A recent release that took us by surprise? That would have to be "Calico Soul", the debut album of nomadic Berlin-based duo Farafi, whose striking combination of captivating vocals and percussive sounds were quick to enthral us. Their story is one of modern roots, travels across the globe and a love for music both heartfelt and spiritual. Darlini Singh Kaul and Joy Tyson met in Goa, in the coastal village of Arambol. There, they discovered their shared [...]

Thank G*d it's Friday! We survived another week, the world has not yet imploded and Agent Orange is still POTUS. Shabbat shalom everybody and l'chaim! Let us raise our glasses to life in all its glorious absurdity, "Catastrophic Life" that is, as our Jewish Monkeys release their triumphant third longplayer and kick off a string of live dates. After all, who better to comment on modern-day ennui than this band of sharp-tongued, middle-aged, manly manly [...]

What sounds like the distant sounds of an orchestra tuning, getting ready to play, subtly merges into the yearning lament of a trumpet, heralding a new dawn. Ethereal, poetic, sublime, abstract yet ever so melodic are the opening moments to British-Bahraini trumpet player, composer and "high priestess of psychedelic Arabic jazz" Yazz Ahmed's recently released third album "Polyhymnia". Expectations for this one are sky high, considering the overwhelming global [...]

Once you see this Lima-based DJ and producer duo perform live, as they distribute their psychoactive potion on stage wearing folkloric masks and weaving intricate electronic tapestries of traditional Latin American rhythms and sounds, you will understand why some people call them the Peruvian Daft Punk. And though we've had Dengue Dengue Dengue and their digital cumbia aesthetic on our radar for quite some time, we curiously never got around to featuring them [...]

Oh, the horror! Yes, people. Halloween is once again upon us with its ghosts, ghouls and goblins. Well, actually that would be GOBLIN, you know, the band. If you're into horror soundtracks, then Claudio Simonetti's GOBLIN is sure to ring a bell. Formed in the early '70s, following in the footsteps of bands such as Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the now legendary Italian progressive rock band became a global phenomenon [...]

Berlin-based independent record label Shika Shika for "music without borders" recently released Hamburg multi-instrumentalist/sound-artist Andi Otto's third full-length "Rwandance", a joint project with Rwandan musician and dancer Evariste Karinganire. In 2018, the two first came together while working on a dance piece by Yolanda Gutiérrez, Jens Dietrich and Dorcy Rugamba, entitled "Planet Kigali", which you can watch in full here. The performance premiered at [...]

Some four years ago, around the time we started our Greedy venture, we picked up on the wily dealings of Colombian three-piece Los Pirañas, via their second full-length "La Diversión Que Hacía Falta En Mi País". The three musical accomplices met back in high school some 25 years ago and have meanwhile made a name for themselves individually and collectively. Alias Los Pirañas, Mario Galeano (bass), Pedro Ojeda (drums, percussion) and Eblis Alvarez [...]

"How did I find myself in the back seat of your life / Why did it feel so good, when you stabbed me with that knife?" Ah, the undeniable of joys of holy matrimony, married life or hell, as some may perceive it. Tel Aviv's Jewish Monkeys take their latest single "Catastrophic Life" behind closed doors and into the realms of the subconscious.

Released last Friday, the hilarious companion music video, directed by the infamous A.T. Mann and produced by London's [...]

Japan's Minyo Crusaders are a 10-piece big band of sorts, quite unlike anything we've heard. On a mission to rework Japanese 'min'yō' folk songs into more danceable and let's say accessible arrangements, blending Japanese traditions with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian flavours, the group has been on a tear, ever since the release of their debut album "Echoes of Japan" on Mais Um back in May. 

With several European live dates ahead in November/December, [...]

A few weeks ago we were caught off guard by an Instagram ad from Far Out Recordings, teasing two upcoming and now released re-issues of Brazilian artist Ana Mazzotti. The ad was accompanied by an incredibly catchy track that instantly struck a chord and led us to mark the release day in our calendars. As we now know, the track in question was "Agora Ou Nunca Mais", the opener of her 1974 debut album "Niguem Vai Me Segurar". We had never heard of Mazzotti before [...]

Ghanaian highlife music is as alive as ever and so is the irresistibly charismatic and no doubt iconic "golden voice of Africa" , Pat Thomas. At 72 years and after approximately 50 years in music with the likes of Ebo Taylor, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, he just delivered his second album alongside Accra's Kwashibu Area Band on Strut Records, proving yet again that age is but a number. And just like its self-entitled, 2015-released predecessor, "Obiaa!" (which [...]

Istanbul's Grup Ses is back at it. This time the avid digger, DJ and producer resurfaced an obscure 1975 one-take album by the should be and maybe soon to be legendary Grup Doğuş, aka the brothers Tufan and Muhittin Aydoğan, guest workers, who emigrated from Turkey to Germany and in 1974 formed their group.

Tufan Aydoğan, playfully dubbed "Hammond Tufan, the Conqueror of all organs" by none other than Barış Manço, was, as you may have guessed, the [...]