African music

Topic: African music

Canadian Nigerian singer-songwriter Sonia Aimy (photo: soniaaimy.com)

Album review: Sonia Aimy's "Nigerian Spirit"

The voice of defiance

Intelligent, soulful and emotional, the new album by Canadian Nigerian musician Sonia Aimy, "Nigerian Spirit", addresses a broad spectrum of themes: from how life in Nigeria has changed since Aimy's childhood, the sorrow of life in Somalia, to a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the problems of finding a good husband. Review by Richard Marcus

Album review: "Jinja" by The Nile Project: Go with the flow Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate: "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"Album review: "The Paris Session" by The Touré-Raichel Collective: Expanding each other's musical horizons

Members of Emran Tenere in front of Kahf al-Jnun – ′the djinns′ cave′ – near Ghat in the Libyan Sahara (photo: Emran Tenere)

Tuareg fusion

Desert cats

"Passionate about the Tuareg" see themselves as cultural ambassadors. The musical project is the result of co-operation between two bands – one from southern Tunisia and the other from the Libyan Sahara. What unites them is a desire to revive the musical heritage of their forefathers through modern re-interpretation. By Valerie StockerMore

Album review: "Alone" by Terakaft: The lions of Tamasheq music Album review: ″Kidal″ by Tamikrest: Encompassing the endless space Album review: "Jamal" by Alkibar Jr.: Mali's musical resistance

The Tuareg band Tamikrest (photo: Sebastien Rieussec)

Album review: ″Kidal″ by Tamikrest

Encompassing the endless space

With ″Kidal″, its latest album of beautiful, heart-stopping music, Tamikrest is following in the footsteps of its Tamasheq predecessors and attracting a global following. Richard Marcus shares his impressionsMore

Official Tamikrest website Album review: "Alone" by Terakaft: The lions of Tamasheq music Album review: "Bamako Today" by the BKO Quintet: A fascinating mix of the old and the new Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate: "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"

Tunisian singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi (photo: Julien Bourgeois)

Album review: ″Ensen″ by Emel Mathlouthi

Princess melancholy

Tunisian singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi first shot to fame with her hit "Kelmtil Horra", which was adopted as the unofficial anthem of the Arab Spring. With her latest offering, ″Ensen″, Emel has produced the perfect album for our times. By Richard Marcus

Album review: Cigdem Aslan's ″A Thousand Cranes″: Tugging at your heartstrings Album review: "Jinja" by The Nile Project: Go with the flow Album review: "Jamal" by Alkibar Jr.: Mali's musical resistance

Album review: "Jinja" by The Nile Project

Go with the flow

Thirteen musicians from seven countries came together to work on "Jinja", sharing not only a love of music, but another concern as well – preserving the Nile River. By Richard Marcus

The Nile Project website Album review: "The Paris Session" by The Touré-Raichel Collective: Expanding each other's musical horizons Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate: "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"Album review: Reem Kelani′s ″Live at the Tabernacle″: Cultivating fusion

Album review: "Jamal" by Alkibar Jr.

Mali's musical resistance

Despite attempts by the former Malian government to brand the Tamasheq as terrorists and turn the general population against them, not to mention the Islamists′ drive to ban music and turn Muslim against Muslim in a bid for control and power, the album "Jamal" by newcomers Alkibar Jr. stands for unification and a better future. By Richard MarcusMore

Album review: "Alone" by Terakaft: The lions of Tamasheq music Album review: ″Lost in Mali″ Celebrating a musical landscape Album review: "Bamako Today" by the BKO Quintet: A fascinating mix of the old and the new

Shady Ahmed sings in a Cairo kitchen (photo: Goethe-Institut)

Project: ″Music Spaces in the Arab World″

Between the pots and pans

The Arabic music scene is booming. The Goethe-Institut is therefore creating new spaces and networking opportunities for local artists. Living rooms and kitchens from Tunis to Baghdad are being converted into concert halls. The Musikraum project showcases the sound of Middle Eastern indie-pop between the pots and pans and reveals what it is that Sudanese girl groups sing about. By Friederike van StephaudtMore

Official "Musikraum" project website Interview with the Egyptian DJ Mohammed Safi: Voice of the people Interview with Hamed Sinno, frontman of Mashrou’ Leila: Flouting Arab pop convention Qantara dossier: "Musical Worlds"

Aziza Brahim (source: Glitterbeat Records)

Album review: ″Abbar el Hamada″ by Aziza Brahim

The agony of dispossession

While singing about the hopes and aspirations of her own people, Aziza Brahim has created an album of songs which captures the plight of refugees and displaced peoples everywhere. Richard Marcus listened to this powerful and heartrending collectionMore

Aziza Brahim's CD "Soutak": Music of beauty from a barren land Album review: "The Gnawa Berber" by Simo Lagnawi: A wholehearted expression of devotion Portrait: Singer Hindi Zahra: Nomad between Morocco and Europe

The Tuareg band Terakraft (photo: terakraft.bandpage.com)

