Best of Soundcheck 2025 Special

Hear music by Portuguese fado singer Carminho; Grammy-winning classical quartet Third Coast Percussion performing music written for them by the late Indian table master Zakir Hussain; and Ethiopian-born singer and bandleader Meklit’s blend of jazz, pop, and soul with the echoes of Ethiopian pop.  Also, music from Chicago-formed, New York-based American rock band Horsegirl; and the quartet Les Égarés  who are Ballaké Sissoko (kora) and Vincent Segal (cello) and Vincent Peirani (accordion) and Émile Parisien (sax). They combine chamber music, French chanson, West African folk, and jazz in a fluid and “wandering” mix of styles.

Plus, hear South African-born, UK-based cellist and vocalist Abel Selaocoe; Hot Psychedelic Gnawa Blues By French-Moroccan band Bab L’ Bluz; guitarist, producer, bandleader Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas and his dramatic Latin pop 'Boleros Psicodélicos', featuring Grammy-winning Puerto Rican singer-songwriter iLe; and Irish folk duo, the Dublin-based brothers Ye Vagabonds with a preview of new songs for 2026.

Playlist: 

ARTIST: Les Égarés
WORK: Esperanza [1:53]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, March 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The song appears on the album Les Égarés 

ARTIST:  Meklit
WORK: Ambassel [5:44]
RECORDING:  Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, October 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album A Piece of Infinity

ARTIST:  Horsegirl
WORK: 2468 [3:08]
RECORDING:  Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Feb. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The song appears on the album Phonetics On and On

ARTIST: Carminho
WORK: Canção à ausente [3:47]
RECORDING:  Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Nov. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The song appears on the album Eu vou Morrer de Amor ou Resistir

ARTIST:  Third Coast Percussion, Salar Nader
WORK: Zakir Hussain: Murmurs in Time, 2nd mvmt [10:49]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Feb. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The work appears on Standard Stoppages (Cedille Records)

ARTIST: Les Égarés
WORK: Esperanza [4:47]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, March 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The song appears on the album Les Égarés 

ARTIST: Ye Vagabonds
WORK: The Flood [3:05]
RECORDING:  Live for the Soundcheck Podcast Nov. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The album All Tied Together, comes out Jan. 30, 2026 | https://yevagabonds.bandcamp.com/album/all-tied-together 

ARTIST: Bab L' Bluz
WORK: Imazighen [4:13]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, April 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO:  The tune appears on Swaken

ARTIST: Abel Selaocoe
WORK: Ka Bohaleng  [3:13]
RECORDING:  Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Feb. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The tune appears Hymns of Bantu 

ARTIST: Adrian Quesada, with iLe
WORK: Mentiras con Cariño [4:01]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Aug. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: The tune appears on Boleros Psicodélicos