Milo Miles
Milo Miles is Fresh Air's world-music and American-roots music critic. He is a former music editor of The Boston Phoenix.
Miles is a contributing writer for Rolling Stone magazine, and he also writes about music for The Village Voice and The New York Times.
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Two new records showcase the quartet's recent collaborations with Laurie Anderson and a group from Mali. Critic Milo Miles says it's evident how much time and care went into Landfall and Ladilikan.
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A new collection mashes-up Jamaican dancehall, soca, hip-hop and polyrhythms from Ghana and Nigeria. Critic Milo Miles says Afrobeats Hot Hits is a "seductive invitation to dance."
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A new collection presents synthesizer dance music from the Cape Verde islands in the '70s and '80s. Critic Milo Miles says the music on Synthesize The Soul will sweeps you up with energy and rhythm.
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Shirey mixes dry vocals with multi-instrumentalist stylings on his new album. Critic Milo Miles says A Bottle of Whiskey and a Handful of Bees is an original and engaging work.
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In the 1940s and '50s, Jackson was the most famous gospel singer in the world. A new record, Moving On Up A Little Higher, presents never-released tracks from that era. Critic Milo Miles has a review.
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E. T. Mensah, who died 20 years ago, played highlife, an offshoot of jazz that for years was the most popular style of music in southern Africa. Milo Miles reviews a new anthology of Mensah's music.
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The Brazilian trio, which won a Grammy in 2002, is known for mixing new and classic bossa nova tunes with electronica. Critic Milo Miles says The Best of Bossacucanova has a "captivating flow."
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After a long absence, the klezmer-fusion band Naftule's Dream turns introspective on it's new release, Blood. Music critic Milo Miles says the band's warmth and cohesion is as rich as ever.
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A range of musicians, including Tom Waits and Sinéad O'Connor, cover gospel-blues performer Johnson on a new tribute album. Critic Milo Miles says the record's tracks are striking and inventive.
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The various music styles of Eastern Europe's Roma people, formerly known as gypsies, have become favorites with audiences around the world. Milo Miles says no group does a better job of blending tradition with innovation than the ensemble led by Boban Markovic and his son Marko.
