African music
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Album review: Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti"
Foot-tapping fusion
Blending East African, Bollywood and Arab music traditions, Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti" is not only a stunning album, it is also the first internationally-released recording of music from this small and isolated country. By Richard Marcus
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Album review: Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith – "Mummer Love"
Harar awakening
What do New York City poet and musician Patti Smith, the late French poet Arthur Rimbaud, composer Philip Glass, Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke and the Sufi Group of Sheikh Ibrahim have in common? After listening to the album "Mummer Love" from Soundwalk Collective, you may begin to find the connection. Review by Richard Marcus
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Album review: Tartitʹs "Amankor/The Exile"
Lapping at your consciousness
With "Amankor/The Exile", the Kel Tamashek band Tartit have produced another cultural treasure for the rest of the world to appreciate. Their original intent may have been to keep their own culture alive, but in the process they have succeeded in bringing the sound of the desert into all our lives. By Richard Marcus
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Album review: Imarhanʹs "Temet"
Keeping it real
With their second album, "Temet", Imarhan has achieved something of an organic progression from the traditional Tamasheq sound, melding musical influences – absorbed from an increasingly urbanised existence – to create something new. Review by Richard Marcus
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Album review: Diali Cissokho and Kaira Baʹs "Routes"
Marrying music and culture
Diali Cissokho left his native Senegal for North Carolina years ago. Raised as a griot, one of the traditional musical story tellers and historians of West Africa, he wanted to continue playing music in his new home. It may have taken a while to find the musicians he was looking for but, writes Richard Marcus, it was worth the wait
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Album review: "Two Niles to Sing a Melody"
The strings and synths of Sudan
Ostinato Recordsʹ latest release, "Two Niles to Sing a Melody", is not only a collection of sixteen songs from the peak period of the country’s popular music era, the 1970s, it also contains fascinating first-hand accounts from a variety of musicians who survived the purges during the subsequent clampdown on popular culture. By Richard Marcus
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Album review
Lost Somali tapes: ″Sweet as broken dates″
Ostinato Records recently released an amazing compilation of Somali music, ″Sweet as broken dates″, which reminds listeners that – despite the prevalent images of a land torn apart by civil war – Somalia was once a country with a thriving cultural tradition. Review by Richard Marcus
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Album review: Rafiki Jazz′ ″Har Dam Sahara″
In life′s every moment
Rafiki Jazz′ latest album, ″Har Dam Sahara″, is one of those rare releases which manages to combine the music of multiple cultures to produce a sound that is both unique and harmonious. Review by Richard Marcus
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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
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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 Stocker
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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 impressions
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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