by Joel Dwek | Mar 3, 2022 | Reviews
Electronic music with several twists, this album takes the listener on a journey into the diverse musical stylings of its creators… Portuguese musician Benjamim and British electronic music producer Barnaby Keen look determined on the cover art of their 2017...
by Danny Wiser | Nov 25, 2021 | Interviews
Known for its great warriors, wordsmiths and wise men, the legacy of Ancient Greece lives on in every aspect of modern society; breathing the energy of this era into song, singer and percussionist Katerina Papadopoulou joins us to discuss her journey in creating an...
by Joel Dwek | Oct 29, 2021 | Reviews
From piano ballads to synth pop, Italian duo Colapesce & Dimartino manage to impress in an expansive album… In the sphere of culture, Italy has had a titanic influence in many areas, even if one discounts the Renaissance era. Federico Fellini and Roberto...
by Joel Dwek | Oct 17, 2021 | Reviews
Fondo Flamenco stand on the shoulders of giants as they try to take flamenco into a new era… In 1979, a revolution happened in the world of Spanish music, where the once staid and old-fashioned genre of flamenco was revitalised, causing controversy along the...
by Joel Dwek | Sep 22, 2021 | Reviews
Rap rock all’Italiana? If anyone will convince you of the genre, it’s Caparezza… Before this process, I used to be rather rigid in my tastes. I more or less only listened to The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC, with a few forays...
by Joel Dwek | Aug 5, 2021 | Reviews
Stereossauro’s electronic beats meet the passion and saudade of fado in this entertaining melange of an album… We don’t often consider the artwork of an album as necessarily integral to the album itself, though it often is. It is always some kind of...
by Joel Dwek | Jul 8, 2021 | Reviews
A complex but flawed piece of work, does the Spanish rap star manage to bring flamenco into the 21st Century? Over the course of listening to so much music from around the world, I have surprised myself at how little music I have totally disliked. Even in genres that...
by Joel Dwek | Jun 11, 2021 | Reviews
Challenging beats and rhythms are the hallmark of Nídia’s experimental electro album… The sound of Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes will not be for everyone. As electronic albums go, it’s certainly on the more experimental end, and that is what makes it...
by Joel Dwek | Jun 7, 2021 | Reviews
A folk album with a lovely sentiment, Hüsnü Şenlendirici and Trio Chios aim to showcase the shared musical heritage of their two nations… One of the great joys of music is its ability to bring people together, despite other factors that may otherwise divide...
by Joel Dwek | Apr 12, 2021 | Reviews
Indie rock that musically harks back to grunge and classic rock, there is much to enjoy in Airport Impressions’ well-made album… Though I adore rock music more than any other genre, I have always been slightly sniffy towards the indie rock music artists of...
by Joel Dwek | Apr 1, 2021 | Reviews
The unique ‘tick-ish’ feeling is something that these Andalusian flamenco-rockers transmit in abundance… Formed in Cádiz in 1998, Andalusian rock group Los Delinqüentes (and that’s not just a Spın̈al Tap style unnecessary heavy metal umlaut, the...
by Danny Wiser | Mar 21, 2021 | Reviews
Vocal talent that earns the right to reverberate against Michelangelo’s stunning frescos… Danny: In recent centuries, Europe has seen its music culture massively diversify, as showcased by the wide range of album reviews on our site that differ wildly from...
by Danny Wiser | Feb 14, 2021 | Reviews
Fun, raw and multi-talented; Zucchero shows off a fusion style decades ahead of his time in a country that often fails to welcome in black music culture… When one thinks of the greatest contributors to the history of culture in Europe there is arguably one...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 27, 2020 | Reviews
Pop-rock maestro Lucio Dalla merges an array of styles to create a beautiful sound… Despite being an immense admirer of all things Italian, as a non-Italian speaker who has never had the opportunity to live in Italy as of yet, I sometimes feel as though I cannot...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 15, 2020 | Advent Calendar
SPAIN: Campana Sobre Campana – Parchis… This particular Spanish villancico (not quite a carol, but is often ignored as a term in favour of carol) is one of the few remaining popular villancicos remaining across the Iberian Peninsula. On the face of it,...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 9, 2020 | Advent Calendar
GREECE: Hronia Polla – Sakis Rouvas… For many around the world, Christmas Day is the day of giving and receiving gifts, however, not so in the Hellenic Republic (AKA Greece, to us simple folk). In fact, exchanging presents takes place on New Years’ Day,...
