Featured Albums of the Month

Plans to re-release La Candella Viva the album that made Totó La Momposina a global star took on a life of their own when the master tapes opened up a treasure chest of unheard material. The result is Tambolero – effectively a whole new album.

Simi Stone is the homecoming queen and the daydream believer as feeling the magnetic pull of Woodstock she’s teamed up with a fantastic band and made a great record. Here she tells us all about her Moutain Motown sound.

Siobhan Wilson’s Say It’s True was recorded in Glasgow with the help of some very talented friends and offers a collection of hopes and sorrows, dressed in some of the finest tunes you could wish for. You could say it’s truly beautiful.

By moving to New Orleans, Rickie Lee Jones has reignited her creative spark. The Other Side Of Desire is her first new original album since 2009, tapping into the rhythmic heartbeat and mystical, musical spirit of the Crescent City.

A request for an old song led Boo Hewerdine to uncover a full album’s worth of material, which his label deemed simply too good not to be heard and Open shows the wisdom of that call. Yet another unassuming masterpiece that quietly slips alongside everything Boo has done with its indelible stamp of quality.

When Ross Cockburn met Jay Brown something clicked and Dark Green Tree was the happy result. Adding the voice of Cera Impala to the dream-pop-Americana of Secret Lives proves a further stroke of genius. A record that fulfils a dream and sets in motion whole new flights of fantasy and imagination of its own, wrapped up in a set of blissful tunes and honeyed harmony.

The Wooden House places Holly Lerski’s songwriting at the centre and it’s this focus which is the album’s real strength. To be able to look beyond the surfaces of everyday concerns and find new insights may seem a small thing, but it’s a rare skill which should get a big thumbs-up from anyone with a penchant for a finely-turned phrase, something which Holly Lerski has in abundance.

Looking for a new sound to match his visions of England Wes Finch had a notion Gerry Diver might steer him there and the wonderful, wildly creative Awena proves him right. If a record could be a page turner then this is it.

Laura Victoria is a powerful, original voice well established on the folk circuit and her glorious full-length debut Head Above Water proves her “Fearlessly adventurous” talent. She has a unique sound that certainly benefits from the chemistry she shares with her friend and accompanist Jo Cooper, but has she also has a magical ability to the shift musical shapes to cover the broad range of her emotive songs.

Seckou Keita’s latest album ’22 Strings’ is his first ever solo album and in this new video interview he provides a valuable insight into the album including the significance of the songs and his kora playing.

Having made her mark with The Duke & The King, Simi Stone taps into her Upstate Catskill roots for a debut album of bright, vivid soulful sounds as fresh as the sun-kissed mountain air. Plus watch the premiere of her new video for ‘Got It All’.

Building on the acclaim for his debut, Rhythm & Reason finds Bhi Bhiman hitting a socially conscious, soul groove and combining the political and the personal with trademark wit and wisdom. Don’t miss his UK and Ireland Tour in June.