"Sounds of Pamoja" is Nyege Nyege Tapes' latest foray into the world of Tanzanian Singeli, the breakneck dance strain that's quickly moved from Dar es Salaam throughout the world. Following "Sounds of Sisso", a compilation that focused mostly on the Tanzanian capital's Sisso Studios, this set highlights recordings from Duke's Pamoja Records. And while its predecessor brought attention to the producers, "Sounds of Pamoja" showcases the wide variety of MC talent under the Pamoja Records umbrella, with production mostly handled by Duke.

The debutplatta! John Nilsson from Gothenburg has made a name for himself on the city's jazz scene in recent years, where he has appeared on all stages in small and large projects and made a big impression with his personal and energetic playing.

Reflets is the debut album from Brittany musician Alan Stivell, a staunch champion of the Celtic harp, and the Celtic and Breton cultures. This cross-cultural endeavour is well flexed here on the multi-instrumentalist's 1970 debut, beginning his reputation as a progenitor of world music, with banjo, electric organ, a choir, a fiddle and more detailing the broad spectrum of Stivell's arrangements, and how they blended his Celtic roots and later foray into rock styles.

Alan Stivell's third album, originally released in 1973, built upon the critical adoration that predecessor Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique generated, garnered commercial love when it quickly became a Gold record, and also grew the Breton musician's artistic ambition. Chemins de Terre, retitled from Celtic Rock in Germany, features Stivell on Celtic harp, Scottish bagpipes and more, musicians like Marie Yacoub on spoons and vocals, and Breton pipe band Bagad Bleimor.

Rokia Traoré is probably one of the most beautiful voices that Mali has sent us in recent years. Beautiful, but also inhabited and above all, engaged. With "Né So", an album she has once again put together with John Parrish, the official producer of PJ Harvey, Rokia Traor sings in revolt agains the uprooting of people. A combat song she leads with a host of prestigious artists at her side, like John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, writer Toni Morrison or even the folk singer Devendra Banhart. Of a rare and tangible power.

This ambitious project initiated with a reflection on exile and refugees and resulted in an original musical creation bringing together 12 artists - Arat Kilo, Mamani Keita, Ruşan Filiztek, Aida Nosrat, etc. - to create a repertoire of 14 songs, with influences from ethio-jazz, Afghan, Malian and Persian music. A clever mix of cultures, languages, and musicalities where emotion is the anchor.

Amir ElSaffar, who has been called among the most promising figures in jazz today by the Chicago Tribune, is unique for combining elements of the maqam, a Middle Eastern musical form, with modern jazz. A virtuoso on the trumpet, ElSaffar has developed new techniques that enable intonation and ornaments that are characteristic to Arabic music and is also one of very few trumpeters in the world able to play microtonal music. "Crisis" is inspired by his extensive travels in the Middle East, and the growing sense of hopelessness that continue to haunt the region.

First heard by global audiences on Sahel Sounds’ Music from Saharan WhatsApp series, Malian guitar hero Bounaly (the stage name of Ali "Bounaly" Traore) makes his full-length debut with “Dimanche à Bamako” (“Sunday in Bamako”). Recorded live on location, the music on "Dimanche à Bamako" is a mix of regional favorites, traditional standards, and originals. Long songs with looping rhythms, pounding kick drums, and electric shredding guitars, punctuated by shout-outs to the guests of honor. A raw and frenetic take on Northern Mali desert sound, playing for the diaspora at a Bamako wedding.

Era (styled as +eRa+) is a New Age music project by French composer Eric Lévi. The band has sold more than 12 million albums. They use lyrics (by Guy Protheroe) which although similar to Greek or Latin are in fact deliberately devoid of any exact meaning.

AK Yeboah- Antony ‘King’ Yeboah- began his career playing ‘classic’ highlife in the 1950s. Thirty years later, he hit upon the brilliant idea of writing songs in Pidgin, to attract a much wider listenership- especially among neighbouring Nigerians. Yeboah’s pan-African electric guitar style was a shoo-in for the 80s ‘burger’ highlife style, and equally popular with Colombia’s burgeoning ‘picotero’ DJ sound systems. In fact this record is probably the perfect calling card for that innovative sound. To this day, he remains a leading source of inspiration to budding Ghanaian musicians and recording artists the world over.

A couple of years back, UK-based House DJ Jerry Frempong’s wife Katie was doing a spring clean at the family home. At the bottom of the garden, amongst a pile of rusty garden tools, she discovered a couple of mysterious bin-bags. She was about to assign them to the skip with everything else, but a sixth sense persuaded her to check the contents. It was a huge pile of rare soul, funk, disco, boogie and- yes – Ghana Highlife records. Katie brought this to the attention of Jerry, who immediately understood the significance of the treasure trove.

A couple of years back, UK-based House and Soul DJ Jerry Frempong’s wife Kate was doing a Spring -clean at the family home. At the bottom of the garden, in among a pile of rusty garden tools and so on, she discovered a couple of mysterious bin-bags. She was about to assign them to the skip with everything else, but a sixth sense persuaded her to check the contents. It was a huge pile of rare soul, funk, disco, boogie and- yes – Ghana Highlife records. Kate brought this to the attention of Jerry, who immediately understood the significance of the treasure trove.

In the 80s west African music scene, it was often the way that a talented musician, composer or singer would labour away at a series of obscure, under-financed, poorly engineered recording projects before hitting gold. Such seems to have been the narrative with the comparatively unknown but very talented songwriter/vocalist Charles Kwadwo Kwarteng: Mr Cee.

THOMAS FREMPONG has been an integral part of the Ghana music scene for almost half a century. He’s played with countless line-ups, perhaps the most famous being The Noble Kings, who in the 60s introduced the sikyi highlife genre, which would define the ‘classic’ brass/woodwind/guitar highlife sound for decades to come.

Nearly 40 years ago, Djamchid Chemirani made his first recording for Harmonia Mundi. Since then, his career has blossomed, and he performs now with his sons Keyvan and Bijan at his side. Both separately and together, each has explored various universes of sound and honed their craft as musicians. But Trio Chemirani has constantly returned to the shared magnum opus: the elaboration of a universal rhythmic language. "Dawar" fuses the spirituality, diverse cultural experiences and historical sensitivity of these three great artists.