Music

If this is your first time listening to Mac Cornish, hearing her tell of the serendipitous circumstances by which she wrote the song 'Wayfaring Woman' - which she performs here for the roving documentary channel Western AF - would not stir you in the least to expect the sheer power of her voice, a captivating instrument which is deep...

Over a couple of sides for the Gothenburg label Discreet Music the Italian-Swedish composer Timoteo Carbone Hansson blends winds and percussion to limpid and spellbinding effect, winding a course or cleaving a verdant landscape as he cuts between aspects of folk, new age and early music. Gwethilu: Songs for the Dark Lake comprises two sides of about equal length, each...

The first image wrought by Alex Zhang Hungtai's new double album Orion/Mother is of somebody blaring away on their horn from the shrunken corner of a forge or foundry. You can almost feel the heat and see the contrast of those glowing billets or molten liquids - in their brilliant whites or burning oranges and dulling reds - with...