Album: Burna Boy - I Told Them...

★★★★ BURNA BOY - I TOLD THEM... Still on remarkable musical form

More money, more worries? Perhaps - but Burna Boy is still on remarkable musical form

There’s been a lot of flak flying around this album already. It’s mainly been triggered by Burna Boy’s public activities which have included disparaging the wider Afrobeats music scene of West Africa, and some somewhat overcooked expressions of his pan-Africanist philosophy.

We Out Here Festival, Wimborne St Giles review: it's a family affair, and then some...

★★★★★ WE OUT HERE FESTIVAL It's a family affair, and then some...

Legacy, gratitude, and an embarrassment of good grooves in the Dorset greenery

We Out Here Festival, now in its fifth year (and fourth edition, as 2020 was of course cancelled for Covid), has become an institution. Curated by jazz-centric veteran DJ Gilles Peterson and actualised by Noah Ball – best known for his role in creating Outlook Festival in Croatia which has served as UK bass music’s metting point in the sun since 2008 – it joins the dots culturally through generations of music both strange and hedonistic and attracts a faithful crowd that reflects that.

Album: Genesis Owusu - Struggler

Ghanaian-Australian continues his exuberant alt-pop mission with a unique swagger

There’s been a sense of anticipation around Ghanaian-Australian Genesis Owusu ever since his ebullient 2021 debut album Smiling with No Teeth. He won a bunch of Arias, Australia’s Grammys, but could he break internationally? He’s toured the US with Paramore and is due to hit Europe in the Autumn, including a stop at Berghain.

Album: Lunice - OPEN

★★★★ LUNICE - OPEN Exploring the interzones with the Quebecois beat scientist

Exploring the interzones with the Quebecois beat scientist

There are whole books to be written – indeed, hopefully being written – on how hip hop has interacted with dance music culture in North America over the past decade plus. From the overblown mania of rap megastars jumping on David Guetta tracks in the heat of the EDM explosion at the start of the 2010s, to the far more sophisticated fusions done brilliantly by Beyoncé and slightly less so by Drake on big albums last year, it’s created some of the most ubiquitous sounds globally.

Album: Steel Banglez - The Playlist

East London production hero steps towards the spotlight with a cast of hundreds

There is a truly fascinating story to be written about the hidden Punjabi influence on UK bass music. Maybe it’s natural for kids growing up with the huge booming sounds of dhol and tabla drums to gravitate to big bass speakers, but some of the most unique and influential producers in the interface between reggae, grime and dubstep have been from Punjabi backgrounds: notably Kromestar, V.I.V.E.K. and brothers Sukh Knight and Squarewave.

The Great Escape Festival 2023, Brighton review - a vibrant dip into Day One

★★★★ THE GREAT ESCAPE FESTIVAL 2023, BRIGHTON A vibrant dip into Day One

Our team check out Moonchild Sanelly, Shelf Lives, Yot Club and Hannes

Brighton is writhing with music biz sorts. The Great Escape is here, the multi-venue festival that’s taken place here for over a decade-and-a-half, presenting bands from all over the world, most of them little known, at least in the UK. It takes place over four days, Wednesday to Saturday, although not much happens on Wednesday, so the real Day One is Thursday, and here we are.

Album: SBTRKT - THE RAT ROAD

SBTRKT scratches that seven-year itch with an album that covers a LOT of bases

Aaron Jerome has always cut his own path through British music. After a few jazzy, groovy experiments under his own name in the 00s, he came dramatically to prominence at the end of that decade as SBTRKT. He was always associated with the post-dubstep moment where the UK bass subcultures of dubstep and grime folded back into house and techno, launching big names like Hessle Audio and Disclosure – but in fact he didn’t quite fit there.

theartsdesk on Vinyl 76: Elton John, Pharoah Sanders, Hellripper, Jah Wobble, T-Rex and more

The biggest, most eclectic regular record reviews in the galaxy

There will be two theartsdesk on Vinyls this week. The first is here, an epic 11,000 words on a multitude of new releases in every genre, from reissues of classics to spanking new strangeness. There’s something for everyone. On Thursday we’ll have a special edition in honour of Record Store Day this coming Saturday, so watch out for that too. For now, though, dive in!

VINYL OF THE MONTH

Elsa Bergman Playon Crayon (B.Inspelningar)

Music Reissues Weekly: Jon Savage's 1980-1982 - The Art Of Things To Come

Thought-provoking overview of three flux years when shininess became a goal

Jon Savage's 1980-1982 - The Art Of Things To Come continues a series which began in 2015 with 1966 - The Year The Decade Exploded, a compilation springing off from Savage’s book of the same name. A follow-up looked at 1965, but after that the series has marched forward chronologically.

Album: Kali Uchis - Red Moon in Venus

Third from the American star is a slow, intoxicated and sensual love-fest

Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis knocked it out of the park with the vibrant, eclectic global pop of debut Isolation, one of the best albums of 2018.