Reviews

Ben Zabo

Ben Zabo

Malian Afro-beater Ben Zabo came to the attention of the international music scene after producer Chris Eckman and record label...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

African Blues

VARIOUS ARTISTS

A dozen years ago the Putumayo label issued one of the first compilations to explore the rich connections between African...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Momo Le Doyen

Momo Wandel Soumah

The Guinea-born saxophonist, singer and composer, who died in 2003 at the age of 77, was one of Africa’s greatest...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Circle Songs

Wabotai

When we think of Pygmy music it is primarily the vocal gymnastics that spring to mind; usually with an organic...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Botyiaki Ntembe

Wendo Kolosoy

This two-CD package reissues two albums that book-ended the latter part of the veteran Congolese troubadour’s musical career. Antoine Wendo...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Timbuktu Tarab

Khaira Arby

The absolute highlight of WOMAD Charlton Park last year for me was the Malian singer Khaira Arby from Timbuktu. Surrounded...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Tide

Mokoomba Rising

Hearing this new album by Zimbabwean funksters Mokoomba for the first time is a truly exciting experience, on a par...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Classics of My Soul

Waldemar Bastos

Like his compatriot Bonga, Waldemar Bastos is an Angolan in exile – living in Portugal after fleeing his homeland when...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

MTMTMK

The Very Best

The combination of the Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and the London-based electro production team Radioclit made The Very Best's debut...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Tumbuka Voices

Umoza

Emerging from the same cultural and geographical milieu as the recent Malawi Mouse Boys’ album, Umoza (meaning ‘togetherness’) is a...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012