World Circuit Schallplatten & CDs

Review: It would be fair to say that the Afro-Cuban All Stars are Cuba's most important contemporary musicians. Their leader, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, has been a pioneering figure for decades and his work with the likes of the Buena Vista Social Club has officially solidified his position as the guiding voice of Afro-Latin music. World Circuit has decided to reissue the band's debut album from 1997, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, and it's no surprise given just how iconic it remains to this day. If you're a fan of rhythmic jazz with a Caribbean twist then this is the right material for you. If you're a record collector whose into the spicier end of the jazz scale then this is unmissable. Whoever youre, you're bound to enjoy this marvelous collection of tracks.

Review: Two titans of African music come together for a collaboration that will sadly never be repeated after the passing of the late Hugh Masekela. Allen's instantly recognisable drumming and Masekela's iconic trumpet are a match made in heaven - after all their paths first crossed back in the 70s thanks to Fela Kuti's galvanizing energy. Forget the throwback stuff trying to capture the spirit of the originators, this IS the originators sounding cool and deadly in every way. Funk lovers, Afrobeat heads, curious ears and dancing souls take heed - this right here is an unmissable transmission from two grandmasters in their field.

Review: Oumou Sangare is an icon of Malian music, and African music overall. She first came to attention in the early 90s with songs descended from wassoulou traditional hunting songs. She's remained a creative and visible force ever since, and now she's back with her first album of new material since 2017's critically acclaimed Mogoya. Timbuktu fuses Sangare's Malian sound with elements of blues, folk and rock to create a timeless body of work which winds up all her own. You'll instantly be transported into her rich and rooted world of sound, where she uses her position as a hugely influential African musician to push for women's rights amongst other socially-conscious themes.

Review: Ali Farka Toure is widely regarded as the godfather of the genre 'desert blues', which blends distinct elements from Toure's own Malian heritage with electric guitar tropes from blues. Though he's got a panoply of albums dangling from under his immense belt, 'Le Voyageur' is brand new, documenting several unreleased tracks alongside old greats - it's the first album released by the artist since 2010's 'Ali & Toumani'. If the classic 'Kenouna' is anything to go by, then you can be sure to expect blissful horizon-gazing rhythmics, guitar chromatics, and matching counterpoint on vocals - all hallmarks of Toure's distinctive style.

Review: A welcomed heavyweight vinyl reissue of 1994 GRAMMY award winning album from two of the 20th century's most inspirational, creative bluesmen from two wholly contrasting sides of the world: Ali Farka and Ry Cooder. Most of Talking Timbuktu kicks its feet in the dusty plains of Mali with traditional instrumentation and time signatures before dropping into occasional splashes of soul surging blues such as the fiddle-like picking of "Ai Du" and the foot-stamping yearns of "Amandrai". A timeless meeting of two amazing minds that will never happen again, this should be reissued every 20 years by law to ensure future generations are aware this happened.