Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 

Monoswezi: Experimentation is The Order of The Day

Shanu quite simply means “Five” in the Shona language of Zimbabwe, home to MONOSWEZI's lead vocalist and mbira player HOPE MASIKE. This, their fifth album, is the most adventurous to date from the lineup representing four n...
by David McGee
 

 
 

Two Worlds Under One Sun

On THE SUN OF BOTH WORLDS: TRADITIONAL TURKISH SUFI MUSIC, Turkey's DÜ-ŞEMS ENSEMBLE demonstrates the musical interaction between its homeland and its neighbors. A review and band profile ensue.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Last Chants

Hardcore drummer/photographer JASON HAMACHER discusses a journey that took him on a years-long quest to find and record some of the world’s oldest yet least known liturgical music, in a country that eventually devolved into c...
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Portrait of His Hungarian Soul

Gypsy music is pure passion, and that's what Hungarian-born violinist FERENC ILLENYI mines on his album GYPSY DREAM, in which he immerses himself in exploring all the varied facets of gypsy music.
by David McGee
 

 

 

‘We’re Trying to Unpack The Mind’

ADITYA and MYTHILI PRAKASH have brought the peculiar rush and seductive snares of the mind’s inner workings to moving, singing life with MARA, a multimedia performance and album.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Pushing the Envelope of Nordic Jazz

The Karl Strømme Quintet is opening up new frontiers in Nordic jazz. The group's new album, DYNALYD, furthers the musicians' integration of other styles into the modern jazz tradition. A most pleasing sound it is.
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Past and the Future Power of West African Rock

Mali's BASSEKOU KOUYATÉ & NGONI BA reach electrifying heights on BA POWER, on which Kouyaté’ continues exploring 21st Century possibilities of the ancient ngnoi lute.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Transcending Avant-Garde Boundaries

On the rediscovered gem Bílé Inferno, Czech artists Iva Bittová and Vladimír Václavek transcend the avant-garde with music emanating from physical and emotional ecosystems.
by David McGee