Hot on the heels of Jah Wobble's world tour yesterday, I've created a companion selection of tunes that loosely and lazily attract the World Music label.
Today's expedition starts in Mali with Ali Farka Touré and an on-the-nose title that announces the great man's arrival with style. I was a late comer to Ali's singular sound, via a secondhand copy of his Red and Green albums, sitting unloved and underpriced in a charity shop. I've been a fan ever since.
From there, it's onto Nigeria and the percussive power of Tony Allen, joined here by his pal Omololu Ogunleye. This pick is lifted from a 2006 album released on Damon Albarn's label, Honest Jon's Records, but Tony's jaw-dropping CV is nearly as long as the list of adjectives to describe his talent and impact on music that defied genres and categorisation.
Amadou & Mariam welcome you back to Mali for a brief refuel of the soul. Again, I was rather slow in picking up on the immense talent of this pair and am still catching up with their catalogue. Sadly, Amadou passed in April this year, bringing to a close an incredible musical partnership.
Next stop is Equatorial Guinea, where Apo Piruchi and her niece Paloma Botupá Loribo Apo are patiently waiting to share their music as Las Hijas Del Sol. They wrote and performed songs in the Bubi and Spanish languages, but unfortunately went their separate ways around 2005-2006.
After that short stay, it's off to Belgium by way of Egypt, courtesy of the glorious Natacha Atlas. Natacha's invited a couple of friends over: Sinéad O'Connor (Eire) and Z* or Z-Star aka Zee Gachette aka Michelle Nichol (England/Trinidad). What an unforgettable party that would be.
No time to hang about though, otherwise you'll miss your flight to Brazil and three-tunes-for-the-price-of-one from Jorge Dubman aka Dr. Drumah. I discovered this music via the excellent Mukambo Presents Global Afrobeat Movement compilation, lifted from Dr. Drumah's 2020 album, The Confinement Vol. 1: Africa.
Right, enough holiday photos, it's back across the water to Kenya and Ndalani 77 Brothers. Like so much music in this genre, I was introduced to this wonderful song by the inimitable Ernie Goggins at the indispensable music blog 27 Leggies.
As was the case with Nana Benz Du Togo from, er, Togo. Suffice to say, Ernie's hit rate for signposting super sounds from around the globe is unmatched. I love this band and this is a particularly uplifting, body-positive tune.
The penultimate leg of the tour is Malawi, home to the exuberant Esau Mwamwaya and his family. When he teamed up with London-based duo Etienne Tron (France) and Johan Karlberg (Sweden) in the late 2000s, they were not joking when they named their collaboration The Very Best. M.I.A. brings an additional Sri Lankan/London spice to the mix.
All good things must come to an end, and this journey's final stop is back where it all started, in Mali and a chilled out choon from Luka Guindo aka Luka Productions.
Not the most obvious round trip it has to be said, zig-zagging from one continent to another and racking up an eye-watering 26,770 air miles (more or less). Thank goodness that you can do it all from the comfort of this playlist in just over three quarters of an hour!
1) Ali's Here: Ali Farka Touré (1999)
2) Moyege: Tony Allen ft. Omololu Ogunleye (2006)
3) La Fête Au Village: Amadou & Mariam (2004)
4) M-30: Las Hijas Del Sol (1999)
5) Simple Heart: Natacha Atlas ft. Sinéad O'Connor & Z* (2003)
6) Shadow Dance / Africanism / Freedom Fighters: Dr. Drumah (2020)
7) Nzaumi: Ndalani 77 Brothers (1977)
8) Tousse: Nana Benz Du Togo (2023)
9) Rain Dance: The Very Best ft. M.I.A. (2009)
10) Christianisme: Luka Productions (2017)
1977: Nzaumi / Nzioka EP: 7
1999: Kchaba: 4
1999: Niafunké: 1
2003: Something Dangerous: 5
2004: Dimanche A Bamako: 3
2006: Lagos No Shaking: 2
2009: Warm Heart Of Africa: 9
2017: Fasokan: 10
2020: Mukambo Presents Global Afrobeat Movement: 6
2023: Ago: 8
