Black Marshall - Another Day + To Di World (Self-published)
Black Marshall has been a fixture in the Belgian reggae circuit for a while now.
Kwame Bediako - Forward Ever (Wanafrika)
For Kwame Bediako, a Ghanaian residing in Chicago, 'Forward' is already his third self-published album.
Salim Jah Peter - Hold Up De Pouvoir (Believe)
Who said the revolutionary message of reggae is dead? In his home nation of Niger, Salim Jah Peter's 'Hold Up De Pouvoir' is seen as a danger to the state! The album was banned, three of Salim Jah Peter's employees were arrested and the singer himself is persona-non-grata.
Angelique Kidjo - ÕŸÖ (Razor & Tie/Naïve)
'Djin Djin', Angelique Kidjo's previous album, already dates back to 2007, but now there 'ÕŸÖ' for which the singer went in search of her childhood memories.
Müller & Makaroff - El Gaucho (Mañana/Naïve)
'El Gaucho' is a documentary by Andres Jarach; a road movie about the misadventures of Argentine cowboy Andres Retamal.
William Vivanco - El Mundo Esta Cambia'o (Naïve)
William Vivanco could well be Cuba's best kept secret.
Yapa - Pariwaga (Chapa Blues/Naïve)
Make no mistake, even though 'Pariwaga' may sound like the latest discovery from West Africa, in fact Yapa is a project of four friends (Fabrice Bourgignat, Simon Chenet, Christophe Combet and Xavier Hamon) from the Parisian suburbs, which, in an unusual line up of three guitarists and a percussionist, has been gaining in popularity in the city of light's underground scene.
Various Artists - Next Stop... Soweto: Township Sounds From The Golden Era Of Mbaqanga (Strut Records)
With 'Next Stop.
Sizzla - Crucial Times (Greensleeves)
Is this new Sizzla album just another chapter in an unstoppable list of releases from the singjay? Not quite: 'Crucial Times' was recorded with producer Homer Harris and every right-minded Sizzla-fan knows that he is the man that helped to make the unknown schoolboy Miguel Collins into the superstar Sizzla is today and was also responsible for giving him his stage name.
Various Artists - Songs For Reggae Lovers 3 (Greensleeves)
With the latest volume in their Songs For Reggae Lovers series, for the third year in a row the Greensleeves label makes sure you won't have any excuse not to be romantic on that crucial date in February.
Che Sudaka - Tudo É Possible (Kasba Music)
With their new album, 'Tudo É Possible', the ragtag bunch known as Che Sudaka once again provides the usual musical "mezcla" we've become accustomed to in the musica mestiza genre.
Toto La Momposina y Sus Tambores - La Bodega (Astar)
What Miriam Makeba was to South Africa and Celia Cruz to Cuba, a kind of mother figure of national music so to speak, Toto La Momposina is to Colombia.
Perfect Giddimani - French Connection (Irievibrations Records/Grooveattack/Tiger Records)
Perfect is not afraid to stick his neck out, because instead of delivering a good reggae album every so often, he likes to experiment with other genres.
The Congos - Back In The Black Ark (Médiacom)
A title like 'Back In The Black Ark' creates high expectations and a real return to Lee Perry's Black Ark studio was of course out of the question; in fact this album was recorded in The Congos' own Lions Den Recording Studio and finished at Mixing Lab by none other than Clive Hunt.
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate - Ali And Toumani (World Circuit)
Even though Ali Farka Toure passed away several years ago, the World Circuit label doesn't seem ready to say goodbye to the man, proven by this new album for which they used recordings Ali made in the company of his musical soul mate Toumani Diabate back in 2005.
LéOparleur - Faut Du Rêve (Self-published)
To call LéOparleur (pronounced "les haut-parleurs", "the loud speakers") a Rupa & The April Fishes clone is probably going a bit too far, but both bands are clearly fishing in the same pond.
YEW - White Swan On Black Water (Self-published)
World music doesn't always need a tropical sound.
State Radio - Let It Go (Nettwerk)
State Radio are Chadwick Stokes (guitar & vocals), Chuck Fay (bass & vocals) and Mike Najarian (drums & vocals), three committed Bostonians who with their music, a mix of punk rock, reggae and ska, want to jolt the world's conscience or at least want to deliver a moral head-butt to their listening audience.
Ibrahim Maalouf - Diachronism (Discograph)
The Franco-Lebanese trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf doesn't like labels, but the ingredients of his music are unmistakable.