WTJU Best of 2018: Steve Kindig (World)
By Folk Department
Steve Kindig co-hosts Beyond Borders, heard Wednesday afternoon from 12-2 (eastern).
ARTIST/ALBUM/LABEL
Fatoumata Diawara/Fenfo/Shanachie
Absolutely my favorite world music release of the year. Mali’s Fatoumata Diawara has crafted an album of original songs that manages to sound both traditional and contemporary, with just the right amount of pop polish. The sound quality is spectacular! Friends who aren’t even into world music have been wowed when I played this CD.
Orquesta Akokan/Orquesta Akokan/Daptone
Recorded in Havana’s legendary Arieto Studio, this album is an energetic tribute to Cuba’s dance orchestras of the 1940s and 50s, featuring some of the island’s best musicians, young and old. Love those horns!
Vaudou Game/Otodi/Hot Casa
Straight outta Togo comes one of the best funk records of the year, African or otherwise.
Amira Kheir/Mystic Dance/Sterns
Sudan’s Amira Kheir is one of my favorite female African singers. Her previous CDs had a more acoustic, jazzy vibe. This latest one leans more towards electric pop/rock, but her amazing voice is just as mesmerizing.
Dur-Dur Band/Dur Dur of Somalia/Volume 1, Volume 2/Analog Africa
Formed in the 1980s in Mogadishu, the Dur-Dur Band created an intoxicating fusion of traditional Somalian music mixed with funk and disco.
Bixiga 70/Quebra Cabeca/Glitterbeat
This 10-piece band from Sao Paulo, Brazil has created its most complex album of progressive Afrobeat yet, with tunes that venture off in unexpected directions, but never lose the groove.
Simon Winse/Dangada/Gigantonium
Multi-instrumentalist Simon Winse hails from Burkina Faso. He’s an expressive singer, and his debut CD features an intriguing mix of tempos and textures.
