Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2020 Thread (Often African bands)

This thread is mainly for polyrhythmic, international sounds that aren't big enough to get threads of their own. I lean toward south of the equator sounds here that are sometimes less club-oriented than those of artists highlighted on Afrobeats, dancehall, soca threads. Sometimes, but not always, the artists are older than those on those other threads. More old-school bands too.

Here's last year's thread:

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2019 Thread Once Known as World Music

https://moroccantapes.com/about

Looks interesting. Listed by genre I think

Not a fan of Egyptian rocker Ramy Essam who is touring US. Too bombastic arena style for me. I have read that he’s a left leaning activist but the music is not my thing.

Algerian Sofiane Saide and His Mazalda Cosmic rai Band are coming to the US too. I haven’t heard them yet

That should say Saidi. He and his rai band are in DC Friday and Monday, and in NY Saturday & Sunday. Sunday at Globalfest

Then back to France and North Africa

Saw a bit of a YouTube video of Sofiane Saidi. Sounded good and looked lively

Saidi album is good but not great

Gonna splurge and see Mahmoud Ahmed, legendary Ethiopian singer Saturday night at the Ethiopian Embassy backed by a band led by the guitarist of the Roha band (Ethiopiques) Selamino

ilmer crut turned me onto this guy from Morocco - kinda synth/psychedelic I really dig it:
https://abdouelomari.bandcamp.com/album/nuits-d-t-avec-abdou-el-omari -- I also love the description: "Abdou El Omari, the bachelor hairdresser, composer and organ player from Morocco..." bachelor hairdresser!

also I posted this yesterday to Hey Jews but i think ppl itt would be interested in it too:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/the-hidden-world-of-psychedelic-jewish-folk

Oh no, it's the late Abdou El Omari

died in 2010 at the age of 66,

System K, a movie doc about Kinshasa, Congo street performers is at the Film Forum in NY till the 14th. Hopefully it will soon be available elsewhere

i'd love to see that

Mahmoud Ahmed did 2 great hour or so sets Saturday night at the Ethiopian Embassy in DC. At 78 his voice still is mesmerizing.

Opening act singer Abeba Desalegn was good too.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/arts/music/globalfest.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_200115?campaign_id=2&instance_id=15087&segment_id=20334&user_id=062566bcd9872d3bfa0c4b1ac1e046b4®i_id=373557720115

Global Fest in NYC this past Sunday take by Jon Pareles. Sounds fun

Fado singer Lina Rodrigues and producer Raül Refree (who's worked with Rosalía and Lee Ranaldo, among others) have collaborated on an album that takes traditional fado songs and brings them into an almost Portishead-ish zone. I interviewed them both for Bandcamp.

Songlines 12 five-star African albums from last year:
https://www.songlines.co.uk/explore/guides-and-lists/the-12-five-star-african-albums-of-2019

Dawda Jobarteh - I Met Her By the River
Vaudou Game - Otodi
Ali Hassan Kuban - From Nubia to Cairo
Blick Bassy - 1958
Baba Commandant and the Mandigo Band - Siri Ba Kele
Mdou Moctar - Ilana: The Creator
Benin International Musical - BIM#1
Africa Express - Egoli
VA - Mlouk: Gnawa and World Music Festival
KOKOKO! - Fongola
Tinariwen - Amadjar
VA - Early Congo Music 1946-1962

cool list!

Good stuff, Phil – the music and interview both. Thanks for the heads up.

xp

Xp— that Songlines list is good, I agree

Loving this!!! If you have been fortunate enough to see either Fendika or PNL’s Large Unit, you know that them together??! Perfection imo.

https://paalnilssen-love.bandcamp.com/album/ethiobraz

Yeah, I'm including that ^^^ in my upcoming Stereogum column. It rips.

I interviewed Korean artist Eunhye Jeong, who combines traditional pansori music with free jazz, for Bandcamp. The album is wild.

Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela recorded an album together before the latter died; it's coming out in March. This is the first track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMOJg16oHdI

Also note that this is the first release on the relaunched World Circuit label.

Saw Tony Allen with a band live once and he was great. Hopefully that recording with Masekela will be great.

finally got a hold of that early congo music comp from that songlines list and if congolese rumba in yr jam (it's v much mine) it's really a fantastic document and i don't know a lot of these artists!

also enjoyed this MOGADISCO: Dancing Mogadishu (Somalia 1972-1991) comp - not sure we've mentioned it in any of these threads

That early Congo music release is from a Japanese label. Is any US distributor handling it?

https://www.farsidemusic.com/acatalog/Early-Congo-Music-1946-1962--First-Rumba-to-the-Real-Rumba-FSD7558.html

Listened to the reissue of an Issam Hajali album today - Lebanese Acid Folk from the 70's with touches of orchestral pop, prog, bossa nova. Killer album, Habibi Funk is such a great label.

ooo good stuff thx for the tip

The major keepers from globalFest imo were:

San Salvador: South France polyphony with drums... fucking volcanic live - https://soundcloud.com/lostintraditions/sets/san-salvador-live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt1Ok0Kvcsg

La Chica: Venezuelan French woman doing dope electro-pop - https://remezcla.com/features/music/la-chica-profile/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Q0YmCRa1Y

Ak Dan Gwang Chil: sprawling South Korean band with three lead female singers and killer style - http://sori.nyc/adgc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krIHTd-7PGY

And, of course, Cheikh Lo was lovely as always

Heard good things about Ak Dan Gwang Chil. They were in DC at Kennedy Center too, but just billed as a folkloric trad group and I missed them. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage 1 hour gigs are videotaped and archived -- will check that out as well.

