Ryon - Rêver (Self-published/Dibyz Music)
Ryon is a five piece band from the South West of France with a member base from Bergerac in the Dordogne and Pau in the department Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Chico Chica - The Glow Of Habana EP (Self-published)
Chico Chica, a London based band around trio Hilary Cameron (piano, vocals), Tom Hannah (guitar, vocals) and Barbara Snow (flugelhorn, vocals), who, inspired by the motto: "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly!" (a quote by English writer/theologian/poet Gilbert Keith Chesterton) have been churning out their quirky tropical mix of samba, salsa, raï, jazz, tango, calypso, hip-hop and cabaret since 2010.
Marga - Gold Dust (Reality Shock Records)
Solo Banton's 'Higher Levels', the previous album release on Kris Kemist's Reality Shock Records label already dates back to 2012, so we were only too happy to learn of Marga's 'Gold Dust'.
Cortijo - The Ansonia Years 1969-1971 (Vampisoul/Munster Records)
For 'The Ansonia Years 1969-1971' the Vampisoul label made a selection from the work of percussionist Rafael Cortijo, who together with Francisco 'Kako' Bastar (Francisco Angel Bastar, 1936 - 1994, was a timbales, conga and bongo player, composer and band leader who, mainly in the 1960s, had a big following in New York, Puerto Rico and Panama) belonged to the cream of Puerto Rican bomba and plena musicians.
Earth Beat Movement - 70 BPM (Self-published)
'Right Road ', Tuscan band Earth Beat Movement's 2015 debut album, never reached us, but successor '70 BPM' (the title refers to a resting heart rate and also happens to be the rhythm rate of our favorite music genre) immediately grabbed our attention.
Baaba Maal - The Traveller (Marathon Artists)
Baaba Maal seems to take longer and longer to record an album ('Television', his previous long player, already dates back to 2009), but whither his slow recording pace also results in better albums, remains to be seen.
Fantan Mojah - Soul Rasta (Young Veterans/Zojak World Wide)
It's been seven years already since Fantan Mojah last treated his fans to a new album, but now the bobo-with-the-backpack finally returns with 'Soul Rasta'! For his 2008 album 'Stronger', Mojah still collaborated with Frenchie and with 'Out Of Many', 'Soul Rasta' also contains one of his productions.
Little Roy - Right Now EP (Stingray Records)
The honor of opening the musical reggae year this time goes to Little Roy, who's 'Right Now' is available since January 2nd.