Reviews

Batuque and Finaçon

Nha Mita Pereira

This collection showcases two of Cape Verde's most traditional and resolutely African musical styles – batuque and finaçon – which...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

Aratan n Azawad

Terakaft

No surprise that Terakaft – the name means ‘caravan’ in Tamasheq – stayed pretty close to the sound of the...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

Diamonoye Tiopité L'Epoque de I'Evolution

Idrissa Diop & Cheikh Tidiane Tall

In 1974, a millionaire Senegalese businessman named Ndiouga Kebe opened Sahm, the first shopping complex in Dakar. It had its...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

Donso

Donso

With the West being so thoroughly saturated with Malian music of late, it's becoming increasingly rare to hear something sufficiently...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

Cotonou Club

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou

Listen to the opening track, ‘Ne Te Faches Pas’, and you'll hear a powerful muscular testament to the rebirth of...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

The One and The Many

Muntu Valdo

Great things are expected of Muntu Valdo, the Cameroonian musician who turned up in London from Paris three years ago...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

SMOD

SMOD

Turn ‘Les Dirigeants Africains’ up loud. Do those bouncy Malian rhythms sound familiar? The growling vocals, sweet-but-biting lyrics and the...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

The Rough Guide to African Guitar Legends

VARIOUS ARTISTS

After a recent spate of successes in the Indian department (the revisited Rough Guides to Bhangra, Bollywood and Music of...

Reviewed in issue June/2011

Dougna

Sayon Bamba

A former singer with the Guinean all female band Les Amazones de Guinée, Sayon Bamba certainly doesn’t lack spirit. She’s...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2011

Dem Naa

Naby

Winner of the prestigious Radio France International Discovery award of 2009, the debut album from Senegalese reggae singer Naby was...

Reviewed in issue Apr/May/2011