Flavia Coelho - DNA (Le Label/Pias)
Also in need of a dash of sunshine in these harsh winter months? Then be sure to check out 'DNA', the new long-player by Flavia Coelho, the Parisian with Brazilian roots.
Sahra Halgan - Waa Dardaaran (Buda Musique)
Sahra Halgan is a diva from Somaliland, the state that tore itself away from civil war-torn Somalia in 1991, but for one reason or another is not recognized by the international community.
Acid Arab - Jdid (Crammed Discs)
If Parisian project Acid Arab on their 2016 debut 'Musique De France', still sounded a bit like just another exponent of the Syrian dabke sound popularized worldwide by Omar Souleyman, then they clearly decided on exploring other horizons for successor 'Jdid'.
Yoha meets Official Staff - Resilience (Dibyz Music)
On this successor to last year's 'Mad World' EP, there's no longer any mention of The Dragon Tribe, Sofiana 'Yoha' Bichet's regular backing band, as for 'Resilience' Yoha joined forces with Official Staff, a four-piece band from Rouen, and left the final mix to veteran Godwin Logie in London.
Johnny den Artiest - Gij EP (Self-published)
Had it been up to English author J.R.R. Tolkien, this new Johnny den Artiest EP would probably have been called 'The Return Of The King', but in King Johnny's universe that simply becomes 'Gij' ("you").
Solo Banton - Old Raggamuffin (Reality Shock Records)
Has it really been seven years since Solo Banton rejoiced us with a new long player? The English deejay returns in full force with 'Old Raggamuffin', for which he once again joined forces with Reality Shock producer Kris Kemist.
Various Artists - Heavy Roots: Tiempo Roots (Evidence Music)
Heavy Roots is a collective of producers, composers and beat makers from Valencia, Spain, led by Daniel 'Gio' Aguado. For 'Tiempo Roots' they compiled 11 of their productions and invited a bunch of well-known names from Europe, the United States and Jamaica to deliver the vocals.
Zennith - Ancient Warrior (Zennith Music/Zojak World Wide)
Australia will probably never become a real reggae nation, but with Zennith, an Aboriginal band around brothers Astro and Aden Brim, Down Under is taking a step in the right direction.
Los Pirañas - Historia Natural (Glitterbeat Records)
Los Pirañas is a Colombian supergroup composed of trio Eblis Alvarez, Mario Galeano and Pedro Ojeda, old schoolmates, who with 'Historia Natural' are already presenting their third album.
Faygo - Together (Fawaka Production)
Faygo is a six-piece band from the Breton town of Rennes drawing inspiration from the work of American band Groundation and the Jamaican veterans of The Gladiators, and with 'Together' are presenting their second album.
Yaniss Odua - Yon Pa Yon (Caan Dun Music)
These days Yaniss Odua may be a sounding name in the French reggae scene, but in the early 2000s the man was still an unknown migrant from Martinique who was trying to gain a foothold in Europe. In anticipation of a new album, scheduled for spring 2020, Odua is already serving us this "réédition collector" reissue of 'Yon Pa Yon', the iconic 2002 album which catapulted him on the French reggae map.
Blind Reverendo - Searching The Waves (Redgoldgreen Label)
Blind Reverendo is the alter ego of Barcelona-based Italian singer-songwriter Mario Rivoiro, a stage name you can even take quite literally, as Mario lost his sight when he was eight years old.
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band - Obiaa! (Strut Records)
The fact the new Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band album is called 'Obiaa!' ("everyone"), is far from coincidental, but rather a logical conclusion according to producer and multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah.
Radio Tarifa - Rumba Argelina (World Circuit)
Next on the list of re-releases by World Circuit Records is 'Rumba Argelina', the 1993 long-player debut of Spanish band Radio Tarifa.
Guillermo Portabales - El Carretero (World Circuit)
To be honest, we'd rather see a new World Circuit release, but for the time being the label continues to focus on reissuing its own back catalogue. This time it's 'El Carretero', a collection of the best work by Cuban guajira artist Guillermo Portabales; a compilation album that was first released in 1996.
Tommy Tornado And The Clerks - Back On Track (Self-published)
Dutch Saxophonist Thomas Streutgers came pretty close to giving up on his alter ego Tommy Tornado. Rude Rich & The High Notes, the band that had backed him on his first two albums, had disbanded and Thomas had his hands full with The Busquitos, the jazz-comedy act playing up to 120 shows a year. Fortunately, some persistent fans kept pushing and in 2014 Thomas found a new backing band in The Clerks, a seven-piece crew from Cologne.
Kologne - A New Chapter (Self-published/Puur Live Entertainment)
Just under a year after the release of his 'Ease Off' EP, Kologne now presents the full-length 'A New Chapter' album, for which he recycled 5 tracks from the aforementioned EP and supplemented them with 9 "new" songs recorded between 2007 and 2018.
Munay Ki Dub - MKD EP (Dub-O-Phonic)
A few months after the Dub-O-Phonic label introduced us to the Argentineans of The Dubbstyle, we return to the cradle of tango for 'MKD', an EP by Munay Ki Dub, a trio from Traslasierra in the province of Cordoba in central Argentina.
Acsel & The Reggae Rebel Band - Sounds Good (Redgoldgreen Label)
Acsel & The Reggae Rebel Band is an Italian formation from Villa Bartolomea, a small village near Verona, founded by front man Alex Viaro aka Acsel.
BaBa ZuLa - Derín Derín (Glitterbeat Records)
Leaving aside the 2017 double compilation album 'XX', 'Derín Derín' is the first LP by Turkish musical rebel collective BaBa ZuLa in about 5 years.