• 
  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 >>

Less than two minutes into "Dandala," the lead track on this snappily polished Mande pop album, the kora soloist slips out of the taut, funky groove the band has set up and sprays out a wild, distorted flood of notes, a mix of griot showiness and unbridled electric passion worthy of the Mahavishu Orchestra. West African music fans are familiar with guitarists who appropriate kora style, but one mark of this spectacular debut is the degree to which Cissoko's kora captures a surprising array of electric guitar sounds, from pointed, percussive lines, to flowing melodies, to high-tech jazz fusion. That said, this is very much a kora album, perhaps the most unusual and innovative one to appear in years. The band is two koras, bass, percussion and vocals. The thirteen tracks here span funk, Mande pop grooves and classic songs, blues and Latin flavors, even a bit of reggae and pop balladry. All of it glistens with youthful exuberance and top-shelf musicianship.

Four young Guineans based in Marseilles, this act is billed as a "family band," and they certainly sound that tight. Ba Cissoko himself sings lead and plays clean, backing kora, leaving the electronics to Sekou Kouyaté. Overall, the singing is more than pleasant, but not up to the level of the instrumental work and arranging. The recording itself is wonderfully clear and detailed to maximize the effect. "Wawata," another cranker, punctuates an original groove with precision hits, but keeps to conventional kora techniques and sounds, while the briskly loping "Kounkoré"--a salute to the group's percussionist--works around a propulsive bass line and layers in driving djembe drumming and wah-wah kora. "Likhirin," with its rich kora reggae groove, gives the nod to the band's second home: "Salam Aleïkum Marseille."

The most traditional song on the album is "Mamaya," where the two koras interlock masterfully--Toumani Diabaté and Ballake Sissoko, watch out! "Manssani" continues the long established tradition of merging the Mande classic "Masane Cisse" with a slow blues, but given this group's fluidity with arranging and mastery of guitar idioms on kora, a well-worn idea sounds fresh all over again. If this group continues to record and tour, it will surely carve out a unique niche in the ever-more-competitive pantheon of Mande pop music.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org