If you’re already collecting candidates for your personal Best of 2021, be sure to check out the new album from the one and only Urban Village.

Africa

If it wasn’t the lockdown, we could have never heard of the new collaboration between Ukrainian band Tik Tu and a Malawian duo Madalitso. What a boring summer that could be! The story goes like this.

An ambassador of Tuareg music, Saharan singer-songwriter Mdou Moctar is back with a new LP called “Ilana”, or “The Creator”.

She’s got “uncles in Belgium, in Ghana and France,”, and “aunties in London, Berlin and Japan,” and brothers and sisters down in Amsterdam”. Listeners? Hopefully worldwide.

Behold the goddess – experience a delightful journey, listening to Nonku Phiri’s new single “Sîfó,” an ode to grief.