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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Percussionist Roman Diaz arrived in New York from Havana in 1999 and has since become a mainstay in the avant-garde jazz and Afro-Cuban music communities. Critic Milo Miles reviews his debut album.
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For a dozen years, a music festival that highlights the music of Africa has been held near Timbuktu, Mali. This year, a nationalist uprising and ongoing battles made the Festival au Desert impossible. A new recording from the most recent event helps fans continue to celebrate the music. -
The indie-rock favorite's new album, Fade, demonstrates that the group is all grown up but not at all stuffy. The album's music and words add up to pure affirmation of life and living.
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Critic Milo Miles says that in this new collection of music from between the world wars, "the currents of long-ago lives come through: the drudgery of the work that demanded the release of the party, which then required the penance of prayer."
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Yirga finds his way into Ethiopian standards, displays his flair for jazz over solo and ensemble pieces, and performs effortless homages to vintage soul. He holds everything together with voracious talent that helps him savor each musical flavor.
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The Analog Players Society provides some of the best evidence since the rise of Vampire Weekend that formerly exotic international music — particularly African rhythms and accents — has become an everyday part of modern popular tunes.
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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.
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A new anthology from the Putumayo label celebrates the variations in African blues. Critic Milo Miles says the collection is delicate, airy and strong all the way through.
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For many years, the search for unknown or forgotten soul singers has dug deeply into music archives. But surprises still turn up. Music critic Milo Miles says this year's best discovery is a West African singer and bandleader named El Rego.
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Milo Miles reviews a compilation of overseas grooves that carry on psychedelic styles long after they were dropped in the U.S.