Gregory Maqoma’s Vuyani Dance Theatre from South Africa did an intense performance last night @ Kennedy Center entitled “Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero.” Set in a graveyard , the singers/dancers combined mournful South African Isicathamiya a capella singing w/ beatbox rap & hiphop dance (both modern and popping and locking). A touch of Malathini in vocals via use of froggy voice megaphone, also traditional tongue clicking at one point. No video allowed last night. Too bad as the video trailers on Youtube are much more tame than what I saw. The NY Times profiled Maqoma and gave a fave review to their performance last weekend in NYC. South African composer Nhlanhla Mahlangu cleverly transposed Ravel's Bolero to a marching snare drum beat and via other ways as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGcOE7LamP0

i'm enjoying this this morning (on spotify) - sorta Anglo-Scots/Indian folk fusion:
https://www.dominomusic.com/releases/yorkston-thorne-khan/navarasa-nine-emotions/cd

x-post

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/arts/dance/gregory-maqoma.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/19/arts/music/prototype-festival-opera.html

Maqoma's South African dance and song gets love from NY Times

Looks like Maqoma’s Vuyani Dance Theatre from South Africa have only 1 more US appearance - February 1 at Mass Moca

Shows in New York:

Sat., Feb 1:
3MA, comprising Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko, Moroccan oud expert Driss El Maloumi, and Malagasy valiha extraordinaire Rajery plays a FREE show at Public Records. Don't forget to RSVP!

Ulysses and Unperson should go to that.

Unfortunately, I'm gonna be at the Jazz Gallery tonight.

i've had the flu for about a week - mildly unpleasant. more unpleasant has been taking care of 3 sick kids who also are sick and being mostly cooped inside. today i was feeling better but w/ some cabin fever so i took reggie for a long walk outside. it had rained in the morning and was still cold and the air was sharp but there were lots of birds and small mammals about. i listened to the new afropop worldwide episode about the field recordings of High Tracey who did a lot of fieldwork in traditional communities in Africa in the 1950s particularly in Malawi. i had not heard these before but many are extraordinary + strange lots of inventive vocal and instrumental sounds, some things that reminded me of reading feld's sound and sentiment, really some wonderful things to listen to and especially on a chilly, somewhat wet walk after spending all week ill and indoors.

Hugh* Tracey but i guess that's a little easter egg there

Mordy, did you study ethnomusicology? Not doing so has always been a minor regret of mine. I did take an intro anthropology course and the prof would start each class by playing music and asking us to guess where it was from

Sorta - I did a Performance Studies grad degree but worked with ethnomusicologists and on topics that had a lot of crossover so I ended up studying + reading a lot of ethnomusicology and took a few classes in the discipline. I was mostly interested in religious + liturgical music and wrote about Jewish music primarily but I also wrote about other things. I also did a course in Sound Studies that was very interesting.

Ah that's interesting. A good friend of mine is doing a PhD in performance studies at CUNY right now and all his classes sound great--he's a playwright & director but is also taking a lot of music-related courses. When I worked in academic publishing I promoted ethnomusicology books but never had time to do much more than skim them (I wish I'd kept copies of them all now!). Sound studies is closer to my own academic field (media/comms) but I haven't had a chance to get seriously into yet.

Shakira At Super Bowl halftime used the the Congo instrumental song Icha by Syran Mbenza. The guitar solo is by Lokassa Ya Mbongo I am reading on twitter. Colombian champeta is drawn from Congolese rumba in part.

She also drew a bit from her Lebanese heritage. Zaghrouta is the tongue thing she did.

Maybe some university classes are discussing that today!

Plus the myriad other elements and the guests Bad Bunny & J Balvin

I didn't see it, but that does sound like a rich text!

can't wait to talk about this w my students!
they love bad bunny

Others on twitter are saying Shakira’s tongue ululations are part of traditional carnival roots in Barranquilla in Colombia.

On Facebook the discussion is more re whether the dancing was too raunchy, and is it or not empowering for 43 & 50 years old women to dance like that ( and for children to see it)

ugh! put down your pearls, folks

the NFL still has cheerleaders, no?

this looks great - i don't know much about Apala music but acc to the description "Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1967-70 is the first ever collection of Apala music to be released outside of Nigeria. The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960s, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria."

https://www.strandedrecords.com/collections/soul-jazz/products/various-apala-apala-groups-in-nigeria-1967-70-2xlp

release 2/21

interesting!

cheerleaders are young though

and they know their place.

(i'm being sarcastic. i trust you realize this but i feel like i have to clarify.)

Christopher Kirkley's Sahel Sounds imprint (Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de Illighadad, Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla) jumpstarts 2020 with its catchy new "Music from Saharan WhatsApp" series: "Every month, we'll be releasing an EP from a musical group in the Sahel. Every album will be recorded on a cellphone, and transmitted over WhatsApp, and uploaded to Bandcamp - where it will live for one month only. Available for pay as you want, 100% of the sales will go directly to the artist or group. After one month, the album will be replaced by another one, until the end of the year."

First off is Etran de L'Aïr (which translates to 'Stars of the Aïr', a mountainous region in Northern Niger), a group hailing from Agadez that established itself as a wedding band, playing three guitars simultaneously, "pushing their instruments to the extreme, soloing over one another and creating a dreamy cacophony of sound." Originally the band formed back in 1995...

X-post - NY Times editorial by Jennifer Weiner re pearl clutchers vs butt shakers takes on Super Bowl

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/opinion/jlo-superbowl-performance.html

Now I'm sorry I skipped that Ballaké Sissoko show. This is totally fucked:

Malian musician & renowned Kora player Ballaké Sissoko says USA Customs have destroyed his custom-made Kora.
Statement reads ‘In Mali the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments - yet ironically US customs have managed to do this’ pic.twitter.com/4uwvkhoHPa

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) February 5, 2020

Terrible how they pulled it apart

The destruction of Ballaké Sissoko's kora by TSA agents of 'Homeland Security' is a reminder that cultural barbarism flows from political barbarism. They are not worthy of him, of his instrument, or of the beautiful sound he produces on his kora. https://t.co/vFwD3j1Zhr

— Adam Shatz (@adamshatz) February 7, 2020

shatz otm

Burna Boy and Koffee at least made ilm top 77 albums, but not Mdou Moctar or others discussed here. :(

No mention anywhere on ILM of djeuhdjoah & lt nicholson. Liked that album more than African-ish that made the top 77, except Samthing prob.

