Zema - Jubilee (Melchizedek Music)
In Europe Zema might still be relatively unknown, this singer and multi-instrumentalist from Detroit has already an extensive musical resume.
Victor Démé - Deli (Chapa Blues/Naïve)
Victor Démé, the sympathetic Burkinabe troubadour, is back with a new album.
Baco Hiriz Band - Kinky Station (Hiriz Reggae/RFI)
Baco Hiriz Band is a Parisian band around Baco, a singer/guitarist from Mayotte (an overseas territory of France in the Indian Ocean, somewhere between Madagascar and Mozambique).
Natty King - Born To Be Free (DHF Records/Grooveattack)
Natty King is back! Several years ago "the man from east" scored a monster hit with 'No Guns To Town' and the subsequent album, released in cooperation with Insight Records and distributed by Jet Star, was also a success.
Sanchez - Now & Forever (VP Records)
Combining the sweetness of Sanchez with a producer like Donovan Germain (Penthouse Records) should create magic, no? 'Now & Forever' is Sanchez' first album since 2003's 'No More Heartaches' and with a number of serious hits like 'My Everything' (a cover of a song by Inner Circle) or 'I'm For Real' the singer once again confirms his status as the number one lovers rock artist of his generation.
Pablo Moses - The Rebirth (House Of Moses)
The success of a number of European tours and his collaboration with Groundation ('Upon The Bridge') inspired Pablo Moses enough to hit the studio again.
Chezidek - Judgement Time (Heartbeat Europe/Rounder)
Barely six months after the release of the Sly & Robbie produced 'I Grade', Chezidek already returns with 'Judgement Time' recorded in collaboration with the Dutch JahSolidRock.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Rise & Shine (Cumbancha)
Yours truly had heard many a positive thing about Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a group of musicians who accidentally got to know each other in the refugee camps in Guinea where they ended up after being on the run from the violence of the civil war in their homeland Sierra Leone, and it has to be said, their mix of Congolese soukous, rumba, reggae and a slew of other genres is contagious.
Prince Jammy - Strictly Dub (Pressure Sounds)
After Greensleeves ('Jammy's From The Roots 1977-1985'), the Pressure Sounds label in turn focusses on the early period of Prince Jammy with the reissue of 'Strictly Dub', a dubalbum that appeared on the fairly obscure New York based Jammy's Records label at the beginning of the 1980s.
Tamikrest - Adagh + Dirtmusic - BKO (Glitterhouse Records)
The members of Tamikrest consider themselves to be spiritual sons of Tinariwen and like Tinariwen this new generation of Tuareg musicians sings of the blues of their people and the beauty of the desert.
Curumin - JapanPopShow (Makasound)
Curumin (born Luciano Nakata Albuquerque) has quickly become one of the most important ambassadors of modern Brazilian music.
Balkan Beat Box - Blue Eyed Black Boy (Crammed Discs)
Balkan Beat Box emerged a few years ago as the project of Ori Kaplan (ex-Gogol Bordello) and Tamir Muskat, two Israeli music fanatics who accidentally bumped into each other in Brooklyn.
Grupo Fantasma - El Existential (National Geographic Records)
This is already the third Grupo Fantasma album yours truly had the pleasure of listening to.
Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Steps Ahead (Strut Records)
The success of 'New York + Addis + London, The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975', the compilation of his earlier work Strut Records released last year, apparently inspired Mulatu Astatke to head back into the studio to record his first full-fledged solo album in years.
Various Artists - Jammy's From The Roots 1977-1985 (Greensleeves)
Is it there really a need for an umpteenth Jammy's compilation? Well, in this case, it might be justified by the fact the Greensleeves label this time opted to focus on the earliest period of, then still, Prince Jammy.
Various Artists - The Lovers Rock Selection (S & G Records)
'The Lovers Rock Collection' unites some of the best releases of S & G Records, established in the early eighties by Milton 'Smitty' Smith.
Junior Kelly - Red Pond (VP Records)
Yours truly has always regarded Junior Kelly as a bit of an odd one out in the Jamaican music industry.
Fredy Massamba - Ethnophony (Self-published)
Judging from 'Ethnophony', Fredy Massamba clearly attended Marie Daulne's Zap Academy (see also Manou Gallo, Sally Nyolo.
Fool's Gold - Fool's Gold (I Am Sound Records/Wagram)
Fool's Gold started as a hobby project for vocalist/bassist Luke Top and guitarist Lewis Pesacov.
Amparo Sanchez - Tucson/Habana (Via Lactea Records/Pias/Wrasse Records)
With Amparanoia, Amparo Sanchez always produced music that fitted the musica mestiza genre,.