So this list is very heavily weighted to West African music of the 70s, but hey that’s what I am into.

Legends of Benin – Various Artists (Analog Africa)

Ok, so I have to admit my favourite record of 2009 was in fact a reissue. In terms of sheer enjoyment and repeated listening, my number one record for 2009 was Analog Africa’s Legends of Benin. For those not familiar with Analog Africa, it is a boutique label that puts out reissues and one of its main focuses so far has been the music of Benin and Togo.

There was the great African Scream Contest, which focused on psychedelic rock and then late in 2008 there was the The Vodoun Effect: Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1973-1975 a compilation of tracks recorded by Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou on various independent labels.

Then in June 2009 Analog Africa upped the ante with Legends of Benin a collection of rare masterpieces from four of Benin’s great songwriters, Antoine Dougbe, El Rego, Honore Avolonto and Gnonnas Pedro. Recorded between 1969 and 1981, Legends of Benin is the funkiest CD I may ever have heard in my life and without a doubt my number one recommendation to anyone looking for an album released in 2009.

Echos Hypnotiques: Vol. 2  - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou (Analog Africa)

For convenience sake and just to close off this little stream of thought I am going to go straight into Analog Africa’s other Benin release for 2009. Echos Hypnotiques: Vol. 2 was released in November 2009 a second collection of the work of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou. Volume Two showcases superbly recorded tracks, courtesy of the EMI studios in Lagos and all the tracks here were recorded for the Albarika Store label. The CD contains 15 out of 200 tracks, which were carefully selected and they show the band effortlessly moving between traditional Vodoun rhythms, funk, salsa or Afro-beat. "Drums, bells and horns are the fundamental instruments used during our traditional Vodoun rituals - we added guitars and Organs - we modernised those ancients rhythms and combined them with western genres that were on vogue at that time," says Melome Clement - Founder of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo.

…For the Whole World to See – Death (Drag City)

After Analog Africa’s great string of releases in 2009, my next favourite reissue was by the label Drag City who released a CD called …For the Whole World to See.  Inspired by seeing Iggy Pop & The Stooges live, three brothers from Hackney, Detroit formed a band. They were soon signed, but dropped by the label halfway through the recording of their debut album when they refused to change their name. The album never saw the light of day until now. Seven songs of raw gritty rock, which just goes to show that black punk rock didn’t start with Bad Brains, its started with Death.

Bella Epoque Volume 3: Dioba – Rail Band (Sterns Africa)

Next on the list is a Bella Epoque Volume 3: Dioba a double disc compilation of the Music of Mali’s Rail Band. This is the third double disc compilation in the series, but the first that I found in a South African store. The Rail Band is a Malian institution that has featured both Salif Keita and Mory Kante as singers. Released on the Sterns Africa Label the series compiles the band’s best work recorded in the 60s and 70s. As the Sterns Website says,

The Rail Band has much in common with Senegal's more widely known Orchestra Baobab. Both bands were formed around 1970 and in their original incarnations were active until the mid 1980s, exploring similar, modern-roots terrains. But while the "belle epoque" Rail Band, particularly in the years when Keita was its lead vocalist, was at home with the stately and spacious, rolling savannah rhythms which typified Baobab's output, much of their music was wilder, more urgent, raw and intense, and included Malian spins on Nigerian Afrobeat and Congolese rumba. This rainbow of sounds was magnified by the differing styles of the band's chief songwriters and vocalists—Salif Keita from 1970-72, followed by Mory Kante and Magan Ganessy, who were featured alongside each other during the mid 1970s—each of whom brought his own, singular, ethnic folklore tradition with him.

However for me the highlight of this amazing collection is the work of guitarists Abe Baba and Djelmady Tounkara who cut loose with some incredible solos. It has been a great companion piece to another record I discovered in 2009, but that was released in 2008. The record is Soundway's compilation of Victor Uwaifo tunes called Guitar Boy Superstar 1970 - 1976, one of the most awesome records I have ever heard.

Panama! 2 – Various Artists (Soundway Records)

WOW! I missed Panama! 1 when it was released, so I only picked up on this amazing series in 2009. Better late than never. Subtitled "Latin Sounds, Cumbia Tropical & Calypso Funk on the Isthmus 1967-77", Panama! 2 is a scintillating collection of funky tunes . These grainy recordings by bands you most likely have never heard of are spirited in their live one-take nature, exploding into fits of raw funk and soul, with horn sections riffing the night away. Whether it's the Los Superiores, with their funky jam Descarga Superior, or the Soul Fantastics' groovy take on Bill Withers's Ain't No Sunshine that rocks your world, there is not a single dud track on this marvellous compilation. I must point out that Panama! 3  had already been released overseas in 2009 but is yet to hits shelves in South Africa, so keep a look out for it. Here is the cover.

