• 
  Alkibar Gignor : La Paix
  
  Malian garage-rock group Alkibar Gignor deliver gloriously rough album.
• 
  Brownout : Oozy
  
  Latin-Funk group Brownout get down with some seriously laid-back swagger.
• 
  Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars: Radio Salone
  
  Sixteen great new tracks from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.
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  Funk Ark : High Noon
  
  Group from DC brings the Afrobeat fire.
• 
  , Amadou et Mariam: Folila
  
  Amadou and Mariam continue their foray into fusing their Malian styles with the sounds of western artists.
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  Nneka: Soul Is Heavy
  
  Nigerian-German soulstress channels her inner neo-soul star on her latest release
• 
  Sauti Sol: Sol Filosofia
  
  Kenyan, Afro-fusion outfit Sauti Sol continue their exploration of all things "pop."
• 
  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
  
  
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  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.

All Reviews >>

Tezeta means “emptiness, melancholy, nostalgia, gloom.” Beginning in the 1960s, it became a kind of subgenre in Ethiopian music, local blues, you might say. This volume strips away the pop and dance elements of the Addis sound and goes deep into the Ethiopian soul source. Star vocalists rub shoulders with lesser-knowns and talented instrumentalists, all united by a slow, dark, introspective mood. Among these 12 tracks are five remarkably diverse takes on the classic brooder, “Tezeta,” which sometimes hints at an over-the-top take on “House of the Rising Sun.” Borrowings from jazz and soul abound, but never overwhelm the smoldering, local character. This is mood music for those who are never happier than when they are miserable.