Timbuktu calling

Mali and West Africa dominate the Transglobal World Music Chart for May 2025, with the "desert blues" rockers Songhoy Blues leading the way in top spot with their new album Héritage.

Songhoy hail from Timbuktu but were forced to relocate to Mali's capital Bamako during recent civil conflict. They formed the band in 2012, releasing to great acclaim Music In Exile (2015), Resistance (2017) and Optimisme (2020). Wonderfruit Festival fans might remember their brilliant show there in 2017.

The band's repertoire, based around the rhythmically ebullient northern Mali guitar sound, immediately attracted the attention of locals and Toureg musicians who recognised the rootsy driving guitar sound of bands like Tinariwen. This tradition also includes much of the repertoire of the late Ali Farka Toure and further back to Zani Diabate and the Super Djata Band.

The new album sees the band in a more introspective mood, with many of the tracks more acoustic and unplugged than previous albums. The guitar pyrotechnics have gone, replaced by subtle calabash percussion, tight vocal harmonies and some neat slide guitar.

Highlights include several covers from the 1970s era of great West African dance bands such as Toukambela. There are also Songhai songs like the beautiful Norou (Money) and surpises like the foot-tapping senufo balafon (xylophone from Southern Mali) on Dagabi. Even though the band has gone acoustic, their song lyrics continue to discuss social issues, and they urge people to seek peace and kindness. Highly recommended.

In second and third places on the chart, Trio Da Kali with Bagola and Kankou Kouyate with N'Darila both have compelling albums out. The musicians of both bands are traditional djelis or griots -- heridary praise musicians. I particularly liked Kankou Kouyate's powerful voice. Both albums are well worth checking out.

Here are some of the other highlights in the Top 20. One album that stands out is Abda by Aita Mon Amour. Aita are a Moroccan duo -- singer Widad Mjama and electronic musician Khalil EPI -- who have taken the traditional genre of Aita, performed by a rural ethnic group, the Cheikhats. The songs reflect the hardships of daily life, as well as perennial themes of love and beauty.

Another album that features haunting singing is the tranquil, calming sound of Savina Yannatou, a veteran traditional singer from Greece, on her album Watersong. This album would pair nicely with one of the few Asian artists on the chart, Korean "sound sculptor" Park Jiha, whose ambient sounds also calm and soothe (important in the stressful days we currently live in) on Korean Soundscapes.

Finally, a real gem. Alsarah (Sarah Mohamed Abunama-Eigadi) was born in Sudan but due to civil conflict, she and her family left and eventually made their way to the USA, where she began to perform with her own group, The Nubatones, and studied to become an ethnomusicologist. Her music reflects her Nubian roots and her music explores such themes as migration and the cultural transfusion that brings. The band's third studio album surprises as it maintains its Sudanese/Nubian rhythms but with touches of US R&B. Keep an eye on this group, they are going to go on to greater heights. This new album is a good starting place.

Plenty of great music here to get you through the "rainy season blues". Some readers have asked where to find this music when it isn't available on the usual sites -- try Bandcamp, it has many indie and local bands on its pages.

John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.