New York – Addis – London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965 – 1975 - Mulatu Astatke (Strut Records)

Released in 2009, I only got my copy last week but already this is one of my all time favourite albums of 2009. Astatke first received some belated recognition through the Ethiopiques series and then later on the soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch’s film Broken Flowers. However this compilation is all killer no filler, solid wall-to-wall funky jazz that kicks like a mule. For those interested he recorded a new album in 2009 with London psych-jazz band The Heliocentrics, also on Strut, but more on that later with my best of 2009 list still to come.

Na Teef Know de Road of Teef  - Pax Nicholas & The Nettey Family (Daptone Records)

When it comes to Afrobeat, you can’t get much finer than this awesome reissue. Nicholas was born in Accra, Ghana but moved to Lagos, Nigeria.  He soon was introduced to Fela Kuti and in 1971 joined Africa 70 as a congo player and backing singer. He appeared on all of Fela’s releases between 1971 and 1978. Two solo albums were also released on the Tabansi Label, Mind Your Own Business in 1971 and Na Teef Know The Road of Teef in 1973. However the second, which is this reissue was made with Africa 70 musicians in Ginger Baker’s Lagos studio. Fela was not amused and the album got little promotion and Nicholas did not tour the album. However now it is here in 2009, four tracks of smoking hot Afrobeat.

African Carnival - Fred Fisher Atalobhor (Vampi Soul)

Spotted in 1972 while recording a vocal session in Lagos, trombonist and singer Fred Fisher was soon recording his own albums with his own band. The resultant sound was dubbed Asolo Rock, a blend of Afro funk-rock with soulful melodies, or what I like to call damn funky party vibes. From the opening track, Say the Truth, with its reggae groove, it is quite clear that Fred Fisher is a long-lost star of African music, Nigeria's answer to Toots and the Maytals. But it's not all reggae grooves -- there are tastes of the Fela Kuti-pioneered Afrobeat and the more laid-back highlife genre, popularised in Ghana and Nigeria in the early 1900s. Fisher's band fell apart when Kuti poached one of his band members after they shared a bill, but at least we have the four albums compiled on this double-disc compilation, which were recorded between 1979 and 1990. As Fisher says in the liner notes: "If you want to dance, this is the album that makes you dance away all the sorrows in you." So get ready for your own personal exorcism.

All Star Soul International - Victor Olaiya (Vampi Soul)

He may have been dubbed the Evil Genius of highlife, but this reissue of his long-lost 1970 album shows that Victor Olaiya had a lot more tricks up his sleeve. Blending the sounds of highlife with those of the raunchy American funk that was making its way across the airwaves, Olaiya sounds like Nigeria's answer to James Brown on this all-time classic album. Graduating from Lagos's Ekopo Band, a street outfit, Olaiya was soon an in-demand musician playing in numerous local bands. In 1954 he grabbed his moment, launching his own band, The Cool Cats, which offered early apprenticeships to Nigerian legends, such as Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Sunny Ade and Sir Victor Uwaifo. But by the time he recorded All Star Soul International his prodigies had moved on to their own fame and Olaiya was battling against a whole new host of soul-influenced bands. One listen to tracks such as I Feel Alright and Magic Feet and it's clear -- Olaiya had them licked at their own game. Form is temporary; class is permanent.

Back to Peru Vol 2 – Various Artists (Vampi Soul)

Oh, sweet joy! Who would have thought that Peru had such a vibrant contemporary music scene in the late Sixties and early Seventies? Inspired by the rock, psychedelic pop and soul music pouring out of the United States and the United Kingdom, these Peruvian locals amped up their guitars to gritty proportions -- and, boy, did they deliver. From garage-rock stompers to raunchy funk, from surf-rock to psychedelic pop, this double-disc compilation is a mind-expanding trip into the Peruvian underground circa 1964 to 1974. If you've loved rock 'n roll and soul music and you have a predisposition for a more exotic taste, this album is for you. Whether it's the rough-and-ready garage rock of bands such as Los Saicos and Los Drags or the psychedelic experimentation of Pax and Telegraph Avenue that gets your blood racing, one thing is for sure, Peru was one happening place in the late Sixties, despite the political turmoil. This compilation is absolutely essential for adventurous listeners.

