Libertad

The music of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 – but the Israeli singer has created a world fusion of her own, drawing on flamenco, tango and fado. This sixth album proves her most adventurous, not least because it mixes her songs with standards such as the Persian Soghati. Given her taste for smouldering melodrama, producer Ben Mandelson wisely keeps the flamenco backings uncluttered (and light on handclaps), while adding swaying mid-eastern strings on numbers like the Turkish favourite Firuze and Olvidate de Mi, a duet with fiery Mallorcan singer Buika. A winning piece of controlled passion.

1. La Ultima Cancion