• 
  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.
• 
  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 >>

Traditional, hereditary musicians in are called azmaris, and when the smoke cleared after the 18-year Derg, it was these musicians in small bars called azmaribet who led the “nocturnal renaissance” in Addis. This 2004 volume returns to musicians recorded and sampled a decade earlier in Volume 2. Although the azmaribet scene has receded some, the music itself sounds better than ever. Lyrics are central to this music’s local appeal, but it’s the sounds that seduce the outsider: the deep, reedy tones of Asnaqè Guèbrèyès’ edgy, perfectly controlled voice and one-string, mèssenqo fiddle, loping 12/8 rhythms played on the hand-struck kekodo drum, and the crisp, lively accordion of Teddèssè Andargué. Essoubalèw Adougna is the young lion, and Gzaté Guèlay the old master of the mèssenqo, and both are thrilling to hear, as is the awesomely powerful vocal of azmari diva Tèdje Tèsfahoun. Roots virtuosity graces the best of these 15 tracks, which together make up the most satisfying, non-pop volume in the Éthiopiques series.