Songlines

28/05/2026

Ben Wheatley is one of the most unpredictable filmmakers of his generation, flitting between low and high-budget productions and the occasional music video for Sleaford Mods. But the acclaimed English auteur has a deep relationship to music – he is a prolific music-maker himself – while the use of music in his films varies just as widely as his filmography.

Patrick Clarke speaks to him about scoring films such as the 2013 folk horror classic A Field in England and why he recruits composers the same way he would cast an actor. “There’s a general feeling I have about music, which is that I really love it”.

Wheatley’s latest film, Normal, is out now in cinemas, while anyone in Brighton should check out an exhibition of ephemera from Wheatley’s films at No Hawkers gallery this weekend.

The acclaimed English auteur tells Patrick Clarke how his love of music drove him to overcome a creative mental block and score his own soundtrack

21/05/2026

Brìghde Chaimbeul has been spearheading a renewed generational interest in Scottish folk and piping. With unrestrained creativity, the Scottish smallpipes player has brought her work into a spectrum of projects, from traditional Scottish Gaelic songs to drone-led experimentalism.

On the Isle of Skye, we witness the creation of a new work made with Scottish Ensemble, where she tells us why the drone note serves as a cornerstone to intricate musical structure. "As a piper, everything you play is in relation to the drone," she says.

Her work with the Scottish Ensemble will premiere at Edinburgh International Festival on August 23, with dates scheduled at Barbican Centre for next year.�

She is currently on tour with Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman, playing St George's Bristol on Thursday 21 May and EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney) on Friday 22 May.

Freya Parr visits Brìghde Chaimbeul and the Scottish Ensemble on the Isle of Skye to hear how one unyielding note serves as the cornerstone to intricate musical structures

20/05/2026

Devastated to hear about the passing of Totó la Momposina, a remarkable singer and musician who did more for Colombian folk music than perhaps any other artist. And did so, despite countless obstacles in her way.

She was always a fountain of humility, resilience and wisdom. Here's a quote from a 2015 interview with Songlines editor Russ Slater Johnson:

"When one makes ancestral music, you don’t make it so that it’s great for an anthropologist to listen to, it’s so that what they are listening to has a real meaning, not just a feeling, but a sense of belonging and not for one to become fashionable, because ancestral music will always be in fashion"

Full obituary to follow online. Here's an article we published on Totó in 2023 following the announcement of her retirement from performing: https://www.songlines.co.uk/features/how-toto-la-momposina-became-the-queen-of-cumbia

08/05/2026

It's David Attenborough's 100th birthday today, which has had us reminiscing about the time we interviewed him about the incredible field recordings he made during many of his programmes.

Julian May, producer of 'David Attenborough – My Field Recordings from Across the Planet', explains how this extraordinary album came about, with photos courtesy of David Attenborough

07/05/2026

Bassekou Kouyate & Amy Sacko are playing in London tonight as part of Songlines Encounters at Kings Place

Legendary Malian musician and ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate tours the UK for the first time as a duo with revered griot singer and exceptional vocalist Amy Sacko, following the release of their debut album Djudjon, L’Oiseau de Garana in 2024.

06/05/2026

Singing in Occitan, an endangered language of southern France, Lila Fraysse and Caroline Dufau craft something raw and rhythmic, blending polyphonic vocals, tambourins à corde, and body percussion into a potent combination that redefines French folk.

Across a decade as Cocanha, they’ve collaborated on projects like Brasiliano with Lucas Santtana and with Los Sara Fontan and Tarta Relena on 4132314. Now, they push further with Flame Folclòre, produced by Raül Refree (known for work with Rosalía), shaping a version of folk that supports their fight for language reclamation and pushes back against rising far-right narratives in France.

“So, this album was a way of saying that actually, we can defend progressive ideas with folklore. Conservative people don’t have a monopoly.”

Cocanha play Songlines Encounters at Kings Place on May 29th.

https://www.songlines.co.uk/features/cocanha-champion-occitan-culture-with-flame-folclore

29/04/2026

An ethereal voice from Norway’s pastoral folk scene, we caught up with Juni Habel to get a closer sense of the influences shaping her delicate, curious approach to songwriting. She tells us most of her collection is influenced by her mum: “She has better music taste than I do!”

From falling in love with Joni Mitchell before she even understood the lyrics to the fingerpicking of Jessica Pratt — these are just some of the albums that shaped Juni.

https://www.songlines.co.uk/features/the-4-corners-and-centre-of-juni-habel-s-universe

24/04/2026

Colour vinyl reissues of classics by Ali Farka Touré, Oumou Sangaré, Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela and Buena Vista Social Club to roll out across 2026 as part of a 40th anniversary reissue campaign from World Circuit Records

Colour vinyl reissues of classics by Ali Farka Touré, Oumou Sangaré, Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela and Buena Vista Social Club to roll out across 2026