Must admit I never heard of that duo. French Afro-Soul singers it appears. Will check them out.

Mdou Moctar got 7 votes in ILM album poll 2019

love sissoko, very much bullshit from customs

https://homerecordsbe.bandcamp.com/album/sissoko-sissoko

this sissoko & sissoko album with (Baba) features some beautiful playing. I suppose -ruined instrument aside- the upshot is that this ugly incident brought him lots of sympathetic publicity and attention that he thoroughly deserves.

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/11/804788290/joseph-shabalala-ladysmith-black-mambazo-founder-dies-at-78

RIP. Pioneering act. Saw em a few times ( although they used to come to DC every February and I got tired of em and wanted to see other South African old school acts but that rarely ever happened. Wasn’t their fault)

Fatoumata Diawara only has 2 US east coast gigs on current tour- Philly on February 19 & NYC on the 21st. Then she heads out to Chicago and west. She’s great live

Listened to the reissue of an Issam Hajali album today - Lebanese Acid Folk from the 70's with touches of orchestral pop, prog, bossa nova. Killer album, Habibi Funk is such a great label.

― Daniel_Rf, Friday, January 24, 2020 1:11 PM (three weeks ago)

this album is incredible, an absolute gem

https://pitchfork.com/news/victor-olaiya-highlife-icon-dead-at-89/

gonna catch diawara this week. she's been great everytime i saw her.

mdou moctar doing a neat late night NYC show at an extremely funky brooklyn room
https://thesultanroom.com/events/#event=91208474001

whatsapp #2 is out

https://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/music-from-saharan-whatsapp-02

This month we present mother and son duo, Oumou Diabate and Kara Show Koumba Frifri (Youssouf Drame), from Bamako, Mali. Playing traditional Mandingue music, these lowkey recordings are a snapshot from a griot family home.

saw Dawda Jobarteh yesterday, feel like there should be a dedicated kora thread, what a wonderful instrument

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWsXjw37Jwg

Kora does sound great

This month, Autotune the World goes to Senegal, digging into the past decade of Mbalax & Sabar. Some deep youtube finds and some well known classics.
MBALAX

https://www.nts.live/shows/christopher-kirkley/episodes/autotune-the-world-w-christopher-kirkley-13th-february-2020

Haven’t heard that yet, or latest Afropop worldwide, or recent Sahel Sounds whatsapp related release. Shame on me

Finally listening to the Islam Hajali , Lebanese acid-folk pop album mentioned upthread. Nice, pleasant sounds for an early Monday morning

posted this on another thread but might be interesting to some here. I started a Facebook community to discuss new music from around the world https://www.facebook.com/groups/terrainsound/

X-post - ah autocorrect- that’s Issam Hijali

I listened to an Afropop Worldwide episode about chutney soca. I want to go to a Carnival in the Caribbean some year. I have done Brazil ( Rio and Salvador) which was amazing .

x-post - listened to some of the Autotune the World Senegal thing and it’s worth hearing but it’s just music, no talking like the Afropop Worldwide podcast. But maybe you knew that.

75 Dollar Bill are opening for Mdou Moctar on Monday March 23 at Ottobar in Baltimore. Not sure if they’re playing together elsewhere. A bit of a drive for me to get up there on a work night but it’s tempting

https://tuskisbetter.substack.com/p/when-and-where-music-of-guineas-authenticit?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

Nice video at end of guinea band plus discussion of music history there

MP3 download too

Legendary Ethiopian pianist Girma Beyene just canceled US tour due to virus concerns ( especially for those who are older)

http://www.transglobalwmc.com/category/charts/monthly-charts/

Have not heard the Portuguese modern take on fado album that is #1

that’s the #2! I’m curious about the #1, Kurdish singer Aynur’s new album Hedûr.

Oops you're right. Curious about a number of these. Full list for each month goes to 40.

1. Aynur · Hedûr / Solace of Time · The Orchard / Dreyer & Gaido (-)

2. Lina_Raül Refree · Lina_Raül Refree · Glitterbeat (16)
3. Antibalas · Fu Chronicles · Daptone (-)
4. Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou · Oulad Lghaba · Ajabu! (3)
5. Nelia Safaie · Songs from Lands of Silence · Kirkelig Kulturverksted (-)
6. Sam Lee · Old Wow · Cooking Vinyl (-)
7. Ballaké Sissoko & Baba Sissoko · Sissoko & Sissoko · Homerecords.be (4)
8. Maria Mazzotta · Amoreamaro · Agualoca (-)
9. Evritiki Zygia · Ormenion · Teranga Beat (-)
10. Roberto Fonseca · Yesun · Mack Avenue (7)

That Lina_Raül Refree album is really good. I interviewed them both for Bandcamp.

Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela album coming soon. A song or 2 already available

Manu Dibango was hospitalized for Covid-19 but is now home and recuperating, I see on Facebook

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51978459

Aurlus Mabele, singer/dancer from Congolese rumba/ soukous band Loketo led by guitarist Diblo Dibala. He was 67 & died from stroke complications and coronavirus . Loketo was last based in Paris.

A charismatic performer back when, I saw he & Loketo a number of times

My locally based Malian and Ethiopian musicians are laying low and not video streaming as far as I can tell. Local clubs are unable to pay employees. Musicians and promoters who are independent contractors are unable to qualify for unemployment benefits

RIP Manu Dibango. There’s a separate thread all about Mr Soul Makossa

New Hailu Mergia album is good

agreed! new tony allen hugh masekela great too.

Hailu album/EP is lovely

opener reminds me of some pop tune, maybe "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQ6rjz-XaU

just digging into the full hailu album but the singles are one and all excellent
Need to crack the Masekela/Allen album; two gods.

I need to hear the Masekela/Allen album. Did like 1 advanced track I heard

https://www.gofundme.com/f/barbes-needs-you?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Barbes in NYC

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bossa-bistro-community-support

Bossa Bistro in Dc go fund me and likely many homes for international music everywhere

x-post--- Kurdish singer Aynur’s new album Hedûr.

