Reviews
Na Kozonga
It’s been eight years since Kinshasa’s Jupiter Bokondji released his debut album, Hotel Univers. Backed by the tight-as-a-mosquito’s-tweeter Okwess band,...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2021
Humanity is Falling Apart
For better or worse, the ominous title of this new album by Moh Alileche is not borne out by the...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2021
Comorian: We Are an Island, but We’re Not Alone
This is an oddball of an album. Produced by Ian Brennan – of Tinariwen fame – this release is as...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
YITA (Deep Water)
Ivorian-American singer Fely Tchaco released her fifth album on International Women’s Day (March 8), a gesture intended to underline its...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
Afrique Victime
The last album by Mdou Moctar, often dubbed ‘the Hendrix of the Sahara,’ was a devastatingly deadly assault by electric...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
Mother Nature
Angélique Kidjo has a pleasing way of making every release a unique project rather than just another album. After collaborating...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
Live in New York 2010
The great Malian singer Khaira Arby died in 2018, so archive recordings have now become even more valuable. This 2010...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
Tezeta
Hailu Mergia & the Walias Band
The Walias Band are a legendary group. On the frontline of the uniquely Ethiopian brand of jazz and soul during...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound
Along with the magnificent Konono No 1, Kasai Allstars played a key role in the Congotronics movement, creating wild, hypnotic...
Reviewed in issue July/2021