Ghana Special: - Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds, Ghanaian Blues 1968 - 1981 (Soundway Records)

Following on from the Nigeria Special double disc compilation comes Ghana Special. Thirty-three original and previously un-reissued tracks, Ghana Special represents nearly ten years of on-going research by label owner and DJ Miles Cleret in and around the cities of Accra, Tema, Cape Coast, Takoradi and Kumasi. With Soundway’s Ghana Soundz albums, which focused on the funkier tracks from the same period, proving hugely popular, it was only a matter of time till Cleret turned his attention back to Ghana. This is a real treat.

OK so 2010 is here and already there are some great albums on the horizon. Hope you all have a great New Year. Anyway so I am going to use my first few posts of the new decade to look back. Back at the year of 2009 in South African music, back at what the rest of the world got up to in 2009 and finally a look at my favourite records from the past decade. These lists are not definitive, they are merely the records that rocked my world the most. Plus I'm sure i'll look back at these in a month and find many albums that I forgot about.

1. BLK JKS - After Robots

I'm pretty sure everyone expected this after all I did call it the most important South African album of the last 20 years. 2009 was the BLK JKS year and as their recent homecoming gig at House of Nsako showed, its onward and upward for the JKS.

2. Joao Orrechia - Hands & Feet

I just couldn't get enough of this album by Joao Orrechia in 2009, which features some of South Africa's finest musical talents. Addictive is all I have to say.

3. Righard Kapp - Strung like a compound Eye

An incredible piece of work from Cape Town's guitar wizard, his best album yet 

4. Busi Mhlongo - 

Released at the tail end of 2009, Busi Mhlongo's new album is a spiritual tour through Zulu blues

5. Seloela Selota - Lapeng Laka

Seloela's new album is a rich and wonderful album, he deserves to win a bunch of SAMA awards for this

6. kidofdoom - My Faith in War

Kidofdoom's second album is a cracker, a prog rock concept album about the apocalypse, this band is going places

7. Buckfever Undergound - Limb's Gone Batty

A great live album from the Underground. This band is a national treasure

8. Guy Buttery - Fox Hill lane

 Guy Buttery's mature new album was an absolute delight in 2009, beautiful nu-folk from KwaZulu Natal

9. Tidal Waves - Manifesto

 South Africa's finest reggae band returned with a great new album, there fourth studio record is a pearler

10. NUL - Drie

Pretoria Industrial outfit Nul's third album aptly titled Drie is their best yet, protest music of the highest order

11. Kyle Shepherd - fineART

OK so technically this album was released in 2008, but it was launched in 2009 and I only heard it a few days ago, but Kyle Shepherd is a serious talent. The future of Cape jazz 

12. Dear Reader - Replace Why With Funny

The growth from album one to album two was quite astounding, now signed to City Slang, one of SA's great international hopes

13. Kalahari Surfers - Turntabla

SA music veteran Warrick Sony returned with this long overdue Kalahari Surfers record, a chilled, spaced out ambient soundcsape

14. Black Hotels - Films For the Next Century

The Black Hotels fleshed out to a five peice, offer up many different sides from their musical palette 

15. And in Fifteenth place we have a tie

Ramon Galvan - Outer Tumbolia

This debut solo album from Ramon Galvan is a grower, that has many treasures for the patient listener

 Us Kids Know - Friendship Test

Pic: GaBLe

I would like to raise two glases this morning of TransmusicalesDay 4. The first is to my new favourite band GaBLe who blew my mind last night and the second is to my new partner in crime Julie, who I met last night and spent the rest of the evening watching muisc and causing mayhem with. So there is not that much time left to get into detail about last nights music. Late yesterday afternoon I headed up to the Cite Club to watch Bright Black Morning Light and Cass McCombs who were a two of the five bands on the festival line-up that I had heard off before arriving. Bright Black Morning Light were really cool with their acid-fried groove and their anti-war statements, however it was French band GaBle who played next that were the real prize, the best band I have seen at the festival for sure. I will not attempt to describe their sound because that is almost impossible but these are some bands I thought off while watching them.

Akron/Family, Beta Band, Bran Van 3000, The Fall, Ween; Frank Zappa and Pop will Eat Itself - so there make of that what you will!

After the show Jean-Louis the festival director took me backstage to meet the band, who were really cool and seemed embarressed about all the praise people were heaping on them. They did graciously give me a copy of their CD, which I listened to this morning or should I say afternooon in bed. Cass Mc Combs played last but after having my head blown to smithereens I was not able to focus and left.

