In this first instalment of a regular online piece bringing you updates on new releases and happenings around the world, we have news of some huge albums on their way from Africa and the US.

Salif Keita

The Malian teased us about this one when we interviewed him in Songlines #199 last year; it’s a brand-new album of Salif in full acoustic mode. Titled So Kono and coming out on NØ FØRMAT! on April 11, the album was mainly recorded in a hotel room in Kyoto, Japan, and has Salif playing acoustic guitar and singing, with Badie Tounkara and Mamadou Koné adding ngoni and calabash respectively. The current single is ‘Tassi’, which features the backing vocals of Julia Sarr and Olyza Zamati and is described as “a song of compassion for a friend who has lost her only child.”

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Youssou N’Dour

The Senegalese legend announced the details of a new album this week. Eclairer le Monde (Light the World) will be released on February 21; it was co-produced by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League and jazz musician Weedie Braimah, both of whom play on the album. New York pianist Frank Locrasto, kora player Momi Maiga from Madrid and Atlanta, US drummer Munirzakee also appear for an international slant. However, many familiar Youssou names are on board, too. Regular collaborators such as Mbaye Dieye Faye, Thio Mbaye, Assane Thiam and Tapha Gaye are present, as well as rising Senegalese artist Rema Diop and Youssou’s son, Nelson (aged 12), who sings backing vocals on ‘On l’a Fait!’, a tribute to football. The album’s lead single is ‘Noflaay’, whose video features French actor Omar Sy.

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Femi Kuti

Femi has a new album coming, his first since 2021. Journey Through Life will be released April 25 on Partisan Records. It’s the first record for which Femi has been in charge of every aspect of the production, as producer, composer and arranger. It’s also his most personal to date. Here’s Femi: “Journey Through Life is basically a summary of my life from my childhood to adulthood. All through my life, family has been a solid foundation, from my parents, grandparents, to my siblings, cousins and now my children, my nieces and nephews, soon my grandchildren, and true to my song at the end of the day, for me family is all that matters. I believe many events happen in our lives that draw us away from each other like an undercurrent, but the essence is to manage such events and let love prevail.” A joyous album full of pathos, it’s also an album that is not afraid to address politics, such as on its first single, ‘Politics Don Expose Them’, a rallying cry against corruption.

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Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson

Giddens has a busy summer ahead of her, with Carolina Chocolate Drops reuniting for the first-ever Biscuits & Banjos (April 25-27) festival, which she is organising. In line with that CCD reunion, she has recorded an album with one of the band’s original members, Justin Robinson. What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow will be released on Nonesuch Records on April 18, and is a glorious collection of 18 of the duo’s favourite North Carolina tunes, all recorded outdoors with Robinson on fiddle and Giddens on banjo. Here’s Giddens to explain: “With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way… With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing – not solely for commercial purposes.” Giddens and Robinson will be touring the album as part of the Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue from April through June in North America.