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Amaro Freitas: Y’Y review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month


The Brazilian jazz experimentalist draws on the atmosphere of the rainforest and its mythical beings to create his most explosive, explorative LP yet

Dedicated to the preservation of the Amazon, the nine tracks of Y’Y (meaning “water” or “river” in Sateré Mawé dialect) use whistles, prepared piano and percussion to evoke the sounds of the rainforest and its mythical beings. Sahrawi singer Aziza Brahim releases her latest album, Mawja (Glitterbeat), melding dabke rhythms and tabal hand drums with flamenco guitar to produce 10 lively tracks of powerful vocals that evoke her Western Saharan culture and current life in Spain. The debut record from Sheherazaad, Qasr (Erased Tapes), features production from Arooj Aftab and draws on the singer’s atmospheric Urdu vocals, peaking on the reverb-laden jazz inflections of Koshish.

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Amaro Freitas