Pic: Terry Lynn

Soon I was on the bus to the evenings main event, three huge halls in an expo centre dedicated to some of the worlds finest new music. I stumbled around from hall to hall drinking beer and thinking how this was the first time I had attended a music festival alone and how important it is too have a partner in crime for these type of events. Luckily at thqt point Julie popped up, a young photographer from Rennes who was just a little bit nuts like all the best people are. We were soon charging around the expo centre getting down to Dancehall, Electro, House and Rock n Roll. The highlight was Dancehall star Terry Lynn who had the crowd shaking their asses and puffing on their spliffs. Fever Ray was also cool but her dark 80s tinged electro was a bit of a downer after Lynns bombastic show. The Field were cool, what I saw of them and DJ Morpheus or Sammy as I had known him for the last few days played some wicked shit. When I crawled into bed at 6am this morning I knew that I had been at a party and tonight we do it all over again. Plus the BLK JKS are playing. This will probably be the last blog post then cause tomorrow I am on a plane home, so so long from Transmusicales 2009 and thanks for all the fish! 

Pic: Beast

So Transmusicales Day 3 has begun. But let me recap. The highlight last night was a Canadian band named Beast. They are from Montreal and they feature one of the best singers I have ever seen. Like the lovechild of Rage Against the Machine and Moloko, they were brutally intense and I loved every minute. A bassist with a keyboard attached to his bass, a guitarist in a Wu Tang Clan t-shirt who smokes like Tom Morello, a drummer who emcees and plays like he is in a punk band and a singer who sounds like Shirley Bassey one minute and Bessie Smith the next, wow one to check out people.

Day 2 began late for me, im learning that the trick is to get up late and get to bed late. After a late breakfast/lunch I headed off with Jean Louis annotated map to find some vinyl, first on the list was Rockin Bones Sebs record store. Picked up a great Warsaw record, songs recorded before they became Joy Division. Then off to the Virgin megastore where i picked up the new Animal Collective and the BLK JKS Mystery EP. Then off to another one whose name I have forgot to get some African reissues on vinyl. 

I made it back just before 5 to see Cercueil a French band billed as similar to Electrelane and the Third Portishead record. They were, they just werent that impressive and Lark would have smoked them. Maybe I am biased but I really feel that South Africa would throw down with the kind of indie industry that France has behind their young bands.

Then back to the hotel for a break before the main activities for the evening took place. First up was The Whitest Boy Alive  featuring Erlend Øye from Kings of Convenience - Geek Funk for the French masses, love it.

Pic: The Whitest Boy Alive

Then I went to catch Klezmer Funk band Abraham Inc but after the intesnity of Beast they seemed like a novelty act. Cool horn players though, one of them used to play with James Brown and Bootsy. Retreated to the bar where I met a French House DJ who had a residency in SA in 2003 and raved about our country. Also met this crazy drunk French Journalist who kept telling me about some DRC refugee friends of hers and the tough times they had been facing lately. She was a little to hammered to understand properly, especially with the accent. Lost track of time so I only made it to the last song of this band called An Experiment On a Bird in the Air Pump, they sounded great though and apparently are about to go into studio with Steve Albini. Last was a Solvenian female choir called Vrelo, but I was crashing fast it was after 3am and I headed home to get some sleep. More to come.

Pic: An Experiment On a Bird in the Air Pump

So last night was a blast. After I left you I ended up drinking red wine with a French music journalist named Vincent. Spoke to Vincent about those post punk bands that I saw and he said that they are all really young and they have a way to go yet. We agreed that making crazy comparisons to legends of the genre really doesnt help their cause. Anyway good to get some perspective on what I was watching.

Then we met up with Jean-Louis and his friend Sammy, who used to be the singer for 80s French Band Minimal Compact. He had some great stories to tell! Sammy is now a DJ and he played some rave in Jozi back in 1996 so he was interested to know what had become of our country. We chatted through some official opening ceremony as it was all in French, funny that.

Then it was off to the Ubu club where we saw three bands. The club is shaped like an ear, imagine that! The first was a French singer songwriter named Peter Winslow, who had recently got himself a band, apparently it was there second gig, very impressive if true. They were tight man, a really good pop band with touches of Americana and rock n roll thrown into the mix.

Second was the old Indian Crooner that I mentioned yesterday. What a revalation! Slow Joe was like an Indian version of Leonhard Cohen, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash rolled into one. While his band, four French guys,  veered between the sound of The Doors and The Yardbirds. This was the real deal and I loved every second of it. Quite a racket, the surprise package, smokin hot! Slow Joe telling stories about being down and out in Bombay while the drums, guitar, bass and organ do battle royale.

