Check the sweet lilting grooves of Sorie Kondi, a master of the kondi which is a traditional thumb piano-like instrument from Sierra Leone.  Sorie was born sometime in the late 1960s near the city of Makeni, Sierra Leone.  Blind and without any formal education, he fled to the capital Freetown during the brutal civil war of the mid 1990s.  He survived the rebel onslaught on the city in 1998 and managed to record his first album there.  Sorie then earned a living as a street musician, playing the instrument from which he takes his name, until one day he met an American sound engineer called Luke Wasserman.  They recorded Sorie’s first proper release together, entitled Without Money, No Family.  Life’s still a struggle.  A Kickstarter campaign to get Sorie Kondi to SXSW has been successful, so hopefully that longed for international break is around the corner.

Mirel Wagner – No Death from Aki Roukala on Vimeo.

Mirel Wagner is a singer songwriter from Ethiopia via Finland.  Extremes of temperature in her life are shadowed by the spare beauty of her songs and delivery.  They have all the stark sadness and impact of early Leonard Cohen.  One to keep very close tabs on…

Baaba Maal’s Playlist

1. Bob Marley – One Love ”A beautifully simple song, with such a powerful message.”
2. Miles Davis – So What ”Recorded 50 years ago, it seems to grow and develop with every hearing. Possibly the best recording of the 20th. centuary.”
3. Kaouding Cissoko – Senegal-Mauritanie ”This wonderful melody highlights the brilliance of  the late Kaouding on the Kora, a multi stringed lute-harp from West Africa. He was a true friend and missed by all who met him. “
4. Burning Spear – Lion ”This song transports me back to Podor in Senegal, where I was born. As a child I watched the lion prides at the water hole and marvelled at their majesty.”
5. Johnny Hallyday – Noir C’est Noir – Stade De France 2009 ”When I studied in Paris, this song became the soundtrack to everything new and exciting happening to me, newly arrived in the city. “
6. Orchestra Baobab – Coumba ”They have been making the most sublime music for what seems like all my life. No matter where I am in the world, listening to them takes me straight back to my home, Senegal. “
7. Ali Farka Touré – Debe ”Simply two master musicians listening and learning from each other, so it seems as if they merge into one.”
8. Fela Kuti – Sorrow Tears and Blood ”The king of African music. His life was so much more than just music, a true warrior whose influence grows ever stronger.”
9. Staff Benda Bilili – Moto Moindo ”A band with so much spirit. As they say ‘don’t pity us’”
10. King Tubby – Blood Of Africa ”Dub music is such a unique art form, where less really is more. I never tire of it.”
11. John Martyn – Small Hours ”John was a genius. He took a musical style and made it his own. I love to sit out at night and stare at the stars with this tune on replay.
12. Alemayehu Eshete – Nèy-Nèy wèlèba ”The Ethiopian ‘Elvis’ some say. A splendid singer who uses his voice  like an instrument.”
13. Tony Allen – Afro – Disco Beat ”The drummers drummer. Tony plays with such beauty. He has Afrobeat written on his heart. I love him.”
14. Bob & Earl – Harlem Shuffle ”This tune from the sixties sums up what I look for in music: passion, soul, splendid playing and above all fun.”

THE OBSERVER: Baloji – “I want to make music that is very modern and very African”

But also take a look at this vid of a track called ‘Le Reveil’ (‘The Awakening’) by Kinshasa rapper Alesh, who’s coming out on the excellent Nomadic Wax label.  Like Baloji, Alesh has a flow like a fresh blade, and the sub-titles help them to slice:

http://str8buttah.bandcamp.com/album/afro-j-e-t-s-club-project