Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: Mdou Moctar is a Tuareg, Niger musician best known for his personal sound; he calls it Tuareg guitar music, drawing on styles like takamba and assouf. His music was originally circulated not via the internet, but rather an informal trade network of memory sticks and mobile phones in the Sahel region of North Africa. This musical scarcity captured the imagination of the net-based musical audience at large, following Moctar's formation of a four-piece band and emergent touring schedule aided by motorcycle, not to mention his demo music being leaked on a compilation documenting the cellphone based music of the Sahel in the early 2010s. 'Niger EP. Vol. 2' tops up the artist's latest EP series, laying down a further four entrancingly electric songs recorded at various weddings, picnics and house concerts.

Review: The Mdou Moctar mixtape series started in 2021. It is music made from sounds captured in the back of a van while on tour including field recordings, cell phone voice memos, interview clips, conversations and more. The Niger EPs now continue on that theme and look closely at the roots of the band, which lay in long bus rides across West Africa sitting next to people and talking about music. As such the music here is solely from recordings in Mdou Moctar's home country of Niger between 2017 and 2020 when the band was at weddings, picnics, rehearsals, and impromptu house concerts.

Review: This is a special ivory white vinyl version of Zani Diabate's Super Djata Band is another essential release from Numero Group. The band was a leading force in Mali's music scene during the 1980s when they blended Wasulu hunter music, griot praises, Senufo dances, Fula and Mandingo tunes with Western psychedelia, blues, and Afrobeat. Their 1982 album captures Diabate's virtuosity and is a showcase of his mastery of the guitar through eight compelling tracks. The resulting album is a gold standard in world music that confirms Diabate's place among the legendary West African guitarists and illustrates his unique ability to fuse diverse musical traditions.

Review: Zani Diabate's Super Djata Band was a leading Malian orchestra in the 1980s. They were known for blending Wasulu hunter music, griot praises, Senufo dances and Fula and Mandingo repertoire with Western psychedelia, blues, and Afrobeat into their own unique forms. In 1982 their album cemented Diabate's place among legendary West African guitarists as he mesmerised listeners with eight vibrant compositions featuring plenty of his hypnotic guitar work. Now it gets reissued on Numero Group and the record solidifies his status as a mythic figure in West African music so for anyone with an appreciation of house styles it is a must.

Review: Drissi El-Abbass's Rai Sidi Bel Abbes - Volume 2 is a superb eight-track compilation that tells the evolutionary story of Rai music from the late 1970s to the 1990s. Released by Nashazphone on four sides of wax, it highlights El-Abbassi's soft vocals and innovative fusion of traditional Algerian music with electronic elements which came after he started his career with Les Aigles Noirs and later collaborated with guitarist Ahmed Zergui. El-Abbassi embraced synthesisers and drum machines to shape a modern Rai sound that has stood the test of time and tracks like 'Maak Probleme' and 'Datli Laakal' blend nostalgic melodies with bold production to offer a vivid portrait of Rai's creative transformation.

Review: Brooklyn-born, New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist Gitkin delivers a rich fusion of global sounds on Golden Age, his latest ten-track album. Known for his guitar-driven style, Gitkin blends the rhythms of cumbia, North African, and Middle Eastern music, creating a sonic journey that feels both expansive and deeply rooted. As the frontman of The Pimps of Joytime, a staple in the festival circuit, his influence on the soul-funk scene is undeniable. From Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, Gitkin has built a reputation for electrifying live performances. Beyond his own projects, he's produced for artists like Corey Henry, Bernard Purdie and Cedric Burnside, whose Benton County Relic earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. With Golden Age, Gitkin further explores the intersections of global music traditions, weaving his soulful guitar into a captivating tapestry that speaks to his wide-ranging influences.

Review: Wewantsounds continues its deep dive into Algerian music with the first-ever reissue of Les Abranis' sought-after-by-those-who-know 1983 long player, Album No. 1. Originally recorded in Paris and privately pressed in small quantities, the album, which is also known as Id Ed Was, fuses Kabyle rhythms with funk and touches of reggae. This reissue has been curated by Cheb Gero (of recent Sweet Rebels compiling fame) and features remastered audio, though it retains the original artwork. It's a great line document of Algeria's diasporic groove with a two-page insert featuring fresh liner notes by journalist Rabah Mezouane.

