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Bits of jazz and bits of soul, perfectly folded together with a raspy brilliance that really grabs our attention – a subtle depth of singing that almost takes us back to Nina Simone at times, but which also has some leaner 21s Century styles that are mighty nice too! Malia's vocals alone are plenty great – but the album's also got these great gentle instrumentations – bits of vibes, organ, guitar, and drums – used in simple ways that almost have a Brownswood Recordings sort of vibe – as if this record were a female equivalent to Jose James' great work for that label! Titles include loads of Nina Simone numbers – and tracks include "Four Women", "If You Go Away", "Don't Explain", "Baltimore", "Feeling Good", "Wild Is The Wind", and "Marriage Is For Old Folks".

Amalia's future soul full length debut for Tokyo Dawn! On Art Slave, Amalia does a pretty amazing job of showing off a broad range of inspiration, but delivering a record that's fresh and uniquely her own. She's one of more expressive contemporary soul vocalists on the international scene – with a voice that can deliver catchy soul hooks and spacey funk wierdness with equal brilliance – and her range is incredible, too! The production on this set is pretty heavy with spacey electro funk – and titles include "Art Slave", "Welcome To Me", "4 U", "All The Funk I Need", "Bonafide", "Psychoanalyze", "Stop Please", "Zebra Butt-A-Fly", "Luxurious (Ad Bourke Remix)", "Freeze That!", "I'm The Woman" and more.

A spacey, soulful and funky showcase for singer Amalia – one the finds her collaborating with an impressive roster of guests including Atjazz, Portformat, Opolopo and others! Amalia blends inspirations that range from heartfelt, though trippy 70s soul and funk, to 80s electro and the more creative underground soul of the hip hop generation and beyond. What sets Making Of Amalia apart is the way that she's adapting it all so seamlessly into a vibe of her own. It doesn't hurt that she has an amazing vocal range, and the creative mind to use it as a spontaneous, unpredictable instrument above all others. Nor does it hurt that the record is filled to catchy, sexy and spacey songs that are a flat out blast to listen to! Creative and stylistically daring soul in the tradition of Chaka Khan, Betty Davis, Erykah Badu, Labelle and other free spirits! Titles include "Just Like Magic" with B Bravo & Teeko, "Get Caught" and "Cuttify It!" credited to Cutty Lark & Amalia, "Where Do I Belong" (Portformat & Amalia)", "She Want It All" (Bakura feat Amalia), "Hysteria" (Reggie B & Amalia), "Still In Love With You" (Sage Monk & Amalia) and more.

An early recording by the great Malian singer Na Hawa Doumbia – made in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982 – which finds her backed by guitar, keyboards and raw drums that starkly frame her voice in a great way! It's that voice that really carries this recording – it's piercing, emotional and beautiful – and the raw accompaniment serves her really well. The set has 4 long, hypnotic songs: titles include "Ko Ro Dia (A Mamaye Drame L'Inoubliable)", "Dan Te Dinye La", "Sanaya (A Sidi Konate Pour Tourjours)" and "Kungo Sogoni".

Amazing flute work from the legendary Fajardo – a player who was right up there with Pacheco in his pre-percussion years! The set's got a great sharp edge right from the start – a quality that might well come from the production, but which definitely keeps things from ever sounding too sweet at all – really focusing in on those quick bursts and twists of sound that come from the lead flute lines. Grooves are often nicely staccato – almost a more percussive take on the pachanga generation, given the way the timbales ring out strongly – and titles include "Penicilina", "Una Rosa De Francia", "Una Taza De Arroz", "Liceo Del Pilar", "Meditacion", and "Amalia Batista".

Spacey hip hip soul production from Portformat – with compelling beats and electronics – and bringing in a diverse roster of guest vocalists who all work well in the format! Guests include Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins, Miles Bonny, Colonel Red, Stan Smith, Eagle Nebula, Alicia Renna, Amalia and more. Includes "Bitter Sweet" with Eagle Nebula & Trezure Empire, "Cosmic Rays" with Pursuit Grooves, "It's Been A Long Time" feat Astrid Engberg, "Scream & Shout" with Miles Bonny, "The Bear", "So Good" by Stan Smith, "Move On Up" with Colonel Red, "Dream" with Shuanise, "Science Fiction" with Distant Star, "King Smiles" with Alex Rita Bramsen, "These Haters" with Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins and more.

Beautiful sounds from Makan Badje Tounkara – a Malian griot who works here on a small-stringed lute with a really evocative style! The recording is contemporary, but the core instrument has a really ancient feel – not surprising, given that its origins go back to ancient Egypt – and Makan mixes his deft passages on the ngoni with spare percussion and guest vocals – which flesh out the record in a very collaborative way. Titles include "Massaya", "Kanda", "Kakolo", "Sodjan", "Tata", and "Togna".

A wonderful testament to the legacy of Malian singer, flute player and group leader Sorry Bamba – documenting his years leading the Kanaga Orchestra Of Mopti throughout the 1970s – and a great, vital release on Thrill Jockey! The region's musical heritage is intergral to Sorry Bamba's music, but it's also relevant and contemporary to its period and ours – with guitar, bass, organ and horns along with more earthy percussion. His style of songs is pretty amazing, too – and often done with a sense of humor that could be easy to overlook to outsiders – but there's no overlooking how great the music is. Beautifully done by Thrill Jockey, compilers Alex Minoff & Ian Eagleson – with input and insight from Sorry Bamba himself. Includes "Yayoroba", "Boro", "Gambari", "Astan Kelly", "Sekou Amadou", "Sayouwe", "Porry", "Aisse", "Bayadjourou" and "Sare Mabo".

