From the category archives:

Africa

Toumastin’s new flavour of Tinariwen

8 October 2012

If you followed the group Tinariwen on their epic journey from their first release (still in my opinion the most interesting, but probably the least accessible to desert blues virgins) you’ll really appreciate the way their music has evolved and managed to reach an ever growing fan-base. Toumastin’s second album, probably hidden from view due [...]

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Boubacar Traoré – The bluesman

5 October 2012

I went browsing last week on my favourite world music shop, sternsmusic.com, to see what I might have missed out on since my last visit (children can put months between the things we used to do on a daily basis – happily!). I noticed that I haad missed out on an album that was in [...]

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Guinea: the old (part 1/2)

25 January 2012

I’ve just been listening to a track by the Bembeya Jazz National (see the video on the right). A track from the 1960s needs some context so here goes: it was following Guinean Independence in 1958 that saw Guinean pride soar to new levels and numerous bands sprang up throughout the African country. Of those [...]

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Africa 50 Years of Independence 1960-2010

25 January 2012

If you didn’t buy the compilation of 2010, “Africa 50 years of Indepdence 1960-2010” you are forgiven only as long as you are ignorant of this album, and you have just lost that right by reading this post (sorry about that!). In fact I’m opening a new category just for this album because it is [...]

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Cheikh Lo’s Jamm…Chill, and enjoy the groove

2 December 2011

I can’t believe I missed this one, but miss it I did, and so for some of the readers this might be old news. But as I am trying to document the best in World music, I will not be deterred from writing about one of my favourite Senagelese artists, who’s album releases are a [...]

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Fatoumata Diawara – Ivory Coast via Mali with lots of influence

30 November 2011

The latest album to arrive with me is one of those gems that I find myself driven to writing about and sharing with all the readers of this blog. Fatoumata is (at the time of writing) a 30 year rising star of world music. Her singing is a mix of Malian grooves, some more reminiscent [...]

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