afrobeat
Live Gallery: Burna Boy Brings No Sign of Weakness Tour to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena 18.10.2025
At Qudos Bank Arena, Burna Boy turns his No Sign of Weakness tour into something more than a show — a seamless blend of rhythm, movement, and connection that transforms the arena into a single, beating pulse.
Album Review: Madalitso Band-‘Ma Gitala’: More pulsating, street band afrobeat from the unstoppable Malawian duo.
Obviously no-one has told the irrepressible Madalitso Band about the third album wobble. The Malawian roots duo, Yosefe Kalekeni and Yobu Maligwa, are a partnership who take everything in their stride, including their steep rise from years spent busking on the Lilongwe streets to delivering knock-out sets at recent Roskilde and WOMAD fests. Supported by …
Album Review: Jupiter & Okwess –‘Ekoya’: The Irrepressible Congolese band deliver a scorching return.
Formed in 1990 by Jupiter Bokondji from within the buzzing Congolese street music scene, Jupiter & Okwess have always been an irrepressible band. From early success across Africa to serious derailment by five years of ravaging civil war, then a breakthrough feature in the ‘Jupiter Rising’ documentary on Kinshasa lo-fi, Jupiter & Okwess have always …
Track: Femi Kuti returns with the driving Afrobeat and political comment of ‘After 24 years’.
Femi Kuti’s latest single, ‘After 24 Years’, is a brass-heavy, bouncing bundle of Afro-joy. Spidery guitars and repeating keyboard figures intertwine with propulsive drums, creating an infectious rhythm. Kuti’s vocals pull no punches, delivering a searing critique of political failure in Nigeria, while gorgeous vocal harmonies brighten the track further. The song underscores Femi’s enduring …
Track/Video : Jupiter & Okwess, Congolese fusion funksters, preview new album with the sizzling ‘Congo Blinders’.
They may be veterans of the tight Congolese street music scene but Jupiter & Okwess have always thrived on going beyond these roots. Formed by Jupiter Bokondji in 1990 the band’s popularity spread when they climbed aboard Damon Albarn’s African Express adventure in 2012. Support slots with Blur, recording on Albarn’s ‘Kinshasa One Two’ album …
Album Review: Àbáse –‘Awakening’: Stunning spiritual jazz and beyond from the prolific producer/instrumentalist.
It doesn’t seem that long since Hungarian keyboarding producer whizz Szabolcs Bognár was premiering his ambitious Àbáse project with the extensive, celebratory ‘Laroyê’. Released at the end of 2021, it was assembled from jams recorded in collaborators’ lounges and apartments during a lengthy musical sabbatical in Brazil. Stoked with Bognár’s unflappable positivity, ‘Laroyê’ somehow came …
Album Review: TC & The Groove Family – ‘We Have Each Other’ : UK Nu-jazz collective forge ahead with a powerful, passionate EP.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from TC & The Groove Family but you can’t keep a good collective down. Led by drummer Tim Cook (TC) and based around players who originally crossed paths in Leeds, the band’s 2022 debut ‘First Home’ (reviewed in BSM HERE ) made a sizeable dent in the listening …
Track/Video: Groove conscious, Ethio-jazz fusionists Sandman Project step forward to announce debut album ‘Where Did You Go?’
Tel Aviv based, global grooving combo Sandman Project are spot-on calling their new album (due June 7th via the irrepressible Batov Records) ‘Where Did You Go?’ It’s been six years since they whipped up the outer-national dance floors and airwaves with their ethio-jazz meets Habibi funk mega-EP ‘Royal Family’. DJ Kobayashi, Gideon Coe, Laurent Garnier …
Track/Video: Producer/composer Àbáse previews his re-energised new album ‘Awakening’ with the elevating afro-funk of ‘Menidaso (My Hope)’.
Hungarian keyboardist and producer Szabolcs Bognár aka Àbáse has been on the ‘one to watch’ list for a while now. A cornerstone in the Budapest nu-jazz/ afro-beat scene as a band leader, his first solo album, ‘Laroyê‘ in 2021 turned muso heads in his direction with its seamless weave of soulful beats, West African vibes …
Track/Video: Jazz/afrobeat fusionists TC & The Groove Family announce new EP with the dynamic ‘Stand Strong’.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from TC & The Groove Family but you can’t keep a good collective down. Led by drummer Tim Cook (TC) and based around players who originally crossed paths in Leeds, the band’s 2022 debut ‘First Home’ (reviewed in BSM HERE) made a sizeable dent in the listening schedules. …