Uzun Havalar

With a new album set for release this February, Shortparis are well on their way to deserved international acclaim and already being heralded as "the best Russian live act". Hailing from St. Petersburg and led by charismatic frontman Nikolay Komiagin, the band continues to build a reputation for its jaw-dropping ritualistic performances and dark, electronic soundscapes, as "irrational, spastic dance grooves" converge with "post-punk, experimental noise and [...]

If you happen to be in London on February 1st and 2nd, you should definitely consider visiting this year's London Remixed Festival by the Global Local crew. Taking place on two days and on four stages at the Rich Mix art centre in Shoreditch, this live music culture clash showcases "the best in Latin Grooves, Afrobeats, Tropical Bass, Vintage-Remix, Desert Remix, Balkan Beats, Urban Roots, Acoustic Soundclash and Brass Band Remix".

The festival's main [...]

Brighton is probably not the first place you'd suspect to be behind a mix of vintage Tunisian cassettes. The so-called London-by-the-sea is however home to Hive Mind Records, a quality imprint specialising in "vintage and contemporary sounds from around the globe". Credit them for posthumously releasing an 8-track vinyl album of the late Maalem Mahmoud Gania's final studio recordings as well as a 30-minute cassette tribute to fellow Moroccan legend Moulay Ahmed [...]

We first chanced upon this eight-piece, London-based afrobeat collective about a year ago, when they premiered their sublime track "Abusey Junction", that featured on the 2018-released Brownswood Recordings compilation "We Out Here" and was just recently shortlisted for the upcoming "Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards Track of the Year" (to take place this Saturday, January 19th at KOKO in London). In any case Kokoroko's is a music that travels, as the "all-star [...]

Have you ever wondered, what the Yiddish queens of swing, The Barry Sisters, might sound like today? Would they have gone for more of an R&B vibe? Or what kind of music would Mickey Katz be making, who humoured Jewish audiences with his musical parodies in the 1970s US of A? The newly established Berlin trio Freylekhs'3000 is here to answer the above and many more questions. Dubbed "Jewish Retro-Futurism", they combine klezmer, hiphop and Yiddish swing with [...]

Late last year, while doing promo for her breathtaking new LP "Naz", Israeli model, singer, actress and songwriter Liraz was interviewed by Franco-German television network arte, the results of which were captured in a 2-minute clip, available on demand via arte.tv and entitled, "Liraz Charhi, chanteuse en liberté". 

The clip shows Liraz performing a short sequence in a gallery, while she provides some insight as to what inspired her album and why she decided [...]

We never stop digging for extraordinary tunes from around the globe. So when Laid Back Radio popped up in our News Feed a few days ago, teasing DJ Scientist's brand new mix of "German Boogie Essentials", we were all the more surprised to discover his previous mix of Georgian Groove Essentials. 

Originally released as a free download in December 2014, DJ Scientist's epic "The Georgian Groove Essentials" mix was realised as part of a series of Soviet Groove [...]

2019 is off to a rocking start as we present you album number three by Franco-Ethiopian group uKanDanZ, entitled "Yeketelale". Releasing on Buda Musique, the band was originally discovered by Francis Falceto and invited to perform at the “Ethiopian International Music Festival” in Ethiopia alongside charismatic veteran singer Asnake Guebreyes. 

From that moment on, uKanDanZ have thrilled countless audiences with their "heady brew of rock energy, saxophone [...]

The "outernational pop-group" and Anatolian psych-pop sensation Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek are back with new double-sided 7-inch single, released earlier this month on Bongo Joe Records. 

Following in the footsteps of their beautiful debut EP "Nem Kaldı" and their one-off "Üç Kız Bir Ana" release on Ironhand Records, the Hamburg-based five-piece is back with another traditional Turkish tune, a catchy lovesong about "about a man's mad love for a [...]

After just recently receiving the German Record Critics' Award Israeli phenomenon Victoria Hanna's eponymous debut longplayer was just reviewed for the forthcoming January/February 2019 issue (#144) of UK's Songlines magazine, where it received a highly gratifying five-star review along with the coveted "Top Of The World" label. 

Here's the entire review by Asher Breuer-Weil, which fills our hearts with joy: 

>> Israeli singer explores the space between [...]

Yes, we are entranced. Initially drawn in by Lebanese artist Raphaëlle Macaron's trippy cover design, we gave the new Akuphone-release a concentrated listen and were absolutely wowed. "Doomsday Survival Kit" is just what these chaotic times demand and Lebanese duo PRAED timely delivers its fourth album to answer the call. As expressed in the liner notes, "this is the ultimate kit to calmly prepare for the sixth extinction!". Seems about right. 

Paed Conca and [...]

It's only Tuesday and a rainy one in Berlin, but work came easy as we shook a leg or two to Hot Casa Records' recently released four-tracker of edits and rarities, inspired by its critically acclaimed 2016-released "Togo Soul 70" compilation. 

Julien Lebrun and Djamel Hammadi's Paris-based imprint is most definitely finishing the year in style: Hot on the heels of Vaudou Game's "Otodi" comes this 12"/digital release featuring two torrid, dancefloor-oriented [...]