Reviews

Talé

Salif Keita

Baaba Maal did it with 2009's Television. Amadou & Mariam followed last year with Folila. Now Salif Keita has joined...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Teranga! Senegal

VARIOUS ARTISTS

That Senegal has an acoustic singer-songwriter scene (as opposed to a traditional music scene) has been apparent for at least...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Sur la Route des Caravanes

Les Tambours de Brazza

The group’s name suggests they are a drum and dance ensemble. But Les Tambours de Brazza are much more than...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Wakukaya

Ashimba

This is another fine example of how Scandinavian musicians are collaborating with African musicians in professional studio conditions and producing...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Ebo Taylor

Ebo Taylor

A leading innovator, musician, arranger and early collaborator with Fela Kuti, CK Mann and Pat Thomas (to name but a...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Exile

Nuru Kane

He calls his style ‘Baye Fall Gnawa’. But the religious music of the Baye Fall (a Senegalese Islamic sect) and...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

The Best of the Black President 2

Fela Kuti

This is consistently great music: a sublime mix of jazz, funk and a dreamy groove. Fela Kuti created a whole...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Heads

Osibisa

As a rock-obssessed teenager, I bought Osibisa’s self-titled debut album on its release in 1971 and its follow-up, Woyaya. I...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Beautiful Africa

Rokia Traoré

We have come to expect a lot from young Malian pop-rock singer Rokia Traoré, who surprised the world with her...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013

Beginner’s Guide to Africa

VARIOUS ARTISTS

These kind of compilations, which seek to present what the box describes as ‘the best of African music, past, present...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2013