It isn’t easy to find music from the Central African Republic on streaming sites. This was one of the only few I could find, and as the title says, it seems to consider itself the archetype of Central African Republic music. …

Ildo Lobo was so popular in Cabo Verde that when he died, all government offices in his native island of Sal closed for three days, and flags flew at half-mast. …

I had heard a bit of Loscil’s work prior to this album, and I will definitely be listening to him more in the future. I have a bit of a soft spot for this kind of music. GAS, Alva Noto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tim Hecker, all those sorts of artists. So I really enjoyed this. It’s not his most famous album, and probably not his best, but I love it. It is atmospheric, and all the tracks reference places near where Loscil lives. It does have a bit of grey-ski vibes, definitely more of a winterish sound. It does fit quite well as a choice for a Canadian album, I think.

Salatiel is quite a superstar in his country, Cameroon. He has, for example, collaborated with Beyonce on a track for the soundtrack of The Lion King. That sort of star. This album is, in general, quite good. The production is very professional, the writing very decent, and it is indeed…

It is difficult to enjoy Pen Ran’s album if you know the story of her life. The music here is joyous, fun, and upbeat, and her voice is incredible, powerful, and piercing. The music still sounds so cool. Retro, but cool. Whilst it is clearly been influenced by many American…

The small country of Burundi does not rank well in several statistics. It is considered the world’s least happy country, the poorest, and the least developed. Mostly rural, and only 13% of the population lives in urban areas. Anyway, you wouldn’t guess any of that if you listened to Star-B’s…

According to Wikipedia, one of the most popular African bands ever. I had never heard of them. But they have played at Wembley. They have collaborated with The Rolling Stones and Ryuichi Sakamoto. They have toured around the US, Singapore, Germany, Canada, and many other countries. They use instruments such…

I had heard of Bulgarian folk music, I even remember seeing a female choir many years ago in concert. However, I hadn’t realised how great it is — or maybe how great this choir and this album are. The harmonies are unique, the music sounds atemporal. Some tracks sound like something you’d expect on Björk’s latest album. You must listen to it with headphones, and volume up — it’s mesmerising. It doesn’t matter I don’t understand the lyrics, it’s just so energetic and beautiful that they could be singing about doing the laundry and I’d still love it. Shame about a couple of instrumentals — they aren’t needed, and they keep you wanting to go back immediately to the choir.

I didn’t know much about Brunei, and the few things I knew weren’t that good (human rights, basically). It’s a tiny country that has very strict laws regarding pretty much everything that is common here in Western Europe. …