Reviews
Ponda
With Ponda, Cameroonian pianist and singer Patrick Bebey delivers a record that seamlessly fuses jazz, African tradition and Western folk...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Tears of Injustice
Mdou Moctar, dubbed ‘the Hendrix of the Sahara’ for his blistering electric guitar riffs, has, on this acoustic companion piece...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Moda Antiga
On this, her third album, the Cape Verdean singer hailed as a worthy successor to the great Cesária Évora focuses...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Idrache (Traces of the Past)
With the members of Tinariwen scattered around southern Algeria while they take refuge from the political unrest in Mali ,...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Digital Indigenous 08: Aliyuyo Uyoo
This is the eighth release in 1000HZ Records’ Digital Indigenous series featuring local producers who use rudimentary digital tools to...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Vol 2
The Awesome Tapes from Africa label started by reissuing Vol 3 by Malian singer Nahawa in 2011, and followed it...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Zanzibara 11: Congo in Dar: Dance No Sweat
Orchestre Maquis du Zaire & Orchestre Safari Sound
This compilation paints a picture of a politically complicated yet incredibly musically fertile time. Zanzibara 11 tells the story of...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Onye Rie Ibe Ya Erie
Oriental Brothers International Band
Formed in Eastern Nigeria as an Igbo highlife band shortly after the Nigerian-Biafran War, the Oriental Brothers have undergone numerous...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Héritage
A decade on from Songhoy Blues’ explosive debut Music in Exile, it’s probably time to stop calling the band from...
Reviewed in issue February/March/2025
Highlife
In his previous work, Ghanaian trumpeter Peter Somuah has brought flavours of highlife into the idiom of contemporary jazz. With...
Reviewed in issue January/2025