The last band was called Transformer and they are from Brighton. Disco Punk along the lines of the first Radio 4 album, when James Murphey was at the helm. Also reminded me of that American band !!!, pronounced CHK CHK CHK. While they were great to dance to after an evening of beer and red wine, they really didnt own the sound until the last quarter of the gig, when they seemed to take things up a notch!

So Day 2 is about to begin, catch you later down the trail!       

Pic: Osni

Post punk is alive and well in Rennes, France. Flew in from Johannesburg last night, my connecting flight touched down in Rennes just after ten this morning. I am typing this with a french keyboard so forgive the errors! So checked into the hotel and then off to interview Jean Louis the programme director. This is his baby, if he doesnt like your stuff you aint playing here. Really great guy, gave me some tips on where to go to find vinyl in this town. Then we headed across the road to catch the first band of the festival. A tiny dark little venue, perfect for some gritty rock n roll. Billed as the Jesus and mary chain meets the Velvet Underground in the programme, I knew better. I walked in during their second song, sounds good. A tall waif like keyboard player who jams the theramin too, an intense looking singer and a female bassist, with a very short dress and crazy blonde hair. There sound reminiscent of early Go-Betweens with a slight touch of the Mary Chain, but definitely no VU. On the whole a good opening act and their manager gave me a CD and 7 inch to take home.

When the band finishes the PA system starts playing early Sonic Youth. I could learn to love this place. Jean Louis drags me off to meet some label owners and promoters, everyone is rad, handing me CDs and info packs on their bands. The independent scene here is super organised, super professional and they have great album design. It also seems like the festival programme is just the tip of the iceberg here, there are a whole host of gigs all over town arranged around the festival.

The next two bands are less impressive, the first called The bird is yellow are a post punk band that sounds like The Rapture trying to sound like P.I.L, Gang of Four and The Fall. The second, Misty Socks, billed as Pixies and Breeders influenced is just that, but they fail to transend it and make it their own. Cant help feeling that a line-up of Sticky Antlers, Kidofdoom and The Buckfever Underground would smoke these guys, but hey the BLK JKS are representing on Saturday night. Been handing out Pavement Specials to the influential people I meet, including Jean Louis. How rad would it be if we can get some more Pavement Special bands here next year. 

I then have a beer with an American guy who is touring France as his one man band, Shake it like a Caveman, cool guy and we chat about Malian Desrt Blues. I also chat to his mate who runs a record label here in Rennes and also has a record store that sells vinyl. Got to swing by there later in the week. As for tonight well there is some old Indian guy, apparently he used to be a junkie, who is now a crooner and he is collaborating with some French guys, should be interesting. Looks like I have overstayed my welcome here at the internet desk, so goodbye for now, will be back to update later, looks like it will be an interesting few days here in Rennes, to the bar batman!  

The space where hard rock and folk music meet is not a very populated canon of music. Sure, the Byrds and Bob Dylan may have invented the folk-rock genre in the mid-Sixties, which Pentangle and Fairport Convention ran with into the late Sixties, but how many bands have you heard mixing crunching riffs and delicate folk-guitar noodling? Well, two bands in 2009 have in different ways attempted this crossover sound and managed to create quite spectacular albums while doing so. Both hail from the United States, the Akron/Family from New York City and the Decemberists from Portland, Oregon. There is, however, one fundamental difference to their approach to the "hard folk rock" genre. Akron/Family on their new album Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free lean more towards psychedelic-tinged folk, while the Decemberists new album The Hazards of Love takes its inspiration from the more pastoral British folk.

Spawned from New York's freak-folk movement, Akron/Family are a wild and woolly bunch, whose sonic experimentation is hardly ever reigned in. In late 2007 original member Ryan Vanderhood left the band to live in a Buddhist Dharma centre in the American Midwest, throwing the band into turmoil as they began to figure out life as a three-piece. Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free would follow as a result of these changes -- a newly configured sound for a newly configured band. Its artwork more than subtly references Sly & the Family Stone's 1971 funk classic There's a Riot Goin' On, with the tie-dyed American flag hinting towards the band's psychedelic influences. While there are elements of funk to be found on Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, especially on the bombastic opening track Everyone is Guilty, most of the album tends towards psychedelic folk with hard rocking riffs thrown into the mix. The most aggressive of all the new songs would be MBF, taking its Sonic Youth-esque guitar distortion into the jam-band arena, accompanied by blood-curdling screams. However, before you can blink an eye Akron/Family are working their way through a delicate folk song such as The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen, a gentle meandering acoustic gem. There are also some strong African influences on the album, such as the rhythm guitar on album highlight River, and in the guitar and percussion work during the intro of They Will Appear, which sounds as if it could have been recorded in West Africa. However, soon enough the track has exploded into an aggressive swirling freak-out of sound that most would battle to define. A band this good reminds me of that classic Hunter S Thompson line, "Too weird to live, too rare to die". They bring the album to a close with the emotionally charged piano number Last Year. With repeated lyrics, "Last year was a hard year for such a long time/this year is gonna be ours", its easy to interpret this album closer as a summation of the band's new positioning as a three-piece, although it could quite as easily be a statement on the US's transition from a Bush presidency to an Obama presidency, which would tie in with the stars and stripes artwork.