Review: Mdou Moctar's reimagining of his work presents a powerful counterpoint to the blistering original. Recorded in the wake of a political crisis that left the band stranded in the US, this acoustic version strips back the aggression, replacing it with raw grief. The band, recording in Brooklyn's Bunker Studio, brings a new, meditative quality to the music, with the songs remaining heavy but haunting in their unamplified form. The standout 'Imouhar' takes shape through two rapid-fire passes, seamlessly merged into one hypnotic take. Where the original album burned with anger, this version captures the sadness and sorrow of a nation caught in perpetual turmoil.

Review: Nigerian singer, songwriter, and guitar legend, Mdou Moctar should need no introduction if you keep an ear to the ground of sub-Saharan African music. Then again, the vague region covers a vast area - land in all four hemispheres and around 15% of the Earth's walkable surface. So you could be forgiven for missing out on an individual artist if, for example, you weren't already looking for them specifically. Or relied on Western culture media for tips on what to hear next. That said, problematically tunnel-visioned as the North Atlantic-hegemony of commentators can be, Moctar has been something of a darling to UK, European and US musos for a while now. On Tears of Injustice he presents a convincing case for their continued adoration. A master of Tuareg, a style of music also known as desert blues, it's an intoxicating sound that easily transports and invokes, even if the predominantly Tamasheq language he sings in remains a mystery - arguably another factor in the powerful mythology surrounding his legacy.

Review: Amghar: The Godfather Of Tuareg Music Vol 1 by Abdallah Oumbadougou is a superb trip into the heart of the ever fascinating sound of Tuareg music. Oumbadougou, revered as the godfather of this rich musical tradition, delivers a spellbinding collection of tracks that showcase his mastery of desert blues. Each composition is a testament to the deep cultural heritage and spiritual resonance of Tuareg music. They blend hypnotic rhythms, intricate guitar work and haunting vocals all with a melancholic and seductive feel from the soul-stirring chants of 'Afrikya' to the infectious energy of 'Tabsiq Dalet'. This album transports listeners to the vast landscapes of the Sahara, evoking a profound sense of wanderlust and timeless beauty as it does so.

Review: With their fourth album, the celebrated rock group from northern Mali, take a bold step forward, evolving their signature "desert blues" style into a more acoustic, introspective sound. Recorded in Bamako with producer Paul Chandler, the album blends the band's gritty, electrifying energy with traditional Malian influences, incorporating instruments and melodies from various ethnic traditions. The result is a vibrant, collaborative work that features contributions from renowned artists like Afel Bocoum, Rokia Kone and Neba Solo. Tracks like 'Issa', which translates to 'river', demonstrate the group's deeper exploration of acoustic textures and storytelling, drawing on the power of nature and migration. The song's early delta blues-inspired guitar riffs complement the band's passionate vocals. The band's ability to honour their cultural roots while embracing new musical horizons really shows well here. The album is both a celebration of their heritage and a bold look towards the future, marking another remarkable chapter in Songhoy Blues' already impressive catalogue.

Review: This is the sound of Malian guitar mastery at its peak as Zani Diabate's Super Djata Band channelled raw magic on their 1981 album. Blending Wasulu hunter traditions, griot storytelling, Senufo dances and Fula and Mandingo sounds with psychedelic rock, blues and Afrobeat, the Bamako-based orchestra delivers a genre-bending sonic trip that more than stands up. This is where tradition meets wah-wah pedal wizardry across six electrifying tracks that blaze with intensity and infectious groove. It outlines a revolutionary sound forged for the people, by the people and in the 1980s, few bands matched their fire- could should still the same today, to be fair.

Review: The liberation of Mali from French rule in 1960 led to an explosive musical renaissance, and on this latest 2xLP compilation, Mr Bongo seek to remonstrate the nation's excellence in the face of much strife. After 1970, amid revived drives to document many national and regional music productions from the West African nation, Malian culture underwent a fertile transformation, with state-sponsored bands and orchestras able to record with sound engineers for the first time. Compiled by French writer and journalist Florent Mazzoleni and Mr Bongo's own David Buttle, we hear here the likes of Ousmane Kouyate & Ambassadeurs Internationaux, Rail Band, Les Messagers du Mali, Mystere Jazz de Tombouctou and many more, where bright, fuzz-packed tones whirl about our ears in serene squalls of balafon-driven funk, rumba, wassoulou, jeli and blues.