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Pa Salieu with Mahalia
Song of the Day: Released at the tail-end of 2020, this beautifully smooth and soulful hip-hop number with a gorgeous bass line, African instruments and melody is by the British rapper from his EP Send Them To Coventry, named after his home town
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Oumou Sangaré
Made Kuti
Song of the Day: During these dark days, a wonderfully new bright and uplifting layered jazz-Afrobeat sound of trumpet, sax and keyboards from the multi-instrumentalist Made, grandson of Fela and son of Femi
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The Fulu Miziki collective
Song of the Day: Released earlier in 2020, a sample of the fabulously energised music of the musicians’ collective in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, led by eco activist Pisko Crane who play instruments made from recycled rubbish
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Stretching the influences: cover of Arp Frique’s latest album
Song of the Day: Electro-pop, Chic-era New York City 70s disco vibes, African, Caribbean and Cape Verdean influences are interwoven in this infectious, eccentric newest single by Amsterdam’s Niels Nieuborg, with guest Americo Brito
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Khruangbin – unforgettable
Song of the Day: A delicious sounding, smoothly delivered new track fusing funk, soul dub, African, and psychedelia by the American musical trio from Houston, Texas, comprising Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Ray "DJ" Johnson Jr on drums
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Cover from the forthcoming collaborative Keleketla! album
Song of the Day: Embracing the South African musical protest style toyi-toyi borne out of anti-apartheid, this new track fuses dance, jazz, gqom beats, hip hop and Afrobeat featuring Tony Allen alongside collaborators Coldcut, Soundz of the South, DJ Mabheko, Tenderlonious, Afla Sackey and Afrik Bawantu
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Expanded cover of Lightning Orchestra’s forthcoming album Source and Deliver
Song of the Day: A profound and glorious piece of cosmic, psychedelic, afro-jazz-funk by the collective based in Atlanta, Georgia, inspired by the sounds of Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Tony Allen, Talking Heads and Jimi Hendrix
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‘Run for your life’
Song of the Day: “I wake up every morning and I run, I run for my life.” It’s a phrase that could apply to many lives and situations, but this new Afrobeat/soul/electronica number by the deep, gravelly voiced London-based Nigerian, is topical
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Curtis Mayfield on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1972
Song of the Day: After yesterday’s Baby Huey, whose brilliant only album was produced by Curtis Mayfield, let’s turn to the man himself with a trio classic tracks from 1972 that show the full range of his funk and orchestration prowess
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Chilean band Newen Afrobeat
Song of the Day: After yesterday's international collaboration, another African and Latin jazz groove but this time all played in the same location, putting some heavier brass meat on the bones and a Fela Kuti classic
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Some of the many musicians collaborating on the Playing For Change project
Song of the Day: Yesterday's pick was Cuban played by Africans, today's is an even richer blend with artists from Morocco, Hungary, Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Senegal, Egypt, India, USA, France and Serbia
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Pape Fall & L'African Salsa … bringing a Senegalese flavour to Cuba
Song of the Day: Transitioning recently between Africa and Cuba, today's choice is a fusion of the two – the classic sound but played by the Senegalese singer and sax player from his 1995 album, Ke Jaraxam, which came out on cassette
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Cesária Evora
Song of the Day: Moving now to and artist from Cape Verde and one of the most beautiful songs, from the singer's her 1992 album Miss Perfumado
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Kora Jazz Trio
Song of the Day: A Saturday special as we compare three versions of a song made famous by the Cuban ensemble, but here with an African and jazz twist, featuring the kora, piano and more with other musicians
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Sona Jarbarteh
Song of the Day: Moving from Ivory Coast and Mali to The Gambia, and the singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer who hails from a long line of Griot kora players with a song to mark her country's 50th independence anniversary in 2015
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Fatoumata Diawara
Song of the Day: After a series of longer established African stars, a more contemporary one – the Ivory Coast born singer songwriter, from her 2018 album, Fenfo (Something To Say), with a song about mass migration
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Salif Keita
Song of the Day: After Senegal's Youssou N'Dour, let's hand over to yet another giant of African music, again from Mali, the royal 'Golden Voice', from his 2002 album Moffou
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Youssou N'Dour
Song of the Day: Moving from Morocco, and another huge figure in African music and the style of mbalax, which mixes jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal
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Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui
Song of the Day: From the deserts of Mali with Tuareg band Tinariwen to the Sahara further north, and the sublime singer Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui from her 2013 album, Soul of Morocco
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