Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, the eight-piece collective Fauna offer up a colourful tapestry of sounds in which Eastern instruments and styles interweave with psychedelic guitars, atmospheric effects and electronic beats. Swedish compatriots Goat are an obvious point of reference, though Fauna’s focus is more firmly rooted in the dancefloor. The band are at their best […]

For two decades, Tamikrest’s music has illuminated the sound, culture and conscience of the Kel Tamasheq (Touareg) people of the Sahara. Tamikrest means ‘connection’ or ‘union’ in Tamasheq, and the band have become one of the Kel Tamasheq’s most vital voices, raising awareness of their plight while channelling experiences of exile, loss and resistance. Their […]

Staffed by Turkish, Indonesian and Dutch members, Altın Gün have always favored tunings and tonalities exotic to Anglo-American ears. Utilizing a saz (a long-necked lute played in Eastern Europe, the Levant and Asia) as lead instrument adds distinctive flavor to their respectful yet non-rote modernizations of Turkish folk classics and to their own serpentine compositions. […]

This genre-blurring Dutch quartet describes their sound as a “joyous mix of disco, funk, surf, psychedelia, and Southeast Asian motifs,” but the way those influences are juggled and balanced has been in a continual state of flux since the band’s earliest singles. That stylistic volatility seems to be by design, however, as co-founder/drummer Kees Berkers notes that the band’s name differs from…