Aynur's opening track on this is beautiful-- Her slightly rough vocals over tinkling piano keys and strings

Wasn't as impressed by Masekela/ Tony Allen album as I hoped I would be

Really liking the whole recent album from Kurdish singer Aynur. Melancholy and mixes piano with traditional strings under her modern yet traditional vocals

The Hailu Mergia album is great— looks back and forward

The Hailu Mergia album is great— looks back and forward

cosign

yeah, i dug into it properly and it's wonderful.
also just watched this and would recommend it for a spin if you can find it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_A7wsQAAN8

I paid to rent Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul on Vimeo . Was worth it. There's a bit of a discussion on the Ethiopiques thread

glad you like it! It's a bit neatly wrapped but i felt like i learned a lot!

I also saw a pianist Girma Beyene doc that hasn’t been officially released yet. He wrote some great songs. After his wife died ( whom he had written many songs about) he gave up music for awhile and just worked at a Washington DC gas station. He finally felt comfortable with returning to music a few years ago. I saw him play here in DC once. He has now moved back to Ethiopia and his latest tour got cancelled by Covid-19

Behind on listening to Sahel Sounds What's app stuff.

Been catching up on the late Bohannon, whose 1974 Soul Train appearance doing "South African Man" sounds like Fela meets disco , and anticipates Talking Heads circa 1980 funky period

1. Tamikrest · Tamotaït · Glitterbeat

Haven't heard this latest Tamikrest album either

The Alkibar Jr ep for April 2020 from the Music from Saharan Whatsapp series is pretty good. More than just formula desert sounds. I think it’s only available on Bandcamp through Thursday on the Sahel Sounds page . It’s real cheap $

Actually they posted it in mid-April do it’s available until May 15.

Sahel Sounds says: "We wanted to give you all a heads up that all album downloads at our Bandcamp page will be "Pay What You Want" tomorrow, Friday, May 1st, from midnight to midnight PST. Thank you for your continued support! "

that's good. Not so good is the death of drummer Tony Allen

Oh no

Sad news rip I thought the latest album with Hugh masekela sounded great

Would have almost gone to see him if not for Covid :(

i met him a couple years ago and it was awesome
feel unusually sad about his passing :(

Yes. So Bandcamp is going to do specials every first Friday for a bit to help musicians

I guess that new Oumou Sangare (live I think) album is not available yet. Listened to old stuff from her tonight-- what a voice...

Tidiane Thiam- Siftorde is nice acoustic guitarist album Northern Senegal . Pleasant instrumentals that might appeal to those into fingerpicked American strumming .

On Sahel Sounds

https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2020/05/21/Google-celebrates-Zimbabwes-national-instrument-the-mbira-with-Doodle/5301590056841/

Unnamed Zimbabwe mbira player on today’s Google Doodle

This looks great: this Monday, the 2020 edition of the Africadelic Festival will be livestreamed through the Instagram page of the Paradiso venue in Amsterdam from 12pm-12am CEST (www.instagram.com/paradisoadam).

There’s a whole slew of artists set to perform, including at least several that should appeal to followers of this thread: Blick Bassy, Femi Kuti, Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band – possibly more, because to be honest there’s many names there that I don’t recognize.

There are also talks and interviews, and a film programme (with free viewing on 24, 25 and 26 May).

Check this Facebook link for more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/248730829661281/
Or here (but not everything here is in English): https://www.paradiso.nl/en/program/africadelic-2020-online-edition/77120/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52774331

RIP Mory Kante at 70 from Guinea who did the great upbeat Afropop dance tune “Yeke Yeke” and was also in the Super Rail Band with musicians from Mali

Youssou N'Dour had nice words for Mory Kante calling him "a baobab of African culture"

RIP Kante, that shit still rocks

unusually concise, otm band bio/non-frothing press release:
Les Amazones d’Afrique is a creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women and girls; and a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. They were formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three renowned Malian music stars and social change activists, Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Mariam Doumbia. Since then, collective has expanded to involve many female artists from across Africa and the diaspora.

While their cause — campaigning for gender equality and eradicating ancestral violence — is worthy enough in itself, their musical creative expression is equally powerful. Richly melodic and far-ranging, it blends pan-African styles and collaborative harmonies with gritty, contemporary pop, and the Congotronix-style production of legendary producer Doctor L (aka Liam Farrell).

Their debut album République Amazone featured guest contributions from the likes of Angélique Kidjo and Nigerian singer-songwriter Nneka, and caught the attention of President Obama, who included one of the songs in his 20 favourite tracks of 2017. In 2020, they release their follow-up album Amazones Power, on which familiar voices like Mamani Keïta and Rokia Koné appear alongside a younger generation of singers who represent the exciting new sound of modern Africa.
Yeah, it's intergenerational, among other dynamics, and though the translated lyrics aren't necessary---the sound immediately and developmentally rules, as on the debut, which I didn't have translations for---they do provide more light, sometimes at startling angles.

Hope this is the right thread (police don't talk about me when I'm gone).

Thanks again, press sheet:

Real World Records RW228
Released: 24 January 2020
CD / 2LP / Digital

01. Heavy (feat. Niariu, Boy Fall & Jon Grace)
02. Love (feat. Mamani Keïta)
03. Smile (feat. Niariu & Ami Yerewolo)
04. Queens (feat. Rokia Koné)
05. Smooth (feat. Mamani Keïta)
06. Dreams (feat. Rokia Koné)
07. Timbuktu (feat. Mamani Keïta)
08. Red (feat. Rokia Koné)
09. Rebels (feat. Nacera Ouali Mesbah)
10. Dogon (feat. Mamani Keïta)
11. Fights (feat. Fafa Ruffino)
12. Sisters# (feat. Kandy Guira)
13. Power

I heard the earlier one, but not this 2020 one.