by Joel Dwek | Dec 8, 2020 | Reviews
Fleet-footed finger-work abound, Carlos Paredes takes us on a breakneck tour of Portuguese fado music… When I was 12, I went on a school trip to Barcelona, and one of the events we participated in during the trip was to attend a concert of flamenco dancing and...
by Danny Wiser | Nov 28, 2020 | Reviews
The Sammarinese band put their nation on the map with this cromulent pop-rock album As the answer to the rather challenging pub quiz question ‘Who was the first band to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest?’, Miodio also hold the rather embarrassing...
by Joel Dwek | Nov 20, 2020 | Reviews
L’Eden dei lunatici provides a chilled out selection of enjoyable rock tunes that entertain, if not delight… Despite having been released in 2020, L’Eden dei lunatici by Italian singer-songwriter Umberto Palazzo has a distinctly 90s indie feel to it, with...
by Joel Dwek | Oct 15, 2020 | Reviews
Zorba The Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis collaborates with Grigoris Bithikotsis and Meri Lida, two singers of different styles to form a delightful Greek folk album… While the music of Grigoris Bithikotsis and Meri Lida might make one think of gyros, kleftiko,...
by Danny Wiser | Sep 16, 2020 | Reviews
In this moody and contemplative album, Neapolitan singer-songwriter Enzo Gragnaniello cuts to the heart of what makes Italy tick… If you’ve been an active reader of NoiseNomad, you may have noticed the spectrum of Italian artists that we have reviewed so far,...
by Joel Dwek | Aug 25, 2020 | Reviews
Aggressive, punky beats and passionate lyrics are Karima 2G’s forte – but what can she tell us about the state of Italy today…? Italy is a country that I love. I’ve been lucky enough to spend time there both on holiday, as an exchange student with a...
by Joel Dwek | Aug 11, 2020 | Reviews
Moving on from his pop rock days, Cesare Cremonini’s sophomore effort is a sophisticated pop album with an arty and classical edge… Cesare Cremonini first came to prominence in Italy with the release of 1999’s …squérez?, the first and only album released...
by Danny Wiser | Aug 3, 2020 | Reviews, Top Picks
An album full of hits that celebrates the freedom of the post-dictatorship era… When I first listened to Nacha Pop’s El Momento, I thought it was middle-of-the-road cheesy 80s pop rock. To some extent I was right. However, amid our discussions of albums that...
by Danny Wiser | Aug 1, 2020 | Reviews
By merging classical music with pop, talented tenor Bocelli brings opera to the masses with his striking singing… Whether you are into rap or techno, it is unlikely that in your years on this planet you have not come across the incredible voice of Andrea...
by Danny Wiser | Jul 18, 2020 | Reviews
By turns haunting and evocative, Vangelis’ inspirational soundtrack is more iconic than the film in which it features, and rightly so… The soundtrack for Chariots of Fire was seen as such a masterpiece that it won Vangelis, Greece’s electronica...
by Danny Wiser | Jul 14, 2020 | Reviews
Italian rock god Vasco Rossi proves that great rock music can be just as much down to its energy and style than virtuoso musical talent… When a voice paints a picture it can often be a beautiful thing. In previous albums that have been reviewed on this site,...
by Joel Dwek | Jul 7, 2020 | Reviews
La Pegatina showcase their musical talent on an album that is infectiously upbeat and fun… La Pegatina are a band based in Barcelona that combine ska with Catalan rumba, and it’s a surprisingly effective fusion of genres. Catalan rumba itself is a fusion genre,...
