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  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
  
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• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
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• 
  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 >>

This Tanzanian ensemble play rootsy reinventions of classic dance pop in the urban musiki wa dansi. This was the big band sound of Dar es Salaam in the 1960s and 70s, but here, it gets reinterpreted in an informal, acoustic setting.

Folksy acoustic guitars, backed by hand drums, shakers, and sometimes wooden marimba, back warm vocal harmonies led sometimes by a strong, searing woman's voice, and elsewhere by a male voice, not unlike that of the golden throated Congolese/Kenyan singer, Samba Mapangala. The rhythms tell a tale of Cuban son come home to the Congo and then transported across the heart of Africa to find a new home on the continent's East Coast. "Wanawake" hews very close to the old Cuban sound, while "Msafiri" cuts loose with a groove that seems informed by hearty village partying. It's a most unusual sound, and the group really cranks, a testimony not only to their original idea, but also to the manner in which they were recorded where good sound does not mean sacrificing spirit and sponteneity. This was the first recording made at Studio Makuti, the creation of Michel and Rosa Tyabji, who launched an ambitious recording and production project in Tanzania in 1999. You can hear more of their productions on titles for their own label, Limitless Sky.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org