Artists

[[[STOP PRESS +Bassekou gets great review at Festival in the Desert:

"The band and the singers are all enthusiastic, jolly performers, and Kouyate's groove gets most of the audience on their feet and chanting"

Rosie Swash, Guardian Unlimited http://music.guardian.co.uk/desert2008/story/0,,2239799,00.html

Other stories:

Segu Blue gets BBC World Music Award Album of the Year read more

There are many beni bands on the island but this group is one of the best, and a must for any festival. Beni turned the inspiration of colonial military brass bands into a completely local thing, by bringing it into the realm of song and dance competitions. Played mostly at read more

Bi Kidude bint Baraka is Zanzibar's most famous cultural ambassador and East Africa's legendary barefoot diva of taarab and unyago traditional music.

Bi Kidude's exact date of birth is unknown, much of her life story is uncorroborated, giving her an almost mythical status. Kidude started out her musical career read more

The group’s name is derived from the Somali words bismillahi meaning “in the name of Allah” and gargar meaning ‘joining or bringing together’. Bismillahi Gargar is a collective group of women of Somali origin from Garissa, North Eastern Kenya.

Formed in 2003 with the purpose of reminding people of read more

Blick Bassy is the new soul voice of Cameroon - soul in the sense of vocals that come from within. Bassy says: “The soul of my music isn’t so much in the words; it’s in the way of singing.”

[[[In fact, the read more

Hailed by the New York Times as an “irresistible brew of West African music and electronica,” Burkina Electric is the first electronic music group from Burkina Faso. Based in Ouagadougou, it is at the same time an international band, with members also living in New York, U.S.A. Burkina Electric's music read more