Trans global June 2020 chart

1. Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn · Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn · Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (6)

2. Džambo Aguševi Orchestra · Brasses for the Masses · Asphalt Tango (1)
3. Damir Imamović · Singer of Tales · Wrasse (5)
4. Tamikrest · Tamotaït · Glitterbeat (2)
5. Santrofi · Alewa · Outhere (17)
6. Trio Tekke · Strovilos · Riverboat / World Music Network (-)
7. Moonlight Benjamin · Simido · Ma Case (9)
8. Matthieu Saglio · El Camino de los Vientos · ACT Music (24)
9. Transglobal Underground · Walls Have Ears · Mule Satellite (-)
10. Frigg · FriXX · Frigg (16)

11. Sam Lee · Old Wow · Cooking Vinyl (4)

wow that Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn is interesting!

Matthieu Saglio sounds beautiful

i love abby washburn and she's most interesting to me when she's doing chinese inspired stuff so yeah, i love that album.

I have been seeing references to her for awhile but have not listened. Will give that one a shot.

Hailu Mergia is selling car air fresheners that come with a digital download: https://hailumergia.bandcamp.com/album/yene-mircha
"Pine-scented air freshener, feel as fresh as Hailu while you cruise in your car or hang in your house. Comes with free download of the new album Yene Mircha!"
(Surely this is a reference to his job as a taxi driver? https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/01/hailu-mergia-the-ethiopian-jazz-legend-who-jams-in-his-taxi)

lol, yeah it absolutely is!

curmudgeon, I've been following washburn's work for like 15 years now back when she was in Uncle Earl. She's got a kid with Bela Fleck.

I bought some really good South African jazz records this week:

Marcus Wyatt and the ZAR Jazz Orchestra - Into Dust/Waltz For Jozi and One Night In The Sun (big band jazz with vocals in English and, I think, Xhosa)
Thandi Ntuli, Live At Jazzwerkstaat (piano, guitar, bass, drums, four horns, and a string quartet)
Benjamin Jephta, Homecoming and The Evolution Of An Undefined (Jephta is a bassist; the first album is acoustic post-bop, the second adds elements of electronic music and funk)
Keenan Ahrends - Narrative (mostly guitar-bass-drums, but a saxophonist appears on three tracks and a pianist on a couple of others)

They're all on Bandcamp.

x-post to Ulysses- Doh, just remembered my wife is a bit of a Washburn fan and she remembers seeing her at one tent at a festival while I was seeing another act at a different tent.

Congolese band Les Bantous De La Capitale’s (The Bantus of The Capital) founding member Nganda Edo dies aged 87 in Congo Brazzaville. He was the only surviving founding member of the band.

The musician, born Edouard Nganga, is described as the dean of Congolese music. Nganga lend a hand to popular bands such as Ok Jazz with Franco Luambo Makiadi and Vicky Longomba, he replaced Philippe Lando Rossignol who had quit, He also performed alongside Négro Jazz which was his first outfit and the Bantus of the capital.

i ordered a Hailu air freshener!

i should do that too

Watched a crazy, disturbing doc about young and middle aged Kenyans blaming their problems on elderly Kenyans and calling them witches and in some situations killing them. The doc briefly showed a cool Kenyan brass band but I didn’t get the name, alas. The movie doc is called The Letter

I like the advance of this Awesome Tapes reissue coming in August. The Afrobeats/ Afro thread folks will like this too

Penny Penny—the South African singer who made it from janitor squatting in the studio to pan-African superstar in the space of a couple years back in the mid-90s—released his second album in 1996 amidst stadium tours and nonstop promo in the aftermath of his breakthrough debut "Shaka Bundu.” After our reissue of "Shaka Bundu” in 2013 gained notice from outlets including Fresh Air and Rolling Stone, Penny Penny played the Sydney Opera House for the first time and built a larger following overseas (he was meant to play Dekmantel this summer). Now, his curiously hard-to-find follow-up that leans on message-laden songs with his familiar banging sound—an amalgam of House and Shangaan music production behind anthemic vocals—comes out 14 August on Awesome Tapes From Africa LP/CD/Tape/Digital.

Cool! See also our wonderfulOld School Afropop thread, where he was recently highlighted.

Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent Ethiopian singer, songwriter and activist, has been shot dead in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in a killing that risked heightening tensions in a nation taking stuttering steps toward establishing a multiparty democracy.

Mr. Hundessa, 34, was shot late on Monday night in the Gelan Condominiums area of Addis Ababa, the city’s police commissioner, Geta Argaw, told the state-affiliated broadcaster Fana on Tuesday. The singer was taken to a hospital after the attack, but died later of his wounds. It was not immediately known who was responsible for the shooting. from NY times obit

https://afropop.org/articles/ethiopia-erupts-following-killing-of-oromo-singer-hachalu-hundessa

Sad

the buscabulla album (Regresa) gives me some v chill helado negro vibes and then i discover they've worked together <3

This was released this year, and is blowing my mind right now: funeral songs from northern Ghana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JEhZ52sAw

here's my halfway 2020 top 10 for this thread

Obongjayar - Which Way is Forward
Mulatu Astatke, Black Jesus Experience - To Know Without Knowing
Sven Wunder - Eastern Flowers
Hailu Mergia - Yene Mircha
Tony Allen, Hugh Maskela - Rejoice
Buscabulla - Regresa
Nihiloxica - Kaloli
Majid Bekkas - Magic Spirit Quartet
Pacific Breeze Vol 2: Japanese City Pop, AOC & Boogie 1972-1986
Selam Seyoum - Grace

That Nihiloxica record is incredible.

Those Ugandan drummers in Nihiloxica are relentless

I need to listen to that new Mulatu Astatke and few others on Mordy’s list that I haven’t heard yet.

big Mulatu fan but was disappointed by this one

This is a French band, but this song feels like it might be at home here. I like it a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLX3t9G6CA
Kolinga • Nguya na ngai

not sure why this gem is not included on Yene Mircha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNByVSLcR4U

It is only on the CD version of "Yene Mircha" - not the vinyl LP, nor the Bandcamp download. Similarly, the CD of "Lala Belu" has (unlisted) bonus tracks that aren't on the vinyl LP nor download.

That New Astatke one has A lot going on. Can’t decide if I like it yet , after 1 quick listen

Just learning about Astatke’s collaborators on this : from a Guardian review—- Melbourne’s Black Jesus Experience, a collective of singers, rappers, and jazz improvisers of Moroccan, Zimbabwean, Maori, Ethiopian and Australian origins.

