Fenfo

Can it really be seven years since Fatoumata Diawara's debut on World Circuit announced her as the brightest new female star in African music? In the intervening time the Malian singer – who now lives in Italy – has toured the world, played Glastonbury and climbed aboard Damon Albarn's star-studded Africa Express. Now, finally, comes the follow-up to her acclaimed debut and it's a magnificent return, rooted in Bamana tradition but given a thrillingly contemporary vibe courtesy of French producer and key collaborator Matthieu Chedid, whose award-winning Lamomali project also featured Fatoumata on vocals. Electric guitars combine with kora and kamalengoni as she ranges across funk, Afro-pop, hypnotic tribal grooves and a haunting acoustic vibe heard in ‘Don Do’, on which her voice floats with glorious intimacy over Vincent Segal's resonant cello. Singing mostly in Bamana, her voice at the age of 36 is a more expressive and nuanced instrument than it was seven years ago, while the lyric translations suggests that after so long she's got a lot to say, too – not least about how to build a better world for our children. The comeback of the year.