Adédèji (Nigeria)

Adedeji’s music is an infusion of traditional African music with a progressive attitude and the modern sounds of jazz, funk, and soul. The nine-piece band includes some of Nigeria’s best musicians, featuring the grooviest rhythm and horn section that enhances the afrobeat-influenced sound, along with backing vocals that reference Adedeji’s gospel upbringing.

Photo by Carolina Vallejo.

Ão (Belgium)

Ão’s mystical blend of fado, indie and subtle electronica, fronted by the serenely commanding voice of Brenda Corijn, drawing on her Mozambican-Portuguese roots, has brought critical acclaim for their debut album and appearances at major European festivals.

Photo by Anneke D Hollander.

Barrut (France)

Barrut consists of seven singers and a percussionist who draw inspiration for their magnetic and wild songs from the vocal polyphonies of the French region of Occitania. In a powerful symphony, Barrut makes their intimate and political struggles resonate through pamphlets, fables, epics, and other poetic chronicles of today’s world.

Buzz’ Ayaz (Cyprus)

Monsieur Doumani founder, Antonis Antoniou’s new project manifests a fuzzy urban soundscape of synth textures, dubby electronics, ‘70s psych organ, growling reed utterances, big beats and microtonal Anatolian melodic spices, serving up fresh Eastern-Mediterranean psychedelia.

Photo by Michalis Demetriades.

Clare Sands (Ireland)

A sixth-generation fiddler and bilingual singer from Cork, Ireland, Clare Sands channels the music of her ancestors, making her a unique force in Irish music. Weaving traditional roots with contemporary sounds and influences, Sands’ passion for collaboration has led her to work with some of Ireland’s finest musicians, including Hothouse Flowers, Steve Cooney, Susan O’Neill, Niamh Regan, Brian Finnegan, Mary Coughlan and more.

Justin Adams & Mauro Durante (UK / Italy)

England’s Justin Adams and Italy’s Mauro Durante released an award-winning debut album, Still Moving, in 2021. Adams (producer of Tinariwen’s breakout albums and music director guitarist with Robert Plant) plays with a post-punk guitar approach enriched by his passion for Arabic music and African trance blues, while Durante (a sought-after violinist and percussionist and leader of Italy’s acclaimed Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, and long term collaborator of Ludovico Einaudi), gravitates toward the trance rhythms of Southern Italy’s pizzica style.

Photo by Martin Cervelli.

Queralt Lahoz (Spain)

Queralt Lahoz is one of the latest musical sensations emerging from Spain. Her music is infused with Latin, folk, and urban influences, where soul, hip-hop, and dancehall converge naturally and gracefully. These elements are framed by spontaneous overtones of cobla and bolero, inseparable from both her personal and musical background rooted in flamenco.

Rasha Nahas (Palestine / Germany)

Palestinian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Rasha Nahas was born and raised in Haifa, and currently resides and works in Berlin. Rasha has been cultivating a sound that effortlessly blends the resonances of early rock ‘n’ roll with the adventurous echoes of free jazz. Her distinctive approach to songwriting and performance adds depth to her music.

Sahra Halgan (France)

Sahra Halgan is an iconic singer, freedom fighter, and cultural activist from Somaliland, a self-declared independent country in the Horn of Africa not yet recognized internationally, and for which she fights. Her third album is the fruit of a sincere search for authenticity and innovation, an unprecedented alliance between Somali song and original rock, thus enriching the most unexpected landscapes of the world music scene with her inspiration.

Zarina Prvasevda (North Macedonia)

Exploring the labyrinthine roots of the traditional music of the Balkans, award-winning Macedonian artist Zarina Prvasevda and her ensemble celebrate the region’s diverse classical folklore through unconventional arrangements, dynamic rhythms and a contemporary cinematic approach.

Photo by Ivana Batev.