Best of 2025 – Steve Kindig (Global)
By Folk Department
Steve Kindig alternates on Beyond Borders Wednesday afternoon from 12-2 (eastern).
In no particular order
Artist(s)/Album/Label
Ruben Blades/Fotografias/Ruben Blades
Panamanian singer/composer/bandleader Ruben Blades, backed by Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, delivers a rich-sounding album that blends vintage and modern salsa styles. Winner of this year’s Latin Grammy for Best Salsa Album.
MOJNA/Mareld/Heilo
This Swedish/Norwegian trio performs original Nordic folk compositions on guitar, Hardanger fiddle, and clarinet/bass clarinet. That bass clarinet is something!
Cheikh Lo/Maame/World Circuit
This is the Senegalese star’s first album of new material in 10 years, and one of his strongest. Celebrating 50 years of making music, the 70-year-old still sounds great, with his signature mbalax mixed with Afro-Cuban and pan-African influences.
Novalima/La Danza (Deluxe Version)/Six Degrees
The Afro-Peruvian trailblazers released the original version of this album in 2023, but the deluxe version released early this year adds new songs and some reworked versions of earlier material.
Sonny Singh and Qais Essar/Sangat/Ghost Songs
As a founding member of Brooklyn-based Red Baraat, Sonny Singh has been making Indian fusion music for over a decade. On this album his trumpet and voice are joined by Afghan American rahab virtuoso Qais Essar to create a fresh, jazzy vibe.
Santrofi/Making Moves/OutHere Records
Ghanaian highlife is having a moment and there’s no better way to experience its joyful energy than the latest album by this super-tight eight-piece ensemble.
Anouar Brahem/After The Last Sky/ECM
The Tunisian oud master composed this set of contemplative instrumentals as an attempt to address the horrors of the Gaza war. The rest of this international quartet includes Dave Holland on bass, Django Bates on piano, and Anja Lechner on cello.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek/Yarin Yoksa/Big Crown Records
Derya Yıldırım is German born to Turkish parents, and sings in Turkish. Yarin Yoksa features mostly original compositions with a couple of reinterpreted traditional Anatolian folk songs thrown in. Yıldırım plays the baglama, a long-necked lute used in traditional Turkish music. It helps create the band’s distinctive psychedelic sound.
Vaudou Game/FINTOU/Hot Casa
This band’s addictive Afro-funk grooves are rooted in sacred voodoo musical scales from Togo and Benin, along with influences ranging from Ghanaian highlife to Latin cumbia.
Värttinä/Kyly/Rockadillo
I first heard Värttinä’s music 20+ years ago and was knocked out by the amazing vocal harmonies and expert musicianship. More recent albums seemed inconsistent, but their latest feels like a welcome return to form. Kyly makes for a tuneful, accessible introduction to Värttinä, and to Scandinavian folk-pop in general.
