Madison Quinn

Fargo

Contributor at World Music Central

Articles

Lament of the Times: Xanthoula Dakovanou Weaves Mourning and Modernity in Lamenta

1 week ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Xanthoula Dakovanou – Lamenta (Quart de Lune, 2021)Lamenta, the 2021 release from Greek vocalist and composer Xanthoula Dakovanou, is anchored in the miroloï tradition of Epirus, ancient mourning songs that have long carried grief through the mountains of northwestern Greece. Notably, this album extends a hand to the past, inviting its ghosts to dance through a music shaped by jazz, post-rock, and ritual.
Meral Polat’s Music Career Through Diaspora and Song

1 week ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

(headline image: Meral Polat live in Vienna –Photo by Hanna Fasching)Meral Polat is an acclaimed actress, singer-songwriter, and theater producer based in the Netherlands. She graduated from the Amsterdam University of the Arts, specializing in Drama and Contemporary Music Theatre. Her multidisciplinary career spans prominent theater, film, and music productions, where she is widely recognized for her expressive range and innovative approach.
Highlife in Motion: Santrofi’s “Making Moves” Charts a Bold New Journey

4 weeks ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Santrofi – Making Moves (Outhere Records, 2025)Some albums arrive like old friends returning home, carrying new stories yet familiar scents of the past. Making Moves, the much-anticipated second album from Ghana’s Santrofi, feels precisely like that. Almost five years after their vigorous debut Alewa sent shockwaves through global folk and world music circles, this Accra-based eight-piece ensemble reminds us not only where Highlife comes from, but just how far it can still go.
Roberta Gulisano’s A Ccu Apparteni Reclaims the Music of the Uprooted

1 month ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Roberta Gulisano – A ccu apparteni (Mhodí Music Company, 2024)At first listen, A Ccu Apparteni by Roberta Gulisano feels like a dispatch from a forgotten corner of the Mediterranean. However, listen closer, and you will discover that this album is far from a simple exercise in regional nostalgia. Rather, it is an act of reclamation, a deeply personal yet profoundly universal meditation on identity, exile, and resilience.
Renegade Queens Highlights the Women of San Francisco Bay Area Latin Jazz Scene

1 month ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Various Artists – Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 3: Renegade Queens (Patois Records, 2025)Spearheaded by trombonist-arranger Wayne Wallace and filmmaker Rita Hargrave, Salsa de la Bahía Vol. 3: Renegade Queens is a mouth watering two-disc anthology that documents the often-overlooked role of women in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Latin jazz scene. Building on the foundation of the first two Salsa de la Bahía volumes, this latest installment shifts focus from regional history to gender equity.
Fancy Fingers & Winyo Weave Luo Roots into Global Grooves

1 month ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Fancy Fingers and Winyo – Jawaya Jathum (Delicious Tunes, 2025)Jawaya Jathum (“The Guitarist and The Music Lover”) is a 13-track Luo-language album that penetrates your soul. It interweaves traditional East African instrumentation with contemporary global styles. The collaboration between Kenyan musicians Fancy Fingers and Winyo brings together the sparkling sounds of the nyatiti (lyre) and orutu (fiddle) from Kenya as well as a lovely mix of Afropop, Benga, jazz, and zouk.
Ozan Baysal Recreates Şelpe in Tel ve Ten

2 months ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Ozan Baysal – Tel ve Ten (ARC Music EUCD2976, 2025)Ozan Baysal’s debut album, Tel ve Ten (String and Skin), spotlights the ancient Anatolian baglama (or bağlama) technique of şelpe: a plectrum-free style relying solely on hand techniques. This album presents a fusion of tradition and innovation, positioning Baysal as a key figure in the contemporary evolution of the instrument.
Calling Back the Voices: Ra di Spina’s “Vocazioni”

2 months ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Ra di Spina – Vocazioni (Agualoca Records, 2025)Vocazioni, the debut album by Ra di Spina (King of Thorn), is a project deeply rooted in the enthralling folk traditions of Southern Italy. Drawing on a broad range of archival research and oral histories, the album presents a collection of deeply grounded traditional songs that speak to themes of devotion, memory, and cultural identity.
Tantalizing Sounds: Unearthing Egypt’s Lost Urban Folklore

2 months ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Various Artists – Born in the City of Tanta: Lower Egyptian Urban Folklore and Bedouin Shaabi from Libya’s Bourini Records 1968-75 (Sublime Frequencies, 2025)Throughout much of the 20th century, Egypt’s mainstream popular music was a structured, sophisticated art form, shaped by professional musicians and centered in Cairo. It catered primarily to the middle and upper classes, blending Arabic traditions with select foreign influences.
Amped Up and Unruly: Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar

2 months ago | worldmusiccentral.org | Madison Quinn

Various Artists – Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar (Sublime Frequencies, 2025)This compilation introduces a raw and electrifying portrait of tsapiky, the high-energy music of Southwest Madagascar. It captures the frenetic pulse of a genre shaped by ritual, competition, and sheer sound force. Tsapiky thrives in ceremonies, funerals, weddings, and coming-of-age rites, where musicians perform for days on end, fueling ecstatic dances and communal revelry.