Back catalogue: International

Review: There are immersive experiences that inspire artists to do great things. Then there's Aboutface heading to the Wampis Territory, in the Peruvian Amazon, to live with the local community, learn a little of how they live and their relationship with the Lungs of the Planet, capturing field recordings collaboratively with those people, and trying to articulate their world through an electronic-organic deep dive album. After you've got over the jealousy about how life-changing that trip was, let's focus on the fundamentals. This is seriously escapist stuff that seems to have been made using every root, branch, and animal encountered during those weeks. The synthesised elements are audible, but take a backseat to what was and is actually there. Or here. Quite unlike anything we've heard this year, it's a stunning way to raise awareness and support for Indigenous-led conservation and initiatives trying to stop illegal deforestation and ecocide.

Review: Warda Ftouki was an Algerian singer whose songs tot up to a repertoire of about 300; all shine with the coptic reverence of a scarab beetle, triangulating a legacy of traditional songcraft stretched between North Africa and the Middle East. Wewantsounds here present the first-ever vinyl reissue of We Malo, her 1975 gem. Backed by a full Egyptian orchestra and penned by famed composer Baligh Hamdi, the album is a blanching blend of classical Arabic music and 70s funk, with electric guitar and organ flourishes adorning an undivided two sides of tape. This edition has newly remastered audio by Coloursound Studio (Paris), faithful reproduction of the original cassette artwork, and a two-page insert with fresh liner notes by Mario Choueiry of the Institut du Monde Arabe.