Tinariwen: Aman Iman

If you like your music bluesy, soulful and electric, you’ll want to check out Aman Iman: Water is Life. Only released a couple of weeks ago, this album is already being hailed as one of the highlights of 2007. Tinariwen are legendary in their own country of Mali not only for their rocking desert blues, but also for their role as Toureg rebel fighters for …

Antibalas: Security

Security is the first ever Afrobeat soundtrack. Irreverent, hip, rough, political, moody and soulful, it's like an afro-funkier Curtis Mayfield score for a Blacksploitation film that only exists in the mind of the listener. As told by Brooklyn’s twelve-member Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, the story unfolds like a hypnotic trance. With a new record label (the coincidentally named ANTI-Records) and new producer John McEntire (Tortoise, Stereolab), …

The Lions

Without a commercial recording or even a live gig—at last count their newest song on Myspace has only logged seven plays, at least three of which I can personally take responsibility for—The Lions are newly signed to Ubiquity Records, have an album scheduled for release this year, and are packing Afro-Caribbean soul heat. The Lions is the latest project of Los Angeles-based trumpeter/arranger Todd Simon, …