Owiny Sigoma Band

Having trawled through leftfield Brazil and captured the cutting edge in Cuba, clubland's favourite diminutive DJ/producer Gilles Peterson has now brought us some unexpected music from Kenya on record label, Brownswood Recordings. A close-knit collective of London-based musicians met up with some local traditional talent to create a Nairobi-meets-London soundclash. It's one of the year's more interesting releases so far.

The Owiny Sigoma Band is named after a school that was itself named after the grandfather of Joseph and Charles Owoko, drummers specialising in the traditional rhythms of their Luo tribe. They are a ten-piece ensemble, with hypnotic African grooves and a swinging, sensitive rhythm section. Forget all those West African sounds we've gotten so familiar with; this is a record as dreamy and gently insistent as it is drum and bass heavy. And, of course, it's eminently danceable. Much of this is to do with the presence of the nyatiti – East Africa's eight-string harp – as wielded at breakneck speed by Luo elder Joseph Nyamungu. It sparkles and buzzes throughout an album made up of traditional Luo folk songs and London-leaning compositions such as ‘Wires’ (which also comes remixed by Theo Parrish). The five Londoners – including Jesse Hackett on keys and Chris Morphitis on bouzouki and guitar – keep things rhythmically heavy. Inevitably, Damon Albarn pops up playing organ on a couple of tracks. But this is very much an African project, channelling a new and different aspect of the musically fecund Motherland.