PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
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‘In Afghanistan no women or girls have access to education. By playing music I am playing for the people who can't’
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to violinist Faradena Afifi
Faradena Afifi
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
AS SHE was about to to enter an east London studio in November 2022 to create the album which eventually became bee Reiki, violinist and vocalist Faradena Afifi had an unusual meeting.
“A white-tailed bumblebee was the first being I encountered before going into the studio to record with Steve Beresford and Paul Kimasia Morgan. I was warming up outside, doing some T’ai Chi and I noticed the poor bee lying in a puddle. I ended up doing a reiki treatment and witnessing her flying off to the blue sky. It put me in a very good mood and my joy influenced everybody there. The bee became a folk song and I turned into its mood — definitely not something I would come up with on my own.”
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