King'n'Doom

The core of King'n'Doom is Czech production and multi-instrumentalist duo Pavel Šmíd and Martin Piro, but the real heart of this album is its many guest musicians from across West Africa, including, as highlighted on the cover, the Senegalese singer Cheikh Lô (although, confusingly, he only features on three of the ten tracks). The album explodes out of the blocks with ‘Jah'rabi’, a reggae version of the Malian standard ‘Jarabi’ with Cheikh Lô, Moustafa and Madou Kouyaté on ngonis and Leopold Lô on sabar (drums). It's a good song turned great through the contributions of Vojtěch Svatoš on Hammond organ, ripping up the reggae groove into a dirt blues funk, and Hawa Diabaté of Trio Da Kali, whose soaring voice is nothing short of spine-tingling.

Considering the sheer number of guests on the album – 16 by my count – the whole thing has a remarkable cohesion, which is really pleasing to hear, and especially surprising when the musicians were all recorded separately – everywhere from Bamako and Dakar to Brno and a converted caravan at the Colours of Ostrava festival. It doesn't sound like a European album with a bunch of African influences, either – the songs sound like they could be a legitimate part of the guest artists' repertoires, such is the passion and commitment with which they are produced.