... CD

... CD

That Damon Albarn's a busy guy! When he's not busy being a rock star or mock rock star, he's off on holiday in some exotic locale – but making another record at the same time, like this one, recorded in Mali. We have to admit, though we were predisposed towards the bare field recordings – featuring Malians singing and playing guitar and kora – which sound great, the more produced numbers are suprisingly wonderful too, and though the CD's all over the map, it still plays like a beautiful journey from start to finish. As you may already know, music from Mali steers it's own course, quite different from most of the other Afrobeat and funky African grooves you'll find elsewhere on our page, with a light springy quality and unhurried openness. 16 tracks in all, including "Le relax", "Makelekele", "Tennessee Hotel", "Kela Village" and "Sunset Coming On". CD

That Damon Albarn's a busy guy! When he's not busy being a rock star or mock rock star, he's off on holiday in some exotic locale – but making another record at the same time, like this one, recorded in Mali. We have to admit, though we were predisposed towards the bare field recordings – featuring Malians singing and playing guitar and kora – which sound great, the more produced numbers are suprisingly wonderful too, and though the CD's all over the map, it still plays like a beautiful journey from start to finish. As you may already know, music from Mali steers it's own course, quite different from most of the other Afrobeat and funky African grooves you'll find elsewhere on our page, with a light springy quality and unhurried openness. 16 tracks in all, including "Le relax", "Makelekele", "Tennessee Hotel", "Kela Village" and "Sunset Coming On". CD

... CD

... CD

... CD

A beautifully warm record from the great Letta Mbulu – maybe the closest she ever came to cutting a straight soul album, although a set that still has plenty of nice nods to her South African roots as well! The music's got a smooth, sweet groove – and at some of the best moments, Letta steps in with a quality that feels like some of the best UK soul of the mid 80s – not exactly Sade, but not far off either. Other tunes have a bit more of a Afro pop feel, but very slightly – and titles include "The Village", "Nomalizo", "Nkedama", "Sweet Juju", and "Down By The River". LP, Vinyl record album

A calypso set, but not the sort that you'd know from big crossover records of the late 50s – as the Mighty Sparrow works here with that jazzy blend of horns and rootsy rhythms that kept a strong edge in his music, and made his sounds as important on the pre-reggae scene in London as they were at home in Trinidad! There's a nicely rattling vibe to the record that really matches the sharpness of the vocals – an important current of politics, social commentary, and personal brag – all of which had a huge impact on later sounds and styles of music. The saxophone lines really keep things soulful – and titles include "The Village Ram", "Martin Luther King", "I'll Be Around", "You Don't Love Me", "Castro Eating Banana", and "Tour Of Jamaica". LP, Vinyl record album

A great blend of funky jazz and wooden flute – the Japanese shakuhachi reed instrument, blown by Kifu Mitsuhashi here – then mixed with some larger backings that almost have a CTI Records sort of groove! The approach is similar to some of the best 70s projects from Hozan Yamamoto – and like those, updates older Japanese styles with just the right dose of jazz – never getting in the way of the soulful lines from the lead instrument, but also really warming things up nicely with Fender Rhodes, bass, guitar, and drums – in wonderful arrangements put together by Kiyoshi Yamaya. Titles include "Yagi Bushi", "Yosakoi Bushi", "Hokkai Bon Uta", "Kuroda Bushi", "Otemoyan", and "Mamuro Gawa Ondo". (Japanese, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A very wild record – maybe more free jazz than you'd guess from the image on the cover, and the Guatemala in the title! These guys are a brass band, but the way they mix their horns together often feels more like some Lester Bowie experiment, or some other AACM-related project – as folkloric modes really get changed up in a blend of cornet, baritone horn, and c melody sax – all combined with spare percussion, and an occasional touch of violin! Given the cultural currents, we might also link this one slightly to some of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music records – even though the group themselves are the authentic real deal, a funeral band from a remote mountain village. Titles include "Las Tres Botellas", "Marcha Numero Cuatro", "Chufa", "El Son De Los Altos", "Noches Eternas", and "Marcha Numero Seis". LP, Vinyl record album

Guitars from the desert by Tinariwen – a group with Malian roots, and a sound that's all their own – certainly one of the most distinct approaches in the global music scene of the early 21st Century! The album's got production that's tighter than some of their previous efforts, but a feel that's far from slick – just a haunting, hypnotic blend of the band's many guitars – built up into wonderful rhythms that start slow, then really take off – which then seems to have the guitars sounding even more wonderful than at the start! Almost all numbers have vocals, which slide into the blend beautifully – and titles include "Assouf", "Mano Dayak", "Cler Achel", "Soixante Trois", "Awa Didjen", "Imidiwan Winakalin", and "Izarharh Tenere". CD

Guitars from the desert by Tinariwen – a group with Malian roots, and a sound that's all their own – certainly one of the most distinct approaches in the global music scene of the early 21st Century! The album's got production that's tighter than some of their previous efforts, but a feel that's far from slick – just a haunting, hypnotic blend of the band's many guitars – built up into wonderful rhythms that start slow, then really take off – which then seems to have the guitars sounding even more wonderful than at the start! Almost all numbers have vocals, which slide into the blend beautifully – and titles include "Assouf", "Mano Dayak", "Cler Achel", "Soixante Trois", "Awa Didjen", "Imidiwan Winakalin", and "Izarharh Tenere". LP, Vinyl record album