Albums

It’s a sense of connectedness from the diaspora to the ‘motherland’ that makes Subhana such a  triumph – An ocean of sensations, Ahmed Ben Ali’s long-awaited collection radiates energy, peace and spiritual love.

Hannah Aldridge’s ‘Dream of America’ calls on you to listen with both ears, heart and mind, downplaying the vocal power of past releases in favour of an understated honeyed smokiness, it’s her most ambitious and assured work to date.

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.

It’s been nine years since Laura Cantrell released an album and ‘Just Like a Rose’, on which she is joined by a number of special guests, is a glorious affirmation that she’s not lost her magical touch.

Haar might be Lauren MacColl’s most accomplished and rewarding work to date, an ambitious album of painterly beauty, on which the sadness of experience is offset by the constant awareness of the world’s wonders and complexities.  

First issued in 1969, the Malombo Jazz Makers’ unknown third album ‘Down Lucky’s Way’ is reissued on vinyl. The liner notes include an interview with Lucky Ranku, one of the greatest African guitarists of his generation.

Joost Dijkema’s ‘After Thunder Sun’ is an impressive piece of work, an album unafraid to let hooky, full-band songs sit alongside ragas and American-style solo acoustic instrumentals. Joost’s playing is excellent throughout, and the quality of music is also consistently ace, making this a key listen for fans of high-end guitar music. Bravo.

Jeffrey Silverstein is not your traditional cosmic cowboy, and Western Sky Music plays free and loose with conventional theories of country music. This is one album that will not be heading for the musty lower shelves of the record store.

Kicking any second album syndrome fears into touch; Lawside seems certain to figure in year-end best-of lists and launch Roseanne Reid into the wider consciousness of fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Marvellous and mystifying, the aural landscape of The Far Sound is simply unlike anything ever experienced before, making music that goes in a most unexpected direction, creating a sonic timepiece where worlds meet.

A thoughtful and reflective album, Ben Harper’s ‘Wide Open Light’ has a quiet strength and emotional depth in its minimalism. His past albums have accrued eight Grammy nominations and three wins. This should add to both tallies.

Ben Chasny and Rick Tomlinson “drank delicious beer on sunny afternoons and had fantastic dinners” while recording ‘Waves’… an album in which we feel the warm vibrations of their dreams and visions.