Yeah, gotta admit the raps on that Astake record sound pretty corny to me, well intentioned and all but...

Balla Sidibé, founder member, lead singer, percussionist and composer of Orchestra Baobab passed away

Aw man RIP

That sucks. Covid related?

So this guy, the producer, is English but his sound and his collaborators are African so I feel I can mention it on this thread (if only under the "some exceptions" caveat to thread title). Need to listen again but really liked it on 1st pass:

Skinshape - Umoja

The heavy metal scene in Botswana.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rc6xl

Orquestra Baobab member Balla Sidibe’s death has not been attributed to COVID in the articles I saw.

I haven’t listened to Botswana heavy metal. I have been listening to UK based Nigerian Obangjayar who raps and sometimes uses old-school rooted afrobeats rhythms.

2018 interview
https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-obongjayar-who-makes-otherworldly-spirituals-for-the-modern-soul/

Obangjayar has his own thread!
He’s great live too, saw him just before lockdown

here's that thread: up like sun, down like sun - a thread for obongjayar

(Obongjayar is the correct spelling)

Thanks

There’s Only like 2 comments on his thread!

Oumou Sangare is on Beyonce’s visual Black is King album and Burna Boy and Beyonce holding a Robert Farris Thompson book on Yoruban art. Lots of other cool guests too. It’s a bit flawed but I like the ambition.

Just noticed I have missed out on some new Mdou Moctar mixtapes plus new Saharan Whats App ones

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5807750

Some Hassan Hajjaj photos of Moroccan musicians and others

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/arts/hassan-hajjaj.html

The ongoing series “My Rock Stars” is Mr. Hajjaj’s homage to his cosmopolitan crowd. (A sampler: the American artist Hank Willis Thomas; the Moroccan filmmaker Meryem Benm’Barek; the French-Algerian musician Rachid Taha, who died last year.) Some are famous, but styled by Hajjaj
In the Shoreditch shop, the grime M.C. Afrikan Boy, the Gnawa drummer Simo Lagnawi & the soul singer Bumi drifted in to rehearse. Mr. Hajjaj was developing a multimedia stage show, “My Rock Stars Experimental,” w/ video projections & live performance by musicians styled by him

Buscabulla’s tropical Puerto Rican synth pop w/ some r’n’b is nice enough

Whatever the fuck is going on here is the best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLF7JzUeVOY

They definitely have a vision:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOcJIIU_5I

okay, i am very into this

perhaps predictably.

They play all the hits! Mainly Brazilian ones, but some foreign ones as well, including a mean “Billie Jean”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHSEJpsquis

They are Fundo de Quintal OFC btw
(please tag your musical links for searching and Posterity reasons, folx!)

ha that's classic

their YT channel has dozens of videos!

they’re basically called The Backyard Boys.

https://tab.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2020/07/23/fundo-de-quintal-ofc-jovens-do-maranhao-conquistaram-brasil-na-quarentena.htm

GoogleTranslating this key quote:

“The name Fundo de Quintal was given in reference to the very scenario in which the quintet originated, and not in honor of the famous pagoda group of the 1990s. According to Simão, the inspirations for recording the first videos came from the boys' own will, and not from any prior influence of anything they have seen. The originality of Fundo de Quintal also caught the attention of producers and major YouTube players. On July 13, the video of the group interpreting the song "Na Raba Toma Tapão" by MC Niack, the most viewed of the channel - with almost 5 million hits -, was used on Kondzilla's Instagram to celebrate the 30 million hits views of the original version. The channel, by the way, is today the third largest in the world in the music segment on the platform.”

(icymi that Niack track is one of ILM's official Summer Jams of the year)

Brilliant bit of historical context, again through GoogleTranslate:

“This structure, created by the boys from Centro dos Rodrigues, also finds parallels in other artistic movements of great importance, such as the so-called "happenings" - a term used for the first time in 1959 by the American artist Allan Kaprow, and defined by the composer John Cage as " spontaneous and plot-free theatrical events ". In this type of scenic work, some element of spontaneity or improvisation is incorporated, which never happens in the same way with each new presentation. Considered performances, happenings were very popular during pop art in the United States.”

good background

Wow

https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/08/12/admass-sons-of-ethiopia-how-a-great-lost-album-is-finding-new-fans/

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/admas-sons-of-ethiopia-interview

In 1984 some Ethiopians living in the DC area borrowed some $ and recorded an album as Admas and pressed a 1000 copies. Decades later they were selling for a lot on Ebay. A Danish collector living in NYC tracked them down after he bought a copy on Ebay, and he reissued the album. 3 of the band members are back in Ethiopia. 1 tours as Teddy Afro's keyboardist, one is a producer, the other is a music educator.

The album is mostly instrumental and starts with a loungey golden era Ethiopia type track, and has one track with a reggae feel, another with a Brazilian jazz samba portion, and funkier one and one has vocals.

As described, Admas are influenced by golden era Ethiopiques, but incorporated 80s influences as well, that they heard both in DC & back home in Ethiopia

nice find

Acclaimed Malian artist Afel Bocoum's new record Lindé is out today on World Circuit Records. The album is executive produced by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and Nick Gold (Buena Vista Social Club), and features appearances by Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, Joan as Police Woman, Vin Gordon (The Skatalites) and many more.

Press release info for a new Afel Bocoum album I want to hear . Although worried Blur guy and other producer have tried to smother him with guests

that Fundo de Quintal stuff is brilliant

So, this probably has a lot of places it could fit, but I think because of its unclassifiable nature, it belongs here.

Duma- Lionsblood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd35MhHqjhc

They're from Nairobi, it's on Nyege Nyege, and is a bit metal, a bit gabber, a bit of Kenyan "slum drumming."

maximalist

I still have to get to Sharhabil Ahmed: the King of Sudanese Jazz ( Habibi Funk) and the 2 new Brazilian funky efforts from Carlinhos Brown (candyall)

X-post - that Duma video is wild.

