Africa
CD: Aziza Brahim - SahariMonday, 11 November 2019
Last month this Western Saharan singer-songwriter stood on stage at London’s Jazz Café and turned the venue into a hallowed holy space with just her voice and the rhythm she summoned from her tabal drum. Translated from the orginal Arabic, two lines... Read more... |
The British Tribe Next Door, Channel 4 review - risible culture-clash farragoWednesday, 23 October 2019
What’s the most ridiculous programme that Channel 4 has ever made? Sex Box? The Execution of Gary Glitter? Extreme Celebrity Detox? Whatever, The British Tribe Next Door is up there vying for supremacy.The Moffatt family, from Bishop Auckland, have... Read more... |
CD: Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Foals, the band with a trademark sound characterised by the African-style intricate interplay of rhythm rather than lead guitars, returns with what amounts to the second half of a double album. The first half was released last spring, and this new... Read more... |
Our Lady of Kibeho, Theatre Royal Stratford East review - heaven and hell in Rwandan visionsFriday, 04 October 2019
The American dramatist Katori Hall has created a work of rare accomplishment in Our Lady of Kibeho, a play that combines a beautifully established picture of a particular world – a church school in rural Rwanda, in the early 1980s – with profound... Read more... |
CD: Tinariwen - AmadjarThursday, 05 September 2019
Tinariwen’s music has always been evocative of West African deserts with their mellow blues-like guitars and shuffling groove. Initially recording everything in Mali until it was invaded by religious fanatics who deemed playing music forbidden,... Read more... |
José Eduardo Agualusa: The Society of Reluctant Dreamers review - vivid visions towards a free AngolaSunday, 01 September 2019
Reality follows dreams in José Eduardo Agualusa’s latest experiment in quixotic political fable. The book opens with journalist Daniel Benchimol waking at the Rainbow Hotel in Angola’s capital, Luanda: “I saw long black birds fly past. I’d dreamed... Read more... |
The Lion King review - a dazzling photocopyThursday, 18 July 2019
The cynicism of this film’s existence squeezes all the feeling from it. It approaches cherished childhood memories of the original The Lion King (1994) with a view to remonetising them. Technological advances apart, there’s no reason at all for this... Read more... |
CD: KOKOKO! - FongolaFriday, 28 June 2019
This debut is the best collaboration between a French producer and African musicians since Yves Wernert got together with Malian ngoni player Issa Bagoyogo for a string of masterful fusion albums during the Noughties. But his time around it was the... Read more... |
CD: Santana – Africa SpeaksSunday, 02 June 2019
You hear a lot about living legends, but there aren’t actually that many around – at least not since the first half of 2016. Carlos Santana, however, definitely fits the bill. From his early days stealing the show at Woodstock alongside drummer... Read more... |
Freedom Fields review - Libya’s next freedom fightersSaturday, 01 June 2019
Set in the months and years after the Libyan revolution, Freedom Fields follows several women aiming to compete in international football. The documentary finds the players excitedly preparing for their first overseas tournament. However, it soon... Read more... |
CD: Youssou N'Dour - HistorySunday, 26 May 2019
Yousou N’Dour has come a long way from his cassettes with Super Etoile de Dakar, that wild mbalax energy, fed by the clatter of the high-pitched sabar drums, with vocals that soared and fizzed with emotion and soul. Today’s Youssou is air-... Read more... |
The Widow, Series Finale, ITV review - Congolese drama parts company with realityWednesday, 01 May 2019
Are brothers Harry and Jack Williams mounting a takeover bid for British TV? They’ve written (among other dramas) The Missing, Liar and Baptiste, and they produced Fleabag. However, judging by their co-writing efforts on The Widow (ITV) they’re... Read more... |
