Ghana's Revolutionary Voice Danqua Transforms Afrobeat Through Spiritual Innovation. Danqua, emerging from the vibrant streets of Accra, doesn't just participate in Ghana's musical conversation—he transforms it. In his ground-breaking piece "Orison," Danqua makes both a musical and a spiritual statement. The structure of the track's percussion forms a complicated beat that pulls listeners into its gravitational field. Not only is this piece technically impressive, but there is...

Take Jack Horton, a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose path to folk-Americana included stops at Japanese law school, Tokyo piano bars, corporate boardrooms, and government offices. His latest EP, "Imperfections," feels like finding someone's private journal set to music. And that someone happens to write really, really well. The five-song collection opens with "Set Me Free," a piano-driven confession that might surprise anyone expecting typical breakup bitterness. Horton...