The Decemberists on the other hand are way more classic in their approach with their new album inspired by the work of Sixties folk singer Anne Briggs, whose EP The Hazards of Love gave it its name. In a recent interview with Paste magazine lead-singer and chief songwriter Colin Meloy explained how he had bought a rare vinyl copy of the Briggs EP and, being so inspired by it, he attempted to write a title track for the album because Briggs had not. The resultant rock opera that poured from Meloy's inspiration is a rousing affair, which is raging rock'n'roll one minute and intricate folk melodies the next -- a concept album that traces the doomed love affair between a woman named Margaret and a shape-shifting forest dweller named William. Joining the tale in The Hazards Of Love is a great supporting cast of a jealous forest queen and a villain named Rake, who has murdered his three children. Great storyline aside, Meloy and company's music is something to truly behold. A Bower Scene sees The Decemberists fronting all Nirvana-esque with a Smells Like Teen Spirit guitar lick and some heavy slabs of guitar worthy of Black Sabbath, while Won't Wait for Love sees Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark with soaring vocals over an upbeat almost White Stripes-esque rocker. But it's not all primordial guitar histrionics. Isn't It A Lovely Night is a corker of a folk song, featuring acoustic guitar, lap-steel and accordion backing for Stark and Meloy's beautiful duet. Soon enough, however, the album is back to the crunching riffs, especially on The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing, where My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden produces some spirited vocals for this rugged guitar monster. Ultimately you are going to love or hate this album, but if you tend towards the former a treat is in store for you.

LONG LIVE HARD FOLK ROCK!!!!!

Like a hazy distorted message from a distant planet, the voice of Giovanni Orecchia singing When I Fall In Love is the first thing that greets you. The second is his son João Orecchia twisting and tweaking, updating this 1960s recording for 2009's digital age. Orecchia received his father's recordings only after his death and used them to book-end his new album Hands & Feet. Born to an Italian father and a Peruvian mother in New York City, Orecchia has been living in South Africa for five years now. "My father immigrated to New York in his mid-20s, dreaming of becoming a singer," says Orecchia. "One of his prized possessions was a photo of him as a young man singing with Bing Crosby in the streets of Rome, his home town."

Hands & Feet, Orecchia's first album produced in Africa, is a sonic wonderland littered with layers of looped instruments and phat grooves. "The title Hands & Feet refers to a kind of simplicity that I find nearly impossible to explain in words," says Orecchia. "Like the simplicity of starting over from nothing and trying to build something up. Ageing, the death of a parent, identity, nationality; when things central to the way you define yourself change, you feel stripped in a way, almost like you have to reapply your skin layer by layer."

Sonically that is exactly what Orecchia has done -- built an aural masterpiece layer by layer, using the skills and talent of some of South Africa's finest musicians. Spoek Mathambo helps out on album highlight Play Pretend, fronting some mellower, more soulful vocals than he is known for, bringing the disco romp home in style. Also key to Hands & Feet's groove is the fact that BLK JKS drummer Tshepang Ramoba and rhythm guitarist Mpumi Mcata feature on a handful of the album tracks, and Swiss artist Mario Marchisella, who has been in South Africa for the past month for a residency, also features on drums. Other guests include bassist Carlo Mombelli and trombonist Siya Makazeni, who both ply their trade with the Prisoners of Strange.

Gold to Green, which features Orecchia on vocals, comes on all Peter Gabriel-meets-Berlin-era-Bowie, before it gets down and dirty with some African-inspired rhythms. Beginnings, which kicks off with some bell sounds, soon builds to an epic post-rock conclusion, a cacophony of sound with some jazz inflections peering through the haze. We Don't Know is a stomping dance tune that is all motorik groove, which then breaks down into a banjo-led mid-section, before funking it all back up again.

