sun 10/08/2025

New music

Reissue CDs Weekly: Carole King, Abba, Sheena Easton

Carole King: The Legendary DemosLisa-Marie Ferla For one whose appreciation of Carole King, the songwriter, has never truly been distinguishable from her appreciation of Carole King, the performer, a listen to the treasure trove that is The...

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theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Ilan Volkov

Relentlessly energetic, opinionated, and never less than passionate about music-making, Ilan Volkov is a close as you get to a prodigy in the world of conducting. Appointed as Young Conductor in association with the Northern Sinfonia at just 19, at...

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Ian Anderson, Hammersmith Apollo

This may be the Thick as a Brick 2 tour, but it’s also the 44th year of Ian Anderson’s performing career, mainly as Jethro Tull's front man. In that role he's variously been a bluesman, a rocker and a folkie.1972's Thick as a Brick was dubbed a "...

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CD: Norah Jones - Little Broken Hearts

Well, this is lovely. Low-down-and-lazy country-soul grooves, a bit of Morricone, a bit of Nancy'n'Lee, a sprinkling of Southern Gothic, and through it all Norah Jones's satin voice delivering tidy little narratives tied up in gently insinuating...

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ENO premiere for Albarn's Dr Dee

Following its opening at the Manchester International Festival, the English National Opera will give Damon Albarn’s opera, Dr Dee, its London premiere in June, directed by Rufus Norris. Forming part of the London 2012 Festival, there will be eight...

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Juan De Marcos Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Barbican Centre

As both a catalyst and a musician, Juan De Marcos Gonalez has had a massive impact on Cuban music in the last couple of decades. He formed the retro group Sierra Maestre 30 years ago, when to resurrect old-style Cuban music was considered decidedly...

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Interview: 10 Questions for Norah Jones

Norah Jones is back. New haircut, new sound, new producer. The first of these, while very nice, needn't concern us too much. The second, meanwhile, is largely a result of the presence of the third, the ubiquitous Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton, who is...

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CD: Mystery Jets - Radlands

It’s a long way from Eel Pie Island to the Lone Star State, but if the Mystery Jets didn’t want people remarking that fourth album Radlands marked a departure from a certain strain of poppy, guitar-driven indie love song the London band have always...

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Songlines award winners announced

With the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards now axed, Songlines Magazine has become the most prestigious World Music Award going. The winners have just been announced. The winners, selected by the Songlines editorial team and listed below, are published...

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Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts announced

Europe's newest arts festival has been announced – in Westport, County Mayo, in the west of Ireland. The inaugural event will take place over the weekend of 23-24 June this year in the grounds of the historic Westport House.The organisers describe...

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CD: Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart

Kooky ladies are very much of the moment, an ongoing moment, actually - the last couple of years, to be precise - but they seem to be with us to stay which is surely a good thing, especially in the playground. Better them than unreconstructed pole-...

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Gravenhurst: Interview & Video Exclusive

Gravenhurst is Nick Talbot, a Bristolian multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter who recently completed his sixth album, The Ghost in Daylight. Ahead of its release on Warp Records next week theartsdesk premieres the unsettling film made for...

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