Reviews

TootArd, a group of young musicians from Majdal Shams in the Israel occupied Golan Heights (a plateau on the border between Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan), started out playing reggae covers back in 2010. Add some influences from Tuareg music to the mix (not accidentally also a stateless people) and the fact all members of the five-man band grew up with classical Arabic music, and you get the sound of TootArd.

Listening to this new Omar Souleyman album, we couldn't help but wonder how many times Souleyman will still be able to pull off his gimmick before a certain déjà-vu starts setting in? For the time being we'll still allow the Syrian King of dabke (the Syrian answer to Western house and techno) the benefit of the doubt.

Yours truly, got to know Promise No Promises back in 2013 thanks to 'Surely', a version over the Puff Puff riddim, a production by New Sound Records and Belgian producer Marc Leys (MacLes Music Factory Productions), and now comes the Antigua based Guyanese (real name Kobla Mentor) finally also presents his first solo effort!

Ruff Selectors is a project around American-Nigerian Michael Oyo aka Teacher Mike, who for 'Roots In My Soul' collaborated with Ivorian singer and producer Jungle King.

Trinidadian reggae artist Mosiah (born Akeil Martin) first received international attention with 'Reggae Sweet', released earlier this year and a tribute to reggae greats like Gregory Isaacs, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Dennis Brown, but also to the power of the genre itself.

Leila Gobi is a singer from the provincial town of Menaka near Gao in the east of Mali, a region mostly populated by Songhai and Tuareg, so it should come as no surprise that in her songs Leila constantly alternates between Songhai and Tamasheq.

If you prefer your (world) music slightly more intimate, more experimental and less mainstream, then please give Qotob Trio's 'Entity' a try.

Peruvian chef, restaurant owner and music producer Martin Morales returns with a disc filled with delicious melodies from the Peruvian Andes.

Sunny After Moon is an up-and-coming band from Louvain mixing reggae, ska, gypsy music (see 'Balkan Booby'), funk and even a hint of disco ('Discorientation') into a festive and danceable blend.

Thanks to King Ayisoba's '1000 Can't Die', Glitterbeat Records introduced the world to the Ghanaian kologo power sound. However, Ayisoba proves far from the only protagonist in what has become a whole musical movement with the kologo, a two-stringed lute made from a gourd, as its focal point.