Cheikh Lô - Balbalou (Chapter Two Records/Wagram)
It had been since 2010's 'Jamm' that we'd heard anything from the Senegalese bard Cheikh Lô.
Gentleman's Dub Club - The Big Smoke (Easy Star Records)
The members of Gentleman's Dub Club may all hail from the Leeds area, their new long player is a tribute to the British capital nonetheless, as album title 'The Big Smoke' is one of the nicknames for London.
Romain Virgo - Lifted EP (VP Records)
A few singles aside, it had been since 2012's 'The System' that we'd heard anything from Romain Virgo.
Bottle Of Moonshine - Believe The Numbers (Self-published)
With 'Everybody Watches No One Knows' Campine ska-phenomenon Bottle Of Moonshine already proved that with singer Hanne Peetermans they had added a serious asset to the band's line up and on 'Believe The Numbers' her voice is highlighted even more.
Dubateers - A Decade Of Dub + Dubateers & Zareb - One Day (Dubateers/Self-published)
Nick 'Digital-T' Dubateers, Ian 'Jah Waggys' Wagstaff and Glen 'Vibesmaster', in dub circles better known as Dubateers, have been going at it for more than a decade already and are celebrating the occasion with the release of 'A Decade Of Dub', a compilation of their best work.
Alma Afrobeat Ensemble - It's Time (Slow Walk Music)
With 'It's Time', the title of their third album, Alma Afrobeat Ensemble indicate the time for change has come; something they also experienced as a band, as for this album, for the first time the Barcelonans joined forces with Nigerian vocalist Joe 'Olawale' Psalmist.
Temenik Electric - Inch'Allah Baby (Pias)
Temenik Electric is a project around French-Algerian vocalist and guitarist Mehdi Haddjeri.
Bareto - Impredecible (World Village/Harmonia Mundi)
One wouldn't guess it from listening to the tracks on 'Impredecible' ("unpredictable"), but Peruvian band Bareto started out as a cover band with a repertoire consisting of songs by The Skatalites and Bob Marley! These influences were still obvious on 'Boleto', the band's 2005 debut album, on which Bareto supplemented reggae and ska with influences from Peruvian cumbia or chicha.
Vivalda Dula - Africa (Self-published)
Angolan singer-songwriter and percussionist Vivalda Dula started her stage career as a dancer with the Minessa Dance Company, followed by Manésema (2006) and the self-founded Karapinha Dura (2009).
Various Artists - Nostalgique Egypte (Buda Musique/Socadisc)
In the Egypt of just after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the development of popular music and cinema longtime went hand in hand.
Noel Ellis meets Lone Ark - Iroko Showcase Vol. 1: Zion (Iroko Records)
Spanish producer Roberto Sanchez continues to produce gem after gem and this time joined forces with Hervé Brizec, producer and mastermind behind the French Iroko Records label.
Various Artists - Clarks In Jamaica (VP Records)
The fact brands like Adidas and Clarks are intertwined with reggae and dancehall, goes without saying.
Flox - Homegrown (Underdog Records/Differ-Ant)
Flox is the alter-ego of Florian Gratton, a singer-songwriter of French-English descent based in Paris.
Tom Fire - Low Fidelity + Soom T - Free As A Bird (Chapter Two Records/Wagram)
Even though guest list featuring artists like Winston McAnuff, Linval Thompson and Soom T might suggest otherwise, 'Low Fidelity', Tom Fire's new long player, contains far fewer reggae-influences than its predecessor 'The Revenge'.
Jahkasa - Enfants Du Pays (Self-published)
If, like yours truly, you can enjoy a good piece of afro-reggae, we'd definitely like to recommend 'Enfants Du Pays', the second album by Jahkasa (a contraction of Jah and the first letters of his real name Karim Sanou), a Burkinabe singer and multi-instrumentalist based in France since 2009.
Various Artists - Knky Reggae + Kass Pa - K-lédonienne... Yagga (Mangrove Productions)
It might be news to most of you, but New Caledonia, one of the French overseas territories situated in a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean, has a thriving reggae scene.
Les Cerveaux Lents - Heiβ Und Fürchterlich (Zephyrus Records)
Ever since 2002, six piece band Les Cerveaux Lents is a side project allowing musicians from Absynthe Minded and Va Fan Fahre to explore genres like klezmer and gypsy music.
Macka B - Never Played A 45 (Peckings/VPal)
For 'Never Played A 45' veteran deejay Macka B joined forces with the Peckings brothers and hearing that name, immediately tells us we're in for a spread of classic riddims.
Dexter Story - Wondem (Soundway Records)
After a short collaboration with Todd Simon's Ethio Cali, on his second long player Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Dexter Story explores East African music.
Million Stylez - Revelation Time (Undisputed Records)
Compared to his previous effort, the 2013 'Songs About You' EP, for 'Revelation Time' Million Stylez, the Swedish singjay with Japanese-French roots, seems to have opted for a slightly different direction.