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2009

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V/A - Putumayo Presents African Reggae

This album of spiritually-uplifting African reggae is a fitting way to mark Bob Marley’s 64th birthday.

V/A - Putumayo Presents African Reggae

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The great man will surely have applauded the admirable diversion of some proceeds to HIV/aids causes, and the way 1970s Jamaican roots-reggae is infused so naturally into these artists’ music.

The excellent ‘Congo Natty’ by Burkino Faso’s Bingui Jaa Jammy marries sweet tones with a hard edged roots consciousness a la Burning Spear; Ghanaian Kwame Bediako has the smoky vocal of a Joseph Hill (of Culture) backed by more gorgeous female harmonies; and Zoro from South Africa is one of a handful of Marleyesque vocal imitators.

The upbeat, soft reggae vibe of Tiken Jah Fakoly acts as an influence throughout this collection and the wider continent too (Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria are also represented, many now Europe-based) and turns up as guest on Guinean electro-kora band Ba Cissoko’s ‘On Veut Se Marier’.

There are traces of a more modern sound here and there, but this is very much a selection based on those artists that hark back to the days when horns blended with hard lyrics and mellifluous backing singers to produce appealing roots reggae and soulful lovers’ rock. Undemanding fare, maybe, but consistently catchy too.



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