Right? I think my main complaint about the video is that the album track is about four minutes longer, though I guess maintaining that level of simultaneously carefree and menacing atmosphere for a long period of time is a hard ask.

The online Sufi music fest at the Dc Smithsonian museum of Asian Art started nicely today with Sufi songs from Manganiyar and Langa Communities, Marwar, Rajasthan, India w/ Anwar Khan Manganiyar, vocals ; Barkat Khan Manganiyar, vocals; & percussion & string instrumentalists was great. The melancholy vocals reminded me a bit of some Jewish cantors I have heard ( or vice versa)

https://asia.si.edu/events-overview/performances/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D147377662

https://petronio.cali.gov.co/

Afro-Colombian online concerts this week

X-post - Sufi poetry online Wednesday from Freer Sackler National Museum of Asian Art

n Wed., Sept. 23, 12 pm EDT, singer Walid Ben Selim & harpist Marie Marguerite Cano join us for "Spiritual Poems from the East," for Transcendence: A [Virtual] #Sufi #MusicFestival. s.si.edu/2FyICBu Ben Selim will speak about his music and answer audience questions. 🎶

X-post - Sufi poetry online Wednesday from Freer Sackler National Museum of Asian Art

n Wed., Sept. 23, 12 pm EDT, singer Walid Ben Selim & harpist Marie Marguerite Cano join us for "Spiritual Poems from the East," for Transcendence: A [Virtual] #Sufi #MusicFestival. s.si.edu/2FyICBu Ben Selim will speak about his music and answer audience questions. 🎶

Sufi thing should be good ( and different from great first one in that series that was from India)

At the Kol Nidre service I watched via zoom earlier tonight, the cantor played oud on one song while another musician played a Qanun (like a hammered dulcimer sort of) and a percussionist held and hit a sorta Persian/Iranian daf frame drum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEf_lwDEGHM

Nice new single with great vocals from The Good Ones (from Rwanda )

https://asia.si.edu/events-overview/performances/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D147377725

Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 12 – 1pm
Description
Transcendence: A Sufi Music Festival
Zainab Afailal, Morocco

Listen to Sufi-inspired Andalusian songs from southern Spain and Morocco at our concluding festival performance. Zainab Afailal will perform in the refined styles of Sufi devotional music that are based on two forms of Arabic poetry—the muwashah and the Zajal—which developed in eleventh- and twelfth-century Spain. Born and raised in Tetouan, Afaillal is one of the most celebrated female singers to perform in this mode, which for generations was believed to be an exclusively male domain. Her performance will be followed by a talk with Dr. Scott Kugle, professor of South Asian and Islamic Studies at Emory University.

DC Ethiopian band Kino Musica has a new ep out on bandcamp plus a new video for one of the songs. I like the video but haven’t heard the ep yet. Looking forward to it

X-post - the Sufi events I have mentioned are gonna be made available post-zoom on the National Museum of Asian Art ( formerly Freer/ Sackler) YouTube page

relief fund for African musicians

https://www.soulidarity.org/index.html

Mdou Moctar and band sign to Matador and release new video. Album coming soon

https://pitchfork.com/news/mdou-moctar-signs-to-matador-shares-video-for-new-song-chismiten-watch/

New Ustad Saami is sounding incredible, even better than the first one

https://ustadsaami.bandcamp.com/album/pakistan-is-for-the-peaceful

Will check it out

Pitchfork story on Discotan- performance space, site, label for music from South Asia and North Africa

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/welcome-to-discostan/

X-post - Pakistani Ustad Saami does have quite a vocal range

There’s a new Songhoy Blues album out. It’s called Optimisme

It's pretty great.

I still haven't heard more than 1 song from it. I need to dig in.

I am listening to Kino Musica, a DC based group led by 2 Ethiopian immigrants who have their new Ifaan ep out on multiple formats plus a video for their take on the song "Arke Yehuma"

Can attest to the Ustad Saami, it's incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn8e60wXbNw

Here's DC band Kino Musica melding Ethiopian and a tinge of North African desert guitar grooves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjsWgw68F2s

The Music Time in Africa radio show on the VOA that airs in parts of Africa is pushing Kenyan band Sautisol song “Brighter Days” as the “ feel good song of the year” on their Facebook page.

Sauti Sol, 2 words and ILXors have mentioned them in the past, sometimes here and sometimes on Afrobeats thread. The song mentioned above has Sauti Sol backed by the Soweto Gospel choir. I like the choir’s backing vocals more than Sauti Sol.

https://youtu.be/OQEByF4dtY0

I am not liking new Songhoy Blues , well some of it. First song is kinda Malian metal/hard rock and that’s not my thing. “Bob Bon “ has some prog aspects I don’t like either . Still listening

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/501345/city-lights-jam-to-kino-musicas-ep-ifaan/

But I like Kino Musica’s Ethiopian with a tinge of North African sound. Their guitarist is Ethiopian but grew up in Texas where he also listened to blues and rap, and played blues. Although you don’t hear too much of that on the ep. They also do a Black Sabbath cover live ( the guitarist told me likes the anti war lyrics) but make it sound less rock

I still haven’t listened to recent Mdou Moctar mixtapes, or those Sahel Whats App ones that come out monthly.

The guitarist of Kino Musica also emailed me a bunch of 80s to the present Ethiopian musicians he likes ( that I have never heard).

Would be interested in seeing that list - def know kino's name - feel like i maybe have the music but not listened but the texas background sounds interesting - shld check if i know who that is - but would be interested in seeing the list he he suggested

Kumera Zekarias of Kino Musica faves:

Artists Mentioned
Ali Birra-- Oromo singer, oud and guitar player. He's my biggest influence on current song writing
Tilahun Gessesse--the most famous Ethiopian singer among Ethiopians. He was my father's favorite singer
Yared Negu-my favorite contemporary Ethiopop artist
Galaanaa Gaaromsaa-my favorite contemporary Oromo artist
Abinet Agonafir-my favorite contemporary/2000's Ethoipian artist

I've got to listen to the above plus been reading about some new Awesome tapes from Africa releases and Sahel Sounds ones too

Saw someone mention Ustad Saami in albums of the year thread, but I think it was because he got a good Quietus review during the year but didn’t make their list.

