This month’s issue

THE EDITOR’S BOX

Ian Anderson’s comment column. Read it here

fROOTS PLAYLIST

Recent stuff we like.

CHARTS & LISTS

Specialist and general roots music album sales and airplay charts. Sample them here

REVIEWS

Our key section reviewing all the latest CDs and more - loads bite the dust. No punches pulled! We’ve got some here for you to read now

ROOTING ABOUT

What's happening: packed pages of festivals, gigs, tours, radio, CDs and all kinds of roots-related stuff. The most you'll find anywhere…

fROOTS 38

The latest in our series of sought-after compilations, which you can download to enjoy on your computer or mp3 player or burn to CD – the download includes artwork for a slimline case and label.

COMPETITION

Win all 90 CDs featured in our 2011 Playlists!

ROOT SALAD

A cross-section of featurettes: upcoming song interpreter Naomi Bedford, Swedish power trio Väsen, Nowegian/Scottish quartet Fribo, Okinawan minyo singers Misako Oshiro & Kanako Horiuchi, English folk trio Lady Maisery and that very clever Emily Portman answering the Rocket Launcher questions.

ALBUMS OF 2011

The 26th Annual fRoots Critics Poll is the definitive look at the best albums of the year in world folk & roots musics.

FOLK AWARDS 2012

The nominees for BBC Radio 2’s annual songfest. Colin Irwin does the analysis.

WOMAN WITH BANJO

This year’s fRoots Critics Poll-winning CD reissue of classic 1960s albums by Hedy West has introduced her work to a whole new audience. Martin Simpson, however, is a lifelong fan.

SAMBA’S BACK

Orchestra Virunga’s famed sweet-voiced frontman Samba Mapangala is back with a new album and still trying out fresh ideas. Jamie Renton hears about his latest projects.

HOUSE OF WEIRDLORE

Having found a horse’s skull on eBay (!), we started hunting other objects for a cover image to depict the darker side of English folklore. All paths led to Simon Costin and his Museum Of British Folkore, so we sent Judith Burrows off with her camera to investigate.

RECKONING UP

Steve Tilston recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his debut album: still firing on all cylinders, but with less answers. Colin Irwin probes cautiously…

APPLIED SCIENCE

The late Chico Science invented Mangue and put Brazil’s funky city of Recife on the world music map. Tom Allsop looks back at those creative days.

TEMPLE CREATURES

One of the year’s best albums is a weird work of natural improvisation on traditional songs. Jeanette Leech talks to the makers, Rapunzel & Sedayne.

LOW COUNTRYMAN

One of the better blues albums of the past year came from a man better known as a rock star. Gregg Allman explains how it all came about to Dave Peabody.

THE ANARCHIST

Georges Brassens is a musical icon in France, but barely recognised here. Mark Goodall tells us what we’ve been missing.

THIRTY YEARS ON

Way back in the pre-email, post-punk early 1980s, fRoots editor Ian Anderson wrote a letter defending folk to then NME editor Neil Spencer. Elizabeth Kinder eavesdrops as they finally finish the conversation.

BIFF!

Our exclusive cartoon strip.