Les Amazones d'Afrique - Amazones Power (Real World Records)

West-African female super group Les Amazones d'Afrique returns with a successor for their 2017 album debut 'République Amazone'.

Victor Rice - In America (Badasonic Records)

With this re-release of 'In America', back in 2003 Victor Rice's second solo album, Belgian label Badasonic Records presents a first vinyl version of this modern classic.

JoJo Gladstone - Tokyo Super Duper Star (Holliwood Records)

Studying Japanese and an avid fan of enka, a form of sentimental ballad music developed in the postwar era stylistically comparable to American country music or Portuguese fado, immediately explaining the title of this new album, Dutch artist JoJo Gladstone proves to have a passion for Japanese culture as well as reggae.

Christos DC - Self Evident (Honest Music/Zojak World Wide)

Christos DC is the pseudonym of Christopher Vrenios, the son of two professional Washington D.C. based opera singers. Christopher being of Greek descent, also meant his grandmother affectionately called him Christos ever since he was a toddler.

Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra - Duivelsblauw (Dox Records)

The repertoire of Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra seems to be less and less limited to the restraints their band name imposes on them, as they once again prove on their new long player 'Duivelsblauw'.

Richie Spice - World War EP (Tad's Record)

What ever happened to Richie Spice? There was a period when the man dropped one successful hit album after another, but 'Soothing Sounds', his last long-player to date, an acoustic compilation of some of his best-known hits, already dates back to 2012. Apart from a few sporadic singles, things have remained quiet ever since. But fortunately, Tad's Record now breaks that silence with the release of this four track 'World War' EP.

Lutan Fyah - Touch Di Road EP (Oneness Records)

After a series of albums that stayed a bit under the radar, in 2017 Lutan Fyah once again caught our attention with 'Music Never Dies', for which he joined forces with I Grade Records' Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred, a more than successful effort we even dared describe as a comeback album. With the release of this 8 track 'Touch Di Road' EP on the German Oneness Records label, the singer from Spanish Town maintains the same level.

Solo Moderna - Republica Moderna (Galletas Calientes Records)

As the pseudonym suggests, Solo Moderna is the one-man project of Dutch musical Jack of all trades Bas Voorn, playing a whole range of instruments ranging from banjo and guitar to piano, various horns and even an amplified thumb piano, adding analogue synths, 8bit sound bites and rhythms from drum machines.

Milton Nascimento - Maria Maria (Far Out Recordings)

Far Out Recordings closes the year with a vinyl reissue of 'Maria Maria', the soundtrack Milton Nascimento wrote in 1976 for the ballet of the same name by Grupo Corpo, a contemporary dance company led by Argentine choreographer Oscar Ariaz, with the legacy of slavery in Brazil as its loaded topic.

SistaSara - Universal Dub (Advaita Oneness Dub)

Barely four months after its release, 'Universal' now gets its dub counterpart with 'Universal Dub'.

Kankou - Kuma (Cannery Row Records)

Kankou Kouyate, a descendant of a illustrious Malian griot family of master ngoni players, ranging from her great-grandfather Bazouma Sissoko, to her grandfather Djeli Moustapha Kouyate and her famous uncle Bassekou Kouyate, was born for a career in music.

R-Juna - Dubs And Praises EP (Dub-O-Phonic)

For their latest release of 2019, the Cypriot Dub-O-Phonic label crossed the Atlantic Ocean to collaborate with R-Juna, a DJ, MC and producer from Bloomington, Indiana.

Josef Josef - Josef Josef (Buda Musique)

Josef Josef is the new project around French violinist Eric Slabiak, in which he, together with former Les Yeux Noirs band mates Frank Anastasio and Darco Ivkovic, and supplemented with bassist Jérôme Arrighi and drummer Rémi Sanna, goes in search of his grandparents' Jewish-Eastern European roots.

Dub Dynasty - Gideon (Steppas Records)

Almost four years after the release of 'Holy Cow', family project Dub Dynasty is back with 'Gideon', a title referring to the current geopolitical situation and the threat of the climate crisis.

El Khat - Saadia Jefferson (Batov Records)

El Khat is a four-piece band from Tel Aviv with members having roots in Iraq, Poland, Morocco and Yemen.

Staff Benda Bilili - Effacer Le Tableau (Note A Bene/Wagram)

Who was expecting this? After almost endless internal quarrels about money and mismanagement, and the Mbongwana Star project for which band members Coco Ngambali and Théo Nzonza left the line-up of the band, after 8 years of silence, Staff Benda Bilili return with this more than aptly titled 'Effacer Le Tableau' ("start with a clean slate").

Mamadou Kelly - Les Bateaux (Clermont Music)

With 'Les Bateaux' Malian bard Mamadou Kelly provides a perfect successor to his 2017 'Politiki' album.

Jamaican Jazz Orchestra - Rain Walk (Zephyrus Records)

Just under five years after the release of their well-received debut album 'Encounters', Jamaican Jazz Orchestra returns with 'Rain Walk', an album that may sound even more sophisticated and mature than its predecessor.

Lion D - Born In Captivity EP (Bizzarri Records)

After his American outing as David Lion for 2017's Sugar Cane Records production 'Mandala', things around Nigerian-Italian reggae artist David Andrew Ferri, better known as Lion D, quieted down, but with this 5 track 'Born In Captivity' EP he now returns to his old buddies of Bizzarri Records.

Various Artists - Kinshasa 1978: Originals & Reconstructions (Crammed Discs)

Things around Crammed Discs' Congolese releases had quieted down so much we were convinced the label that put the term "congotronics" on the map had pulled the plug on the project. The release of this double 'Kinshasa 1978: Originals & Reconstructions' compilation proved otherwise.