The Hailu Mergia ep is a top 10 for me. Still thinking about and listening to others when I can.

That was me. The new one from Ustad Saami is breathtakingly good.

i'll agree on that mergia, would like to see it in more places

Siti Muharam
Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution on Zanzibar

This taraab music album made the NPR album top 50 list . I forget whether someone had mentioned it earlier this year

Is it good? There was a taraab album on another list I saw (iirc either Gioa's or Songlines)

Must admit I haven’t heard it yet

Heh no problem, I kept the Songlines list tab open for a day until I gave up on the hope of listening to it all. This year is beyond overstuffed.

I'm listening to Afel Bocoum's Lindé album right now, which is quite nice. I've been getting into Malian music in general this year, so the horn parts are a genuinely surprising flourish

oh cool I didn't realize that it's Vin Gordon playing the trombone on this

Didn't realize he's still alive!

same! I guess he was only about 14 or 15 when he joined the Skatalites

I am liking the Bocoum album too and the collaborators despite my concern that producers Nick Gold & Famon Albarn are trying to impose their hipster world music visions

Damn autocorrect. Damon

Nyege Nyege is doing an online festival today and tomorrow, it seems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyegeNyegeM

OOF, so embarrassing. Here's a better link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=featured

fuck my life

December 3 through 6 is Nyege Nyege fest and those YouTube links don’t seem to work

all the links are here on the Nyege Nyege Music YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UClyGfHMQNG

this one's live right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c0gWTviskQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyegeNyegeM

“it” doesn’t do channel links apparently

the live link works tho

Alas, most music critics included in year end polls discussed in that other thread aren’t listening to music on this thread

:-(

Notable that Duma, among some other Nyege Nyege-related artists, have made it onto many lists.

That’s good . It’s beat driven and noisy enough. But others on this thread are ignored as they’re considered too traditional or too old ; or just ignored by folks just listening to only age 20-something artists from the genres of country, rap, chart pop, and rock .

...but not afropop

so it’s probably not so much age-related as geographical

Or maybe both. I see Jon Pareles of NY Times included Burna Boy in his album list, and a Tiwa Savage song in his song list. He has Bad Bunny and Lido Pimienta too. Other Times critics had no African music. NY Times jazz list had 2 South African releases though

LA Times song list I glanced at was largely US pop, rap, country with some token reggaeton

they are some of the exceptions that prove the rule unfortunately (I’ve been moaning about it on the 2020 end of year music lists thread)

I wasn’t clear enough. I agree with you that those are the exceptions.

Los Angeles Times top 10 album list with 10 more honorable mentions includes no African based acts. It does include Los Angeles resident ( via DC area) Kali Uchis new Spanish language release as its one exception to the rule.

this list includes some thread-worthy selections:

https://thevinylfactory.com/features/best-albums-of-2020/

(apart from two Nyege Nyege Tapes releases, I glanced Groupe RTD -
The Dancing Devils of Djibouti at 41, Benin's Star Feminine Band - s/t at 36, and Siti Muharam - Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar) at 25)

I finally listened to some of Siti Muharam - Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar). Hand slapped percussion with some traditional high-pitched female vocals, some jazzy horns, and high-pitched strings that all together evokes a mid-eastern, north African, and South Asian whirling Islamic feel

Still more to catch up on here and on Afro Thread, dancehall, soca , Brazilian ones too

Majid Bekkas' Magic Spirit Quartet is good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTFoqHJtap8

oh wow, the Siti Muharam albums RULES

X-post - have only heard a little of Moroccan stringed instruments player Bekkas with his Scandanavian based band but I like it so far.

I need to dig through that Ted Gioia critic’s list

Nomcebo Zikode - Xola Moya Wami [Feat. Master KG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPDyF04DyOQ

wow, what's that language? those qh like aspirations remind me of Greenlandic

it’s Zulu (and she’s South African). the same people made one of the big global hits of this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZVL_8D048
Master KG ft. Nomcebo Zikode • Jerusalema

excellent, thanks

Skeleton Move is one of my all time faves, but that's light on lyrics (although maybe that first phrase "uaneetamos"? is Zulu)

really like his/their melancholy/inspirational/banger vibe

In fairness, it's very hard to keep up with the ridiculously high volume of great music coming out of South Africa right now.

we’ve got threads for that!

Albums from Ted Gioia list I am curious about (with his little descriptions; artist name is listed on top):

Bab L’ Bluz
Nayda!
If Motown Had Existed in North Africa...

Chouk Bwa & The Ångstromers
Vodou Alé
Haitian Drumming and Singing with Touches of Electronica and Dancehall Music

Contours
Balafon Sketches
Gamelan, Percussion and Traditional Instruments Meet Synthesizers, Software and Pedal Effects

André Mehmari and Danilo Brito
Nosso Brazil
Mandolin and Piano Duet Performances of the Works of Brazilian Choro Composers

Penya (with Msafiri Zawose)
Penya Safari
East African EDM/Call-and-Response Tanzanian Pop

Various Artists
Apala Groups In Nigeria 1967-70
First Collection of Apala Music Released Outside Nigeria

more from Ted's honorable mentions:

Caixa Cubo: Angela
Electric Brazilian Jazz-Rock-Pop

Dumama + Kechou: Buffering Juju
African Traditional Song Meets Synthpop

Seu Jorge & Rogê: Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions
Acoustic Brazilian Popular Music

Matthew Joseph: Mood Masala
Funk Influenced by Indian Music and Fingerstyle Guitar

the Bab L’Bluz is great, not sure what Motown has to do with it tho

I wish the movie doc Elder’s Corner was available for streaming. It is now only visible via certain movie festivals. It’s about a NYC based Nigerian who goes back home to find the old school musicians he heard as a kid

Gonna start a 2021 thread

Here's to 2021

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2021 Thread (Often African bands)