Tony Nephtali - Chapter One (Self-published)
It may sound somewhat contradictory, but after 2012's 'Croisades', 'Chapter One' is in fact Tony Nephtali second long player to date.
Bongeziwe Mabandla - Iimini (Pias/Black Major)
This 'Iimini' (Xhosa for "days") is already the third long player by South African singer-songwriter Bongeziwe Mabandla, but is our first introduction to the work of the man from Tsolo, a rural town in the Eastern Cape Province.
Max Romeo - Revelation Time (17 North Parade/VP Records)
With this reissue of 'Revelation Time', 17 North Parade/VP Records provides the umpteenth version of this Max Romeo classic.
The Hempolics - Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 2 (Sea Sea Records)
Three years after the release of their long player debut 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 1', hip London collective The Hempolics returns with successor 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 2', this time not released on Shark Free Records but on their own Zee Zee Records label.
Laid Blak - About Time: Deluxe Edition (Sugar Shack Records)
Two years after the original release of 'About Time' by Bristol-based band Laid Blak, Sugar Shack Records is now releasing this 'Deluxe Edition'.
Wicked and Bonny with Berise - Daily Hustle (Shanti Powa Records)
For 'Daily Hustle', the long player debut of Trentino, South-Tirol based Italian producers Maggu Mair and Paul Kofler aka Wicked and Bonny, the duo joined forces with Berise, front man of Italian band Shanti Powa.
The Dubbstyle - Now EP (Dub-O-Phonic)
A year after the release of their 'Sun Is Dub' EP, Argentinian twins Mauro and Federico Salina return with successor 'Now'.
Baco & Urban Plant - Rocking My Roots (Self-published)
No, Baco Mourchid is not the owner of Baco Records (which until further notice is owned and run by French reggae band Danakil), but a representative of Mahorese music culture in France.
Captain Planet - No Visa (Bastard Jazz Recordings)
'No Visa' finally introduced us to the musical universe of Captain Planet, an ecological superhero in the 1990s animated series 'Captain Planet and the Planeteers', but here the alter ego of New York producer, radio presenter and founder of the popular music blog Mixtaperiot.com, Charlie Wilder.
Mehmet Polat - The Promise (Aftab Records/Self-published)
Turkish oud-player Mehmet Polat sees the twelve songs on his new album 'The Promise' as houses in the same street, all different but connected.
Ssewa Ssewa - Nva K'la (ARC Music)
For Nihiloxica's 'Kaloli' we just travelled to Uganda, and that's also the homeland of Ssewakiryanga James Jr. aka Ssewa Ssewa, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and the son of Ssewakiryanga James Sr., a traditional drummer, and Betty Namata, a professional dancer.
Lot Acosta - Mundo Loco (Achinech Productions)
Achinech Productions, the label that introduced us to Bahamian singer Csavi a few months ago, now presents 'Mundo Loco', the reggae debut of Lot Acosta, a singer-songwriter from San Andres, one of the most picturesque villages in Tenerife.
Ivan 'Mamão' Conti - Poison Fruit (Far Out Recordings)
Ivan 'Mamão' Conti's 'Poison Fruit' was originally released early 2019, and was the Brazilian drummer's first solo album in over two decades.
Milton Nascimento - Ultimo Trem (Far Out Recordings)
After a vinyl version of 'Maria Maria', Milton Nascimento's first ballet from 1976, was released at the end of last year, it seemed only logical that 'Ultimo Trem' would follow.
Roots Unity presents Nga Han - The Living Stream, Chapter One (Roots Unity Music)
After his collaboration with Belgian producer Kingston Echo, Nga Han still lingered in Europe for a while. During an Earl Sixteen concert in Rotterdam, somewhere towards the end of September of last year, he bumped into Dutch producer Uta Maruanaya of Roots Unity. The chemistry was palpable and a collaboration seemed inevitable. At the beginning of 2020 the duo headed to Amsterdam's Earth Works Studio, resulting in 'The Living Stream, Chapter One', an album title already holding the promise of more material to follow at a future date.
Jabesh & Fiyah Nation Band - Emphatic EP (LTM Records)
Fiyah Nation is a six-piece Belgian-Dutch backing band formed in 2009 after the break-up of Ziggi Recado's Renaissance Band. For this 5 track 'Emphatic' EP they now joined forces with Jabesh (loosely translated: "life of pain").
Shiran - Glsah Sanaanea with Shiran (Batov Records)
If on her self-titled 2018 debut, Shiran still smoothly mixed western pop and electro influences with traditional Yemeni folk, for successor 'Glsah Sanaanea with Shiran' she decided to go traditional.
Nihiloxica - Kaloli (Crammed Discs)
One could consider 'Kololi', the long-player debut by Ugandan Nihiloxica, a collaboration between British jazz drummer and producer Jacob Maskell-Key aka Spooky-J and producer Peter Jones aka pq, and the four-piece Nilotika Cultural Ensemble from Kampala, to be a distant cousin of Kinshasa's congotronics-scene. But where Congolese projects mainly experiment with likembes and lokole/lokombe drums, 'Kaloli' mostly features tipically Ugandan percussion, completed with the dark electro-vibes of the two Brits.
Richie Spice - Together We Stand (VP Records)
Earlier this year we didn't hide our excitement when the Tad's Record label surprised us with the release of the 'World War' EP, a collection of 4 singles Richie Spice recorded in recent years. Disregarding 2012's acoustic 'Soothing Sounds', we already have to go back all the way to 2011 to find Spice's last long player release, but with 'Together We Stand', on the trusted VP Records label, he now finally returns with a new album.
Pura Vida - Praying For The Angels (Lost Ark Music)
With the release of each new album, Pura Vida seems to venture more and more outside the boundaries of reggae and dub, and that's certainly true on 'Praying For The Angels'.