• 
  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
  A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
• 
  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
• 
  Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
  
  Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage.
• 
  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
  Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
  Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
• 
  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
• 
  Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
  
  West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
• 
  Sia Tolno: My Life
  
  Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph.
• 
  Zieti: Zemelewa
  
  Eclectic blend of Afro-infused pop out of Cote d'Ivoire.
• 
  Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
  
  Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit.
• 
  Tinariwen: Tassili
  
  Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud.
• 
  Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
  
  Oakland/Panamanian rappers -call it "Panabay"-- return with good results.
• 
  Cheikh Lo: Jamm
  
  The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record.
• 
  David Rudder: Random Notes
  
  Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.

All Reviews >>

Beginning in the summer of 1982, a group of young musicians in Harare started recording their music at Shed Studios, decidedly an alternative site to the dominant Gramma Records studio used by the big stars of Zimbabwe's early days. By 1984, this young group had made a name for themselves. In fact, the tunes they tracked at Shed that year and in early 1985 would soon make them known around the world. In the Shed sessions, the Bhundu Boys created the music that would fuel their legendary UK club dates and that get them signed by Island Records a couple of years later. But even as they rode that wave--before the defections and deaths that would lay the band low in the 1990s--they never again matched the compositional brilliance or sheer punch of those early years.

Two albums, Shabini and Tsvimbodze Moto, resulted from the Shed sessions, but until now, they were never available on CD. This release is an Afropop landmark not only because it reprises one of most exciting chapters in Africa's small combo, guitar-driven boogie, but also because it includes additional songs never before released. These two CDs present 28 songs, in the order they were recorded, and to hear tracks like "Pachedu," "Kuroja Chete, and the dark mbira groove of "Manhenga" at last on CD is to live the joy of discovering this one-of-a-kind band all over again. It was often said that the way guitarist/singers Biggie Tembo and Rise Kagona composed, played, and sang together brought to mind the irrepressible genius of the Beatles in their early years. The passing of time has done nothing to dim that impression.

Guitars lock and chime with exuberant perfection. Voices blend to drive home unforgettable melodies. Arrangements are tight and concise, as if there was no time to waste with anything unessential. Every note sparkles. Decades of guitar band pop from central and southern Africa pale by comparison. These guys were as good as it gets. And as brutal and tragic as their fate was to be, this document of the original 5-piece band bursting with optimism and brilliance is a rare blessing.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org