Folk & Traditional / Griot

The Brussels-based collective re#encounter will release its debut album, Angels and Demons at Play, on September 18, 2026, via W.E.R.F. records. With gnawa grooves, cumbia, griot storytelling, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and ecstatic jazz improvisations, the nine-piece ensemble crafts a distinctive, spiritual, and above all, danceable jazz idiom. At the heart of the album lies trance. Hicham Bilali's gnawa, Kaito Winse's relentless energy, Paula León's cumbia roots, and the spellbinding jazz improvi…

Remastered vinyl reissue of this 1990 Bill Laswell / Richard Horowitz production of local Gnawa musicians, recorded in the Medina of Marrakesh. According to Allmusic.com "a must for fans of both African and Middle Eastern music” and voted one of the "10 essential Gnawa albums” by Songlines. The Gnawa are an ethnic minorityin today’s Morocco, descendents of slaves from West Africa who were brought to Morocco in the 16th century and who (although they quickly converted to Islam) nevertheless broug…

The faultless Analog Africa presents another superb reissue project here, this time looking to two rare 1980s gems by Ousmane Kouyate, a master guitarist and heir to the Griot tradition. He was a key figure in Les Ambassadeurs alongside Mory Kante and Salif Keita and helped shape modern Mandingue music with his electrifying take on the genre. The tracks presented here, 'Kefimba' and 'N'Ny' were originally released on cassette and later vinyl but are hard to find. They showcase his funk-infused s…

**New vinyl reissue remastered from the original 1970s master tapes, packaged in classic Folkways-style tip-on jackets with original liner notes.** The hypnotic, delicate sound of the kora, the harp-like instrument strung on a halved gourd, has been a trademark of West African music for centuries. Gambian Griot Kora Duets (1979), featuring the master player Alhaji Bai Konte and his equally influential son Dembo Konte and Ma Lamini Jobate, is a remarkable recording that documents an evolution in …