An early recording by Malian singer Na Hawa Doumbia – made in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982 – which finds her backed by guitar, keyboards and raw drums that starkly frame her voice in a great way! It's that voice that really carries this recording – it's piercing, emotional and beautiful – and the raw accompaniment serves her really well. The set has 4 long, hypnotic songs: titles include "Ko Ro Dia (A Mamaye Drame L'Inoubliable)", "Dan Te Dinye La", "Sanaya (A Sidi Konate Pour Tourjours)" and "Kungo Sogoni".

Malian singer Rokia Traore is on the cover – talking about her new John Parish-produced Beautiful Africa – plus features on kora player Bllake Sissoko, Sarawak, Borneo's Rainforest Festival, the musical communities-bridging Nile Project, Alex Wilson and Kishon Khan's collaboration at the Songlines Encounters Festival, the nominees for this year's Songlines Music Awards and more! Also includes a free CD with 10 tracks from Songlines-praised new releases and 5 more selected by Jocelyn Pook. Includes tracks by Rokia Traore, Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott, Airileke, Emma Sweeney, Natacha Atlas, Los Piranas, Boban Markovic and more.

Tipica 73 at their early best – filled with life, fire, and imagination – a mighty approach that tries to grab up many different Latin styles at once, and which makes most of them come out pretty darn great! There's a nice return to tradition on most tunes here – but the approach differs slightly from track to track – sometimes very back to basics, sometimes filled with the looser, more expressive modes of the times. Adalberto Santiago is on vocals on most numbers – and instrumentation includes piano from Sonny Bravo and tres from Nelson Gonzalez. Titles include the excellent "Watergate" – about the closest the group ever came to cutting a Latin funk number – plus "Amalia Batista", "Carahuico", "Asi No Se Quiere A Nadie", "A Mi Que", and "Where Is The Love".

Great sounds from Sidi Toure – a record that's deep in Malian roots, but which has a slightly different feel than some of the more mainstream artists you might know from the scene! Toure's definitely got an ear for the bluesy elements you'd find in Mali, but he also plays with this lightly lyrical mode too – working his acoustic guitar through these great rhythmic progressions that dance along with small group backing on calabash, soukou, and bass. Sidi's lead vocals are wonderful – often inflected in these down-turning lines that are really great, and supported by additional singing from Leila Ahimidi Gobbi, whose sweeter tones provide a nice contrast. Titles include "Maimouna", "Ishi Tanmaha", "Euzo", "Tondi Karaa", "Kalaa Ay Makoiy", "Koima", and "Woy Tiladio".

Guess what? They DO make 'em like they used to – as Amalia steps out here on two tracks that easily rival the best female soul from the early 80s! "Welcome To Me" feels just like Chaka Khan on Warner Brothers from 1982 – complete with sweet keyboards that percolate wonderfully alongside the soaring lead vocals! "Bonafide" is even better – a funky funky number with a really partyful groove right from the start – romping in a wonderful 80s way!

A group with a great blend of old and new modes – a mix of rootsy sounds from their native Mali, and some more focused guitar lines that really help revolutionize their music! The notes bill Alkibar Gignor as a "garage rock band" – and while we think that's a bit of a stretch, as there's not that much rock in their music, there is a nicely gritty style of production that really helps them keep their edge – a slightly muddy mode that's a great contrast from some of the "too clean" Mali recordings out there in recent years! The vocals get distorted at times, and the guitar workouts almost verge on fuzz – even though they spin out in clear lines that are much more Malian than Anglo – and the drums have a bumping quality under the vocal interplay, bringing an unexpected vibe to the record. Titles include "Adounia", "Lahidou", "Aniya", "Adibara", "Tamala", and "Dakou".

A nice EP from French producer and beatmaker Onra! Onra is one of finer producer/artists on the international scene combining a love for 80s electro, synth funk and boogie soul with an overall vibe that's right at home here in the post-millennium. This material here is among his best, too –bringing in some noirish 80s soundtrack influences – and again, making it sound timeless. Includes "After Hours" with T3, "LOVE", "Somewhere Deep In The Night", "VBB" fet Jaykin & Amalia, "Hold Tight" and "After Hours (Instrumental)".

Diverse soundscapes from Tokyo Dawn – with strains of hip hop, spacey soul and bouncy electro-styled grooves – sharing a love for the future funky vibe born of the 80s – but down with timeless contemporary feel! Includes tracks by Erik Rico, Coco Solid, Positive Flow, Martino, Reeno, Blacktroniks, Yellowtail, Wagon Cookin, J-Felix, Rakotep (Stacy Epps & Astronote), "Colonel Red & Yam Who, Amalia & Reggie B and more. 17 tracks in all: "Wow" by Coco Solid, "Night Falls" by Kris Mars, "Back To The Melody (Opolopo Remix)", "Get It" by DJ Vadim with Pugs Atomz, "Electromagnetic" by Erik Rico, "Disco Technic (Lay-Far Remix)" by Stam Smith, "Children Of The Sun" by Positive Flow with Heidi Vogel and more.