Orecchia, who toyed with the idea of having the album released on a local label, says he just couldn't find the right fit and ended up in discussions with Other Electricities. Orecchia sees this album as a new chapter in his career and believes the experience of living in South Africa has deeply affected his music. In his opinion the beat-laden nature of the album belies his art roots. By the time the album bids goodnight with Giovanni Orecchia crooning Arrivederci Roma, you are likely to feel as though you have been on a epic journey. Electronica this good should be illegal.

Fans looking for a unique African sound should track down this album. Mamane Barka, whose initial musical focus was the gurumi -- the two-stringed, skinny-necked relative of the banjo -- can now claim to be the only working musician in the world to master the biram. The biram looks like a small canoe, with hide stretched over the top and five strings attached to its centre. In 2002 Barka headed off to Chad to learn the art of the biram from the only remaining biram expert, Boukar Tar. Tar has since passed away, leaving Barka alone to continue with this instrument's tradition. On Introducing Bakar is joined by percussionist Oumarou Adamou, who at times overshadows Barka's gentle string work. But when the two hit their strides, they are unstoppable and fans of Mali's Tinariwen and Afel Bocoum should lap it up. The album's highlight has to be Kiota, with its gentle electric guitar atmospherics, but the whole album is enchanting. Gentle West African desert blues for the listener looking for new flavours.

So Jeff Tweedy kicked his drug-and booze-fuelled lifestyle to the kerb a few years back and many suggested he had lost his mojo when he released Sky Blue Sky in 2007, an album that had more in common with the Eagles and Paul McCartney's Wings than his country roots. Now he is back with a self-titled album and, considering that this is the band's seventh studio album, the fact that it is self-titled is rather significant. For once Tweedy sounds comfortable in his own skin, as though he has accepted his lot in life and is ready to explore his band's future on new terms. Opener Wilco (the song) is a gentle rocker, somewhere between the Rolling Stones and Stephen Malkmus, which sees Tweedy, rather sentimentally, declaring his love for his fans. Other highlights include the motorik Bull Black Nova, which harks back to A Ghost is Born-era Wilco, and You Never Know, a pop song reminiscent of George Harrison'’s best work. But the truly great thing about Wilco (The Album) is that it is solid from start to finish, one of those albums that keeps on giving, like a good friend. Scratch that, a great friend.

Spanish singer Buika's new album is a tribute to the great Mexican chanteuse Chavela Vargas, recorded in Cuba with pianist Chucho Valdés. Buika, who was born to parents from Equatorial Guinea, grew up in Mallorca among Gypsies who taught her the traditional flamenco. Her decision to pay tribute to Vargas is an inspired one, resulting in a rich, nuanced album that blends flamenco, jazz, rumba and soul effortlessly. Buika doesn't try to copy the grand old lady of Latin America's singing style -- rather she imbues songs with her own flair, much to the delight of film director Pedro Almódavar, who contributes liner notes for the album. Almódavar is a declared fan of both women's work, having featured them in his films over the years. If you're looking for a romantic album to woo the object of your affections, this album is guaranteed to be your wingman or woman.

Kidofdoom are an incredibly strange band. But it is their oddness that makes them endearing and their music addictive. That they managed to sell their jazzy space rock to the indie disco-kid masses makes them an anomaly of the South African rock scene that can't be ignored: a rock drummer who is an avid electro enthusiast, a jazz student on keyboard and guitar, an unassuming bassist who is the centrepiece of the band when he plays live and a prog-obsessed guitarist who inherited the grand ideas of the concept album from the likes of Genesis and Pink Floyd. On paper you'd expect it to be a stretch too far, yet one listen to kidofdoom's second album, My Faith in War (Independent), and you will see how they pull it off with style.

Having sprung up from the streets of Pretoria in 2006, kidofdoom initially garnered a loyal following by playing live at parties organised by disco-punk scenesters in Pretoria and Jo'burg. Although the band share influences with the scene that spawned them, it was clear from early on that there was more to kidofdoom. Pink Floyd was an obvious touchstone, but the band's love of progressive rock went well beyond its most famous exponent.

