standout cuts like "Feel the High Life" and "Shake Down" anchor the momentum with driving bongos, heavy basslines, and brass fanfares, while Younge’s lush analog production leaves room for sparkling flute fills and soulful vocal chants. Energetic, rhythmically dense, and deeply hypnotic, it stands as one of Younge's most directly celebratory releases to date.

NEW ENTRY

#39

111

ALLAN CARVALHO E PARCEIROS

Released 21 May 2026

Allan Carvalho & Adam Coulter

****-

BRAZIL/BRASIL

An exuberant celebration of Amazonian rhythms, blending carimbó, guitarrada, and MPB into a vibrant, communal tapestry of Pará culture.

Allan Carvalho is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and cultural researcher from Belém do Pará, Brazil. Deeply rooted in the sonic traditions of the Amazon rainforest, Carvalho has spent decades exploring and preserving Northern Brazilian folk forms, such as carimbó, batuque, and bumba meu boi, while bridging them with contemporary Música Popular Brasileira (MPB).

On 111, Allan Carvalho joins forces with a diverse collective of musical partners (parceiros) to deliver a rich exploration of Amazonian soundscapes. Dynamic tracks like "Pescadores de Água Doce" and "Mexericos na Maré" showcase Carvalho’s knack for buoyant melodies and layered regional percussion, driving the record with infectious carimbó grooves and shimmering guitarrada lines. By contrast, guitar-led pieces such as "Mandei Caiá" and "A Coisa Certa" offer moments of quiet intimacy, highlighting tender vocal harmonies and delicate acoustic arrangements.

Allan Carvalho Instagram

Tilt / Tilt Trio Instagram

NEW ENTRY

#40

Wasm

TILT | TILT TRIO

Released 12 November 2025

Meshkat Records

****-

LEBANON

A striking debut of contemporary Levantine fusion, weaving buzuq, Arabic accordion, and dynamic percussive polyrhythms into a hypnotic, reimagined heritage.

Tilt (also known as Tilt Trio) is a visionary Lebanese ensemble formed by buzuq player Farah Kaddour, Arabic accordionist Samah Boulmona, and percussionist Ali Hout. Grounded in the deep roots of Levantine folk traditions, the trio recontextualizes regional maqam systems and traditional folk structures through a modern, experimental lens. Each member brings a distinguished profile from Beirut’s avant-garde and folk music circuits, blending acoustic virtuosity with vocal harmonies and forward-thinking sonic arrangements. Through their distinctive instrumentation, Tilt has emerged as one of the most compelling voices in the contemporary Middle Eastern acoustic scene.

On their debut release Wasm (meaning "imprint" or "brand"), Tilt delivers a captivating sonic journey that bridges ancient heritage with contemporary improvisation. The album relies on a vibrant conversational dynamic: Farah Kaddour’s intricate, resonant buzuq melodies interlock seamlessly with Samah Boulmona’s expressive, microtonal accordion phrasing. Ali Hout’s inventive percussion provides a driving, polyrhythmic foundation that effortlessly shifts from meditative grooves to ecstatic climaxes. Interwoven triadic vocal lines add a deeply human, communal texture across the tracks. Masterfully balancing acoustic purity with raw performance intensity, Wasm establishes Tilt as a transformative force in modern Levantine folk.