Annarella and Django Sparkle on Jazzy ‘Jouer’
Annarella and Django’s Jouer is lush with thought, skill, and, yes, play, intangible elements that make this genre-defying album superb and satisfying.
Adriane Pontecorvo
Adriane Pontecorvo is a native San Franciscan with a penchant for global beats. She is a music programmer for community radio station WFHB and studies ethnomusicology at Indiana University.
Chatuye’s ‘Ahmuti’ Adds to a Garifuna Cultural Archive
The Chatuye archives offer a broader understanding of how Garifuna artists have sounded their identity in community with one another.
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The 10 Best Global Music Albums of 2024
In 2024’s best global music, celebrations of culture abound, with performers playing with sounds of home and family from the Caribbean to Tanzania and beyond.
‘Even the Forest Hums’ Showcases Little-Known Ukrainian Music
This new compilation celebrates Ukrainian musicians’ abilities to find alternate modes of creating in the face of Soviet state restrictions.
Seasoned MPB Artist Rogê Conjures Classic Samba
For fans of samba and bossa nova, Rogê’s Curyman II is a heartfelt homage to these enduring and quintessentially Brazilian styles of music.
Dogo du Togo Thrills with the Alagaa Beats of ‘Avoudé’
Dogo du Togo’s music bursts with brilliant shades of funk, rock, and older West African traditions, familiar elements that come together in fresh sounds.
São Paulo’s Nomade Orquestra Sounds a Brassy Revolution
São Paulo band Nomade Orquestra’s ‘Terceiro Mundo’ is a shining example of a group capable of being original, inventive, and nonetheless broadly appealing.
The Linda Lindas Are Earnestly Edgy on ‘No Obligation’
The Linda Lindas voice the trials inherent to growing up in a society that devalues perspectives of the young, the feminine, and the ‘different’.
Pop Duo Kit Sebastian Thrill on Thoughtful ‘New Internationale’
Kit Sebastian’s New Internationale is a robust pop masterpiece, a boldly artful work that is refined but not restrained, tasteful but never bland.
Swiss Duo Citron Citron Make Minimalist Art Pop on ‘Maréeternelle’
Citron Citron’s Maréeternelle is accessible avant-garde pop still edging toward highbrow. It highlights the ultramodern sounds coming from Geneva’s underground.
Brazil-Rooted Ayom Party with Purpose on ‘Sa.Li.Va.’
Ayom’s Sa.Li.Va. is meant to be heard and felt to move a listener literally and figuratively. Complex in its makings, its joy is straightforward.
Nala Sinephro Composes Cosmic Jazz on ‘Endlessness’
Nala Sinephro’s Endlessness is music that is good for the ear, the mind, the heart, and the very future of the philosophical orientations of jazz.