David Pratt

Gabriel Moreno’s ‘Wound in The Night’ is an absorbing and engaging listen. At times on this album, he is the ideal person to fill the void left by Leonard Cohen.

Iona Lane & Ranjana Ghatak’s ‘Cove’ is a beguiling and transfixing EP providing a memorable listening experience. The juxtaposition of two beautiful voices from such diverse musical backgrounds is a thing of great beauty.

The Eliza Carthy Trio’s ‘Conversations We’ve Had Before’, on which David Delarre and Saul Rose join Eliza, is “one of the best traditional folk releases of the year so far.” A digital-only release, it is to be hoped that such an enigmatic and compelling album receives the attention that it deserves.

Another one to savour. Pedro Rosa’s ‘Midnight Alvorada’ is an impressive debut which could play a valuable role in bringing this type of Brazilian music to a wider audience. Its mellow, mellifluous ambience provides the perfect, chilled sound for a balmy summer.

The canon of African electronic music is significantly enhanced by the release of ‘Synthesized Sudan’, the first ever release of electronic Jaglara, an obscure dance music from an area near the Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea border. Full marks to Ostinato Records for bringing such joyful, uplifting new dance music to our ears.

With Family Affair, Inna de Yard authentically and innovatively present some of the genre’s most memorable songs and artists. A highly recommended accompaniment to the summer and beyond.

With Spirits, The Circling Sun have managed to produce an album which succeeds in paying due respect to the African American greats of jazz whilst simultaneously imbuing their compositions with a passionate South Pacific empathy and insight.

Merry Hell are a seriously entertaining group, with songs that can strike a chord, uplift and engender feelings of well-being. Let The Music Speak For Itself is a retrospective collection that does so much more than merely ‘speak’; it positively roars.

Ernest Bergez transforms Sourdure into the four-piece Sourdurent with the release of L’herbe de détourne – a bold and deeply rewarding venture.

This May, Merry Hell will mark their 12 years with a double CD retrospective collection, ‘Let The Music Speak For Itself’; we chat with Wigan’s finest, who tell us, “We make a song and dance about serious subjects, but we’re seriously entertaining.“

Another fine offering from Bongo Joe Records – Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983, is a significant release, bringing the joyous and vibrant fusion of Les Abranis’ “rockabyle”, to a wider audience.

At the forefront of both tropical and early psychedelic, electronic/synthesised music, with Ecuatoriana, Analog Africa transports the listener to a parallel universe where Polibio Mayorga is confirmed as a legendary icon of Ecuadorian music.