Emma Pilgaard: A Woman’s Voice
Danish vocalist and composer Emma Pilgaard returns with an impressive song cycle on A Woman’s Voice. Inspired by Kvinde Kend Din Historie (Woman Know Your History) by Danish author Gry Jexen, Pilgaard doesn’t overrun the tracks with political vitriol. Instead, her lyricism is subtle and matches the intimate music that enfolds it.
Glowing In The Light Of A Sunbeam gets things started in a wistful, but not lazy, way. It moves gently while still capturing the listener’s ear. Though Pilgaard’s voice is not akin to Stacey Kent’s, both singers have a tender quality in their vocal approach. If anything, Pilgaard is a mix of Gretchen Parlato and Melody Gardot; her voice is calm while still cutting through the golden gas of the backing tracks. On My Mother, she becomes more direct. Retaining her stylish, almost coquettish style, the singer moves the tune with ease. She sings “Women aren’t just mothers,” and though one could say that is sort of heavy-handed, the fact that people have to continue to make this point shows that being heavy-handed is quite acceptable.
Ironically, for an album about female empowerment, Pilgaard keeps to a mezzo-piano most of the time. One could say that she is “a woman subjected to traditional norms of being quiet” while still making powerful points. Besides, the loudest person isn’t always the person making the best point. Rather, Pilgaard lets her mellifluous melodies drift and her lyrics hit their marks with quiet but deadly accuracies. In this way, she is similar to Joni Mitchell (notably her 1975 Blue album). The range of emotion and sonic depth speaks volumes, such as on Mistress Of The Air and Above Expectations. These touching ballads serve as reminders that being calm, cool and collected isn’t overrated.
Discography
Glowing In The Light Of A Sunbeam; Hidden Melodies; My Mother; A Woman’s Voice; Interlude; Mistress Of The Air; Through The Gloom; Above Expectations; We Can Be Lonely (39.45)
Pilgaard (v); Rahel Talts (p); Hilda Nordkvist (b); Patrycja Wybrańczyk (d); Viktoria Søndergaard (vib); Ida Brinch (t). Peak Productions, Odense, Denmark, January 2026.
April Records
Tokunbo: Lost & Found
Blending jazz with acoustic guitar, pop and R&B sensibilities, Lost & Found is an expressive and expansive release by German-Nigerian artist Tokunbo. Many of the tracks dive into personal ordeals – “The ghosts are back in town,” she sings on Stop Motion Movie. With her soft vocals, the tunes quickly appeal to a large listener base. Even a total of 13 tracks doesn’t detract from the overall smoothness; they go by quite quickly, flowing into one another with careful consideration.
Cocoon is a short but certainly sweet start to the project. It’s an easygoing piece that sets up the particular style of what’s to come. Many of the tunes here have a good tempo, never lagging behind. Matched with Tokunbo’s elegant singing style, they hook the listener with ease. It is this blend of vocals, tempo and backing instrumentals which is so impressive. Recalling older songs like Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae as well as Apple Tree by Erykah Badu, the material on Lost & Found simultaneously looks back and forward. On The Corner Of Oak Street and Ballerina are particularly catchy songs and exemplify what Tokunbo is about – “folk noir” is what she’s labelled it.
Looking back to the singer’s previous material, a similarly chilled, unhurried atmosphere permeates just as noticeably. Tracks like Near & Far (2022) and Outer Space (2018) could have been included on this 2026 effort easily. And though one might think that this condemns her as being overly consistent to the point of monotony, it rather suggests that Tokunbo has found a specific style of sound which works for her. Furthermore, because her sonic blend rests so easily on the ear, these pieces scarcely feel repetitive or recycled. Lost & Found deserves a wide audience as it confirms this exceptional singer as a force to be reckoned with.
Discography
Cocoon; Stop Motion Movie; 70s Magazine Memory; On The Corner Of Oak Street; Polaroid Life; Lost My Ace; Under Water; Ballerina; Empty Nest; True Dna; When The Summer Ends; To Be Alive; It’s Alright (41.41)
Tokunbo (v); Ulrich Rode (elg, elb, b, kyb, v); Christian Flohr (elb); Matthias ‘Maze’ Meusel (pc, d, p); Anne de Wolff (vn, vla, clo, vib, v); Phil Siemers (v). BluHouseStudio & Boxhornstudio, Hamburg, Germany.
Yoruba Girl Records
Alekos Vretos: Mediterranean Echoes
Jumping on the classical crossover bandwagon, oud player Alekos Vretos’s Mediterranean Echoes combines traditional classical music with indigenous folk styles and some jazzier textures. A playful release full of musical allusions, it seems to make a conscientious effort to merge different cultural soundscapes in creative ways. Though some flavour combinations are not quite as stirring, the majority work well and should intrigue open-minded listeners.
The oud and clarinet are interesting partners on this project. The clarinet has often been considered the less lovely cousin of the oboe, but it works hard to present stronger Arabic music influences here. Tracks like Rev reveal this dance between the two instruments as well as the two cultures of the Greek and the Arab nations. As with the work of Anouar Brahem or Lucian Ban, folk styles converge with contemporary attitudes of playing. Though Vretos’s attempt doesn’t come off with the same sort of effortlessness, the overall sonic idea remains strong. The main flaw perhaps is the sometimes overbearing Arabic atmospheres that appear in nearly every piece; the whining tone can get slightly repetitive at times.
A romantic air also flows through these pieces, as with H. The strings help to promote this tone. Unlike the works of Corelli or even Arvo Pärt, the strings whine and squeal markedly. There are moments of almost tango-like slipping and sliding, further contrasting with traditional string quintet norms, which are usually stricter in how tone or feel is produced. The piano mainly helps to push back against these ethnic flavours; it reigns them in, introducing a stronger contemporary element. The Freedom Suite highlights all these characteristics superbly. What Alekos lacks in a wider variety of sonic combinations, he makes up for in pure zeal and cohesive storytelling in his compositions.
Discography
Now What; Rev; Jovano – Jovanke; H.; The Freedom Suite: A. Lullaby; The Freedom Suite: B. The Quest; The Freedom Suite: C. Dance Of Freedom; Guerra; Signature (36.00)
Vretos (oud); Giannis Diskos (cl); Dimitris Verdinoglou (p); Kimon Karoutzos (b); Mimitris Semsis, Marina Haralampides (vn); Enkela Kokolani (vla); Vania Papadimitriou (clo); Takis Kapogiannis (b). Sierra Studios. Athens, Greece, probably 2026.
Dundus Records