Although their self-titled debut album hinted at their potential, many felt that it was too clean and failed to capture the band's live sound. No such criticism can be laid upon My Faith in War. It is majestic in its sweep, drifting from subtle prog-rock pieces (Land of the Blind) to thumping space-rock crescendos (Sweet Brother), with hints of jazz and electro thrown into the mix. Fans will recognise Sociallight and Gotham City, which the band unleashed at the end of last year as a Christmas gift to their fans. Although these two tracks are among the best on the album, hearing them within the context of the greater album brings them to life in a whole new way. And I suppose that's the point. This album is not just a collection of songs for indie kids to cut loose to on the dance floor, it's a mature, finely crafted album that requires your full attention. So get a copy, get in your car, wind down the windows and hit the open road. You may never come back. Ground control to Major Tom.

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Using music to increase peace and tolerance in the world may seem a fanciful ambition that should have died out with the hippies. But a 15-minute conversation with Playing for Change’s Mark Johnson will remind you that this spirit is still alive and well in 2009. “Peace is essentially a state of mind,” says Johnson, whose argument is that if music can inspire individuals to reach inner peace, they will care more about the world they live in and the people around them. Johnson’s project is a labour of love that has seen a small team traversing the globe to record and film musicians playing outdoors. These recordings have then been used to create global collaborations, recording famous songs by Bob Marley, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and Sam Cooke with messages of peace, love and tolerance. The result is street musicians such as Roger Ridley from California and Grandpa Elliott from New Orleans, with their rousing rendition of Ben E King’s Stand by Me, backed by a Louisiana washboard player, a New Mexican drum circle, a Russian cellist, an Italian guitarist, a Congolese drummer and a double bassist from Cape Town’s Gugulethu township.

Johnson says the project was initially inspired by a chance encounter with two monks playing music in a New York subway.“I was working as a recording engineer in New York City at the Hit Factory about 10 years ago and I was on my way to work when I saw two monks in the subway station, painted all in white,” says Johnson. “One of them was playing a nylon-string guitar and the other was singing and I saw 200 people stop and watch these guys -- they weren’t getting on the train. “Some people were crying, others where smiling and laughing, and it occurred to me that the best music I had ever heard had occurred on the way to the studio, not in the studio,” says Johnson. “That’s when I realised that I wanted to build a mobile recording studio and travel the world, finding great musicians and connecting them through music.”

 “We went to 15 countries on five continents, but one of the most memorable moments happened in South Africa in Soweto,” says Johnson. “I was recording musicians on the street and there were two guys watching us, so I walked up to them and handed them my iPod Video. “They looked at me funny, but they watched the video and then gave it back,” he says. “Later my friend came over to me and said those guys are gangsters -- normally they would have robbed you and taken your iPod, but when they saw what you were doing they said to tell you that they have got your back while you are here.” Playing for Change features many South African musicians, including Vusi Mahlasela, who does a beautiful duet of Bob Marley’s One Love with Congolese vocalist Mermans Kenkosenki. “I was a big fan of Mahlasela after seeing the film Amandla,” says Johnson. Mahlasela introduced Johnson to poet Lesego Rampolokeng, who in turn introduced him to Zimbabwean guitar legend Louis Mhlanga.

Johnson has set up a foundation that is building music schools around the world, with the first one built in Gugulethu. “As we were travelling the world, people were welcoming us, inviting us into their homes, feeding us, and so we wanted to give back. That is why we started the Playing for Change foundation and we built the first school in Gugulethu,” says Johnson. “We are now working on more schools in Ghana, Mali, Nepal and New Orleans, and the idea is to put recording equipment and cameras into the schools, so you can log in on the internet and watch concerts and interviews with the kids.” I ask Johnson what message he wants people to take away from his project and his response is simple. “We live in a world that creates difference and so we need to create our own connections,” he says. Through the success of the project, more than 30-million people have watched a music video of Stand by Me on YouTube.

The Playing for Change: Songs around the World CD and DVD set is available in stores. Look out for the feature-length documentary to be released later this year

As the guitarist for Robert Plant’s band, Strange Sensation, and a producer for Tuareg desert rock outfit Tinariwen, Justin Adams has been busy. But with Plant running off to record duets with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and Tinariwen forgoing Adams’s layered rock production for their new back-to-roots album, Imidiwan, Adams has thrown himself into a new project with Gambian musician Juldeh Camara, a master of the one-stringed fiddle called the ritti. The two have been playing together for two years now and the chemistry is evident on their cracking new album, Tell No Lies. The effortless way the album blends the sounds of the Sahel, as heard in the work of Malian bluesmen Ali Farka Touré and Afel Bocoum, with the raw rock influences of blues greats such as Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley and punk rock legends The Clash is an absolute delight. Purists may snub their noses at this hybrid sound, but inquisitive fans of gritty rock ’n roll should lap it up. If Chess Records had been founded in West Africa, this is what its output would have sounded like