Abbar el Hamada

"[Brahim's] 2013 album Soutak, a deserved bestseller in Europe, matched powerful songs of Sahrawi defiance with laments for the refugees. She returns to the same issues here, but sounds unexpectedly laid-back ... The best tracks are at the end, with the bluesy Mani, featuring the Malian guitar hero Samba Touré, followed by Los Muros, a meditation on the wall built around her homeland. Let's hope she shows less restraint at Womad in the summer".

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"Abbar El Hamada sees the singer back on excellent form on what might be her most accomplished, varied album yet ... Highlights of the record include the rousing Tinariwen-like rock of Calles De Dajla, the haunting title track (...), and the hypnotic desert blues of Mani, where Toure's guitar weaves some particularly wonderful patterns. The Latin inflections are still very much part of the picture too; there are hints of Portuguese fado on the elegant, unhurried El Canto de la Arena, while La Cordilliera Negra's sinuous groove has the rum-soaked energy of Afro-Cuban music".

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"Abbar el Hamada is inspiring to say the least, and one of those 'must hear' albums that come along every once and a while. Aziza Brahim is not only a musician but also a hopeful revolutionary whose music has the ability to touch and effect many. Another wonderful album to add to her catalogue".

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"She just gets better as she goes along. Singer, percussionist and cultural icon of the displaced Saharawi people of the Western Sahara, Aziza Brahim has certainly come a long way since the sometimes over-ripe rock guitar sound of her debut album. Here she's shifting the focus to West Africa for her third release. And what a beautifully executed and mature piece of work it is ... Brahim has a clear, passionate voice which she controls impressively. Every note is in the right place over a set of ten tracks which mix rocking desert blues and powerful ballads that speak of the exile's loss ... Backing is from a pared-down semi-acoustic ensemble with some added Senegalese musicians. Mainly just guitar, bass and percussion, beautifully and sparely arranged by producer Chris Eckman ... The spirit of protest music is alive and well and has rarely cast such a spell".