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Reviews

Review of Regard Sur Le Passé

Regard Sur Le Passé

Classica Orchestra Afrobeat feat Sékouba Bambino & Baba Sissoko

Brutture Moderne

Rating: ★★

This CD brings together two Guinean master musicians and griots – vocalist Sékouba Bambino (lead singer of the legendary Bembeya...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Review of Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978

Congolese Funk, Afrobeat & Psychedelic Rumba 1969-1978

Verckys et L’Orchestre Vévé

Top of the World

Analog Africa

Rating: ★★★★★

You have to hand it to Frankfurt-based label Analog Africa. The fuel on which it runs is a passionate obsession...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Review of Gandadiko

Gandadiko

Samba Touré

Glitterbeat Records

Rating: ★★★★

Six solo albums and dozens of guest appearances over a 12-year career means Samba Touré is hardly a new kid...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Review of Music in Exile

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

Top of the World

Transgressive Records

Rating: ★★★★★

First heard via various Africa Express projects in the West, including the album Maison des Jeunes, the four-piece Songhoy Blues...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Review of Ethiocolor

Ethiocolor

Ethiocolor

Selam Sounds

Rating: ★★★

Ethiocolor is a new project exploring cultural traditions from across Ethiopia, and the sounds of its northern azmari culture in...

Reviewed in issue March/2015

Review of River Strings: Maninka Guitar

River Strings: Maninka Guitar

Djessou Mory Kanté

Sterns (2 CDs)

Rating: ★★★★

With the kind of pedigree Guinean guitarist Djessou Mory Kanté has – brother to the late, lamented Kante Manfila, and...

Reviewed in issue Jan/Feb/2015

Review of Spirit of Malombo

Spirit of Malombo

Julian Bahula

Strut Records (2 CDs)

Rating: ★★★★

To appreciate Julian Bahula's contribution to South African music, you don’t need to know that he was a tireless anti-Apartheid...

Reviewed in issue Jan/Feb/2015

Review of The Gnawa Berber

The Gnawa Berber

Simo Lagnawi

Riverboat Records

Rating: ★★★

After dedicating his debut solo album, the bustling but tightly wound Gnawa London, to his adopted home city, Simo Lagnawi...

Reviewed in issue Jan/Feb/2015

Review of Kukurantumi

Kukurantumi

Amartey Hedzoleh

Chop Time Music

Rating: ★★★★

It is such a pleasure to hear some old-school Ghanaian highlife. In the 60s Amartey Hedzoleh was a member of...

Reviewed in issue Jan/Feb/2015

Review of Mazal

Mazal

Aziz Sahmaoui & The University of Gnawa

Top of the World

World Village

Rating: ★★★★

The first University of Gnawa release came in 2011, when Sahmaoui, a founder of Orchestre National de Barbès, brought together...

Reviewed in issue Jan/Feb/2015

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