Reviews

JID018

Tony Allen

Recorded in 2018 in Los Angeles some 18 months before his death, this is Allen with his jazz head on,...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2023

Babi

Al Bilali Soudan

Touareg music hasn't always been about electric guitars and the Tamashek quartet Al Bilali Soudan (an ancient name for the...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2023

Jolof

Hervé Samb

An album of complexity, sensitivity and smarts, Jolof takes its name from the kingdom that spanned West Africa – the...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2023

Zango

WITCH

‘Zamrock has resurrected from its decades of slumber,’ sings frontman Emmanuel ‘Jagari’ Chanda on ‘Message from WITCH’. Jagari, inspired by...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2023

Son of Africa

Remi Kabaka

Flopping on release by Island Records in 1976 — the label too busy with reggae star Bob Marley to promote...

Reviewed in issue August/September/2023

Tusona: Tracings in the Sand

Mokoomba

Mokoomba are back at last, six years on from their last album Luyando and ten years after winning a Songlines...

Reviewed in issue July/2023

Chale Wote

FRA!

In the Akan language, fra roughly translates as ‘a mix’ of things, which is an excellent description of the music...

Reviewed in issue July/2023

Artemisia

Art Melody

Hailing from Burkina Faso, Art Melody is a farmer by day and rapper and singer by night, bringing a fresh...

Reviewed in issue July/2023

Millions of Us

BCUC

Ten tracks into Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness’ (BCUC) Millions of Us, there's a message from Jovi Nkosi to producer Sam...

Reviewed in issue July/2023

O Yinne!

Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy

Lively church music based on Ghanaian highlife traditions with a modern electric slant. Guitars, two keyboards and a horn section...

Reviewed in issue July/2023