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Alkibar Gignor :
La Paix
Malian garage-rock group Alkibar Gignor deliver gloriously rough album.
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Brownout :
Oozy
Latin-Funk group Brownout get down with some seriously laid-back swagger.
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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.
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, 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
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Sauti Sol:
Sol Filosofia
Kenyan, Afro-fusion outfit Sauti Sol continue their exploration of all things "pop."
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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.
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Various Artists:
The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
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Kiran Ahluwalia:
Aam Zameen: Common Ground
Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
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Sona Jobarteh:
FASIYA
West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
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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 >>
Various Artists
The Bachata Legends
iASO Records, 2011
By the 1980s the long-stigmatized bachata music of Dominican Republic was at last gaining respectability. Long beloved in poor and working class neighborhoods, the music was on its way to becoming one of the most beloved and widely exported genres of the Caribbean. This recording of allstars (like Ramon Cordero, Isidro Cabrera, Augusto Santos, and guitar stylist Edilio Paredes) comes form a 1980s concert series called Lunes de Amargue (loosely, "bittersweet Mondays"). Priceless performances with heart-rending vocals and bristling, fleet guitar work, and deeply sensuous grooves. Very tasty!
Contributed by
Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org