Various Artists - BMN Ska & Rock Steady: Always Together 1964 - 1968 (Dub Store Records)
For 'BMN Ska & Rock Steady: Always Together 1964 - 1968' the Japanese Dub Store Records this time compiled a number of ska and rocksteady releases by early Jamaican producer Ronnie Nasralla.
Haji Mike - XXVIII (Power Of Words/Independent Distribution Collective)
Exactly twenty-eight years ago, Cypriot Haji Mike took his first steps in the music business with the release of his first 12inch 'As'ta /Modern Day Mankas'. Back then Haji's sound was still a mix of hip-hop, ragga and Greek Cypriot instrumentation, but meanwhile it's somewhere between reggae and dub poetry.
Brave Heart - Simple Love (JamFrench Records/Self-published)
Brave Heart is one of those Jamaican talents unjustly having hard time making it on the international stage, but perhaps things will finally change with the release of 'Simple Love'.
Cheikh Lô - Né La Thiass (World Circuit)
With 'Né La Thiass', World Circuit Records is re-issuing Cheikh Lô's 1995 Youssou N'Dour produced international debut album.
Dobet Gnahoré - Miziki (LA Café/Wagram)
It took no less thanfour years, for Ivorian singer Dobet Gnahoré to complete her new album 'Miziki'. This release also meant her farewell to Contre Jour, the Belgian label that until now had been her home base.
Colah Colah - Mission (Elevation Records/7 Worlds)
For previous albums, Colah Colah had always colaborated with Dutch producer Basco Sound, but for 'Mission' he decided to change tack and joined forces with Austrian House of Riddim.
Calypso Rose - So Calypso! (Because Music)
After 'Far From Home', her 2016 "comeback album" produced by Stonetree Records Ivan Duran and Kobo Town-front man Drew Gonsalves, Calypso Rose, the grande dame of calypso returns with 'So Calypso!'
The Sunvizors - Fire Inside (L'Autre Distribution)
A bit of a borderline case this 'Fire Inside' by The Sunvizors, a French five-piece band from Vannes in Brittany, as this is far from a straightforward reggae album.
Devi Reed - Ragga Libre (Khanti Records/Pias)
After 'Essence Of Life' his tasty solo EP from last year, ex-The Banyan front man Devi Reed travelled to Cuba for 'Ragga Libre'.
New Town Kings - Reach Out (Self-published)
New Town Kings is an eight-piece band from New Town, a neighbourhood in Colchester, a small town in the county of Essex in the east of England. We didn't know the band yet, but with 'Reach Out' New Town Kings certainly aren't newcomers.
4 Dub Vibes - This Is Not A War EP (Self-published)
4 Dub Vibes is a collective of producers and selectors from Larisa, a city in the central part of Greece, presenting a first self-produced EP.
Various Artists - Ketch A Fire (Reality Shock Records)
Amateurs of the digital eighties sound of producers like King Jammy, Steely & Clevie, Gussie Clarke and Bobby Digital pay attention, because this new compilation on Kris Kemist's Reality Shock Records label is right up your alley!
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita - Soar (Bendigedig/ARC Music)
Five years after their first collaboration for 'Clychau Dibon', Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita took to the studio again for 'Soar'.
Maruja Limon - Mas De Ti (Kasba Music)
We're certainly no flamenco experts, and the Spanish music and dance genre usually attracts its own audience, but for 'Mas De Ti', the debut album of the five-piece women's ensemble Maruja Limon, we gladly made an exception.
Lio - Lio Canta Caymmi (Crammed Discs)
Yours truly could have never imagined crossing paths with Belgian-Portuguese popstar Lio on these pages.
Patrick Ruffino - Agoo (MDC/Pias)
As a descendant from a multicultural family - Beninese father, Burkinabe mother and a Ghanaian grandmother - Beninese singer and bassist Patrick Ruffino mixes musical traditions and languages from his homeland, with influences from jazz, soul, Afro-Cuban rhythms and, above all, a solid dose of funk.
Kiala & The Afroblaster - Money (Kamiyad)
The life story of Kiala Nzavotunga reads like an adventure novel.
Choco Y Sus Complices - Buscando La Calma (Xango Music)
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is bound to evoke some associations (banking, cheap refuelling, etc.), but timba, the Cuban answer to Nuyorican salsa, will probably not be among them. Yet it is the home of renowned conga player Eric 'Choco' Durrer, who, with Choco Y Sus Complices, is starting a new chapter in his musical career.
Total Hip Replacement - Wonder Why (Self-published)
Total Hip Replacement is a five-piece band from Aarhus in the North-East of Denmark. The quintet was formed in 2013, already released two earlier Dennis Ahlgren produced EPs and for their long player debut once again joined forces with the producer.
Ras Dave - Chapter 1 EP (Rebel Sound Records)
This aptly titled 'Chapter 1' is the debut EP by Ras Dave, an MC, DJ and radio host from Denver, Colorado, who honed his craft as a member of several local reggae bands and with 'The Ras Dave Show' even hosted his own broadcast on Randy's Reggae Radio for a while.