Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Jama Ko (Out Here Records)

What for a long time was considered impossible, became terrible reality in 2012: Mali came under threat of a fundamentalist Muslim movement tearing the country in two with their version of sharia law.

Kiddus I - Topsy Turvy World (Rubin/La Baleine)

Four years after the release of his 'Green Fa Life' album on Makasound, Kiddus I returns with 'Topsy Turvy World'.

Jim Murple Memorial - Take Your Flight, Jim! (Neonovo)

'Take Your Flight, Jim!' is already French band Jim Murple Memorial's ninth full album and with that knowledge, it's rather surprising they aren't really known outside of France yet.

Layori - Rebirth (Afrojam Records)

'Rebirth' is the second album by Layori, a singer-songwriter with Nigerian roots.

Zara Moussa - Ma Rage (Label Caravan)

In West-African hip-hop Zara Moussa claims a special place as the Nigerien is one of the pioneers of female rap in Africa and moreover, her 2005 debut 'Kirari' was also the first solo album by a female rapper on the African continent.

The Skints - Part & Parcel (Soulbeats Records/Harmonia Mundi)

'Part & Parcel' is The Skints' ("skint" = broke) second album.

Lokomotiv - LKMTIV (Self-published)

Lokomotiv is a drum band founded in 2000 by percussionist Jo Zanders and initially mainly focusing on Brazilian batucada rhythms.

Régis Gizavo - Ilakake (Cinq Planètes)

'Ilakake', Malagasy accordion-master Régis Gizavo's third solo album, may be an audiovisual postcard of Madagascar, with 'Brazil' it oddly enough kicks off on the other side of the ocean, as the song is an ode to the largest nation on the South-American subcontinent.

Various Artists - Fashion In Fine Style: Significant Hits Volume 1 (Reggae Archive Records)

Out of all the reggae labels that were established in the UK since the 1970s, London based Fashion Records, founded by John MacGillivray and Chris Lane (also the guys behind the legendary Dub Vendor stores), was perhaps best in tune with the British reggae lover's ever evolving musical taste.