Album review: "Alone" by Terakaft

The lions of Tamasheq music

Since 2012, the Kel Tamasheq way of life has been under renewed threat from the violence of insurgents. But according to Richard Marcus, if the insurgents thought they would be able to shut Tamasheq bands up and obliterate Tamasheq culture by forcing them into exile, they were very wrong indeed. Bands such as Terakaft are determined to keep their traditions and culture alive through their musicMore

"Bamako Today" by the BKO Quintet: A fascinating mix of the old and the new "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate: "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"Abderrahmane Sissako's film "Timbuktu": In the beginning there was violence

River scene in Mali (photo: Karim Diarra)

Album: ″Lost in Mali″

Celebrating a musical landscape

Showcasing a rich diversity of West African music traditions, ″Lost in Mali″ plunges the listener into a world apart. Incidental audio footage of street sounds and children playing enhances the ″on-location″ feel. Richard Marcus reviews the album

Album review: "The Paris Session" by The Touré-Raichel Collective: Expanding each other's musical horizons Interview with Mali expert Marie Rodet: ''The whole region is potentially explosive''Qantara dossier: Musical Worlds

The "Musiques Sacrees du Monde" festival

Fez: an African reflection

Morocco's cultural ties with the regions beyond the Sahara provided the fascinating theme for the most recent Festival of World Sacred Music in the Moroccan city of Fez. Stefan Franzen was thereMore

Website of the "Musiques Sacrees du Monde" festival Electro Festival "Les Dunes Electroniques" in Tunisia: Beats and bass in the desert 15th Gnawa Music Festival in Morocco: A festival of fusion The multinational project ''Music for the One God'': Harmonious triad of religions

Album review: "Bamako Today" by the BKO Quintet

A fascinating mix of the old and the new

The BKO Quintet was founded during the state of emergency in Mali in 2012. Even though the tracks on the quintet's album "Bamako Today" feature primarily traditional Malian instruments, the resulting sound is anything but typical of the music of this country. According to Richard Marcus, it is raw and both extraordinary and thrilling to the earMore

Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate – "Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"Interview with Mali expert Marie Rodet: ''The whole region is potentially explosive''Consequences of the military intervention in Mali: A tinderbox situation Interview with Bakary Sambe: ''In the Arab world, we Africans are viewed as inferior Muslims''Musicians in Mali: Fighting back against censorship

Kasse Mady Diabate (source: www.kassemadydiabatemusic.com)

Album review: "Kirike" by Kasse Mady Diabate

"Understanding is what we wish for: to live in peace"

Kasse Mady Diabate has been described as "the greatest singer in Mali". He is more than just a singer, he is also a griot: an oral historian and musical storyteller. On his latest CD, "Kirike", Kasse Mady Diabate goes back to his musical roots. The result, says Richard Marcus, is captivatingMore

Album review: "The Paris Session" by The Touré-Raichel Collective: Expanding each other's musical horizons Abderrahmane Sissako's film "Timbuktu": In the beginning there was violence Album review: "The Gnawa Berber" by Simo Lagnawi: A wholehearted expression of devotion Musicians in Mali: Fighting back against censorship

Abderrahmane Sissako's film "Timbuktu"

In the beginning there was violence

Abderrahmane Sissako's film "Timbuktu" portrays the nightmarish horror of Islamist rampages and at the same time invokes gentleness as a source of resistance. The compelling story is captured in masterful imagery by the cameraman Sofiane El Fani. By Hans-Jörg RotherMore

Interview with Mali expert Marie Rodet: ''The whole region is potentially explosive''Interview with Bakary Sambe: ''In the Arab world, we Africans are viewed as inferior Muslims''Consequences of the military intervention in Mali: A tinderbox situation Interview with Ahmed Rashid on Mali: ''Worse than Afghanistan''Photo gallery: Timbuktu manuscripts

Vieux Farka Touré and Idan Raichel (photo: Jason Marck)

Album review: "The Paris Session" by The Touré-Raichel Collective

Expanding each other's musical horizons

An Israeli keyboard player/composer, a Malian guitarist and a chance meeting in an airport that resulted in an amazing meeting of musical worlds. Richard Marcus on The Touré-Raichel Collective's second album, "The Paris Session" More

Album review: "Mountain Melodies" by Quraishi: Keeping the voice of Afghanistan alive World music from Istanbul: Light in Babylon: Ambassadors of peace Website: The Touré-Raichel Collective Qantara dossier: Musical Worlds

Aziza Brahim at the 15th Malaga Spanish Film Festival, in Malaga, Spain, 24 April 2012 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Aziza Brahim's CD "Soutak"

Music of beauty from a barren land

Relatively few people will have been familiar with the music, culture and history of the Sahrawi people of north-western Africa before Aziza Brahim arrived on the music scene. Brahim has not only won an award for her original soundtrack to the film "Wilaya", she has also released three albums. Her latest album, "Soutak", spent three months at the top of the World Music Charts Europe in 2014. A review by Richard MarcusMore

Omar ''Bombino'' Moctar: Rebel Music from the Sahara Interview with the Algerian Singer Houria Aïchi: Ambassador of Chaouia Culture 15th Gnawa Music Festival in Morocco: A Festival of Fusion