(New Soil) Billed as ‘a dystopian suite’, the drummer-composer’s debut solo album is an intense affair, with a stellar lineup that includes Nubya Garcia and Shirley TettehIn 2018, bandleader and composer Jake Long and his group Maisha debuted with There Is a Place, an outstanding album of “spiritual jazz” that captured the vibrancy of a new generation...

The Irish writer on Limerick’s hip-hop scene, the ghostly magic of the hawthorn, and escaping to the Italian Alps on YouTubeBorn in Limerick, Ireland, in 1969, writer Kevin Barry, who now lives in County Sligo, won the 2007 Rooney prize for Irish literature for his short story collection There Are Little Kingdoms. In 2011, he released his debut novel,...

Daisy Ridley stars in the true-life tale of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the Channel, in a drama that stretches the truth somewhatYou wait years for a stirring feminist true-life endurance swimming drama, then two come along within 12 months of each other. Young Woman and the Sea stars Daisy Ridley as Gertrude (Trudy) Ederle, the plucky butcher’s...

Actor, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, says she rejected path of ‘changing name and getting nose job’The Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has said she is “comfortable with not deserving” the kind of life she has.The American actor and singer, the daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, said her relationship with them was “positive”,...

Can one record-breaking megastar make a difference for struggling musicians and new artists?Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, is not one of her best. Critics have complained about its exhausting length (31 songs, two hours), subdued tone and lyrical wound-rubbing. Her decision to announce it at the Grammy awards, months before...

The Canadian singer-songwriter cuts loose from Toronto’s thriving R&B scene with a subtle yet fun-loving second albumA uniquely atmospheric brand of R&B has been coming out of Toronto over the past decade. Harnessing jazz instrumentals, introspective lyricism and intricate vocals, local artists such as Daniel Caesar, BadBadNotGood and Mustafa...