Back Catalogue

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Live 8 at Eden Africa calling

CD 

£11.99

An extraordinary line-up featuring some of the biggest names in African music.

1. Set (Africa Calling Mix) - Youssou N'dour Et Le Super Étoile De Dakar
2. Beyeza (Africa Calling Mix)
3. Agolo (Africa Calling Mix) - Angelique Kidjo
4. Barco Negro (Africa Calling Mix) - Mariza
5. Louanges (Africa Calling Mix) - Akim El Sikameya
6. Amassakoul (Africa Calling Mix) - Tinariwen
7. Lumbul (Africa Calling Mix) - Modou Diouf And O Fogum
8. Kuvarira Mukati (Africa Calling Mix) - Thomas Mapfumo And The Blacks Unlimited
9. Lapwony (Africa Calling Mix) - Geoffrey Oryema
10. Mbani (Africa Calling Mix) - Siyaya
11. Lei Lie (Africa Calling Mix) - Maryam Mursal
12. Billi (Africa Calling Mix) - Kanda Bongo Man
13. Gua (Africa Calling Mix) - Emmanuel Jal
14. Na Menguele (Africa Calling Mix) - Coco Mbassi
15. Changamire (Africa Calling Mix) - Chartwell Dutiro
16. Lori Swela (Africa Calling Mix) - Ayub Ogada And Uno
17. Exodus (Africa Calling Mix) - Daara J
18. New Africa (Africa Calling Mix) - Youssou N'dour Et Le Super Étoile De Dakar

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Ali Farka Toure
Savane

CD 

£12.99

His latest and greatest which unfortunately turned out to be his last.

A mesmerising masterpiece.

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Anne Briggs
The Time Has Come

CD 

£6.99

The long awaited CD release of one of the UK's most legendary folk singers' classic 1971 album. Essential listening for any afficionado of folk and roots music.

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Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Segu Blue

CD 

£11.99

'SEGU BLUE' is the first solo album by Malian ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate. Bassekou is one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, and he has collaborated with many musicians in and outside of Mali including Toumani Diabate and Ali Farka Toure.
He was also recently featured in an extensive piece in The Independent which documented Damon Albarn's trip to Mali. The album features guest musicians Kasse Mady Diabate, Lobi Traore, Lassana Diabate, and singers Zoumana Tereta and Ami Sacko.

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Bellowhead
Burlesque

CD 

£11.99

Debut full-length album fom Britain's hottest new folk outfit, fresh from their success on the summer festival circuit. The infamous Oxford duo of Jon Boden (fiddle, lead vocals) and Jon Spiers (melodeon) are the core of Bellowhead and are responsible for all the arrangements, as well as penning the only original tunes here which make up the bulk of the instrumental medley Sloe Gin - one of three featured on the album.

Elsewhere, Boden sings traditional salty tunes in his trademark angular manner, backed by horns, jaunty percussion, guitar, banjo and the inevitable bagpipe. Hints of reggae and classical rear their heads occasionally.

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Christy Moore
Live in Dublin 2006

CD x2 

£12.99

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Emma Black
Where Dark Horses Roam

CD 

£7.99

"Where Dark Horses Roam" is the debut album from Manchester based singer/songwriter Emma Black...  passionate songs about love, life and survival. With her gorgeous voice and accomplished guitar playing, Emma Black regularly performs around the Uk and Europe.

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Fela Kuti
Music is the Weapon

CD x3 

£13.99

Great three disc set of the legendary Nigerian superstar, including 2 CDs of this greatest tracks and a 53 minute DVD documentary shot in Lagos in 1982.

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Julie Fowlis
Cuilidh

CD 

£12.99

Julie's beautiful voice, coupled with an all-star crew - including Eamon Doorley (Danu), John McCusker (Kate Rusby), Chris Thile (Nickel Creek), Mark Kelly (Altan), John Doyle (Solas) and Donald Shaw (Capercaillie) - all combine to create a spellbinding selection of traditional material gathered by Julie from the tradition-bearers of her homeland. Cuilidh promises to push Julie, and the Gaelic culture she represents, way beyond the wild shores of the Outer Hebrides.

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Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara
soul science

CD 

£11.99

SIMPLY ESSENTIAL..

RADIO 3 WINNER OF THE WORLD MUSIC  "CROSS CULTURE " AWARDS

"EXCEPTIONAL "  songlines 

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Konono No1
Congotronics

CD 

£14.99

A traditional African folk ensemble discovers amplification and distortion, creating beautiful lo-fi noise coupled with addictive rhythms and call-and-response vocals. Konono No 1 are a street band from Kinshasa who make trance-inducing, dance music with amped up likembes and an array of African percussion. Their long, mesmerizing compositions, rough in sound but sophisticated in rhythm and melody make a refreshing change from the polished dinner-party world music that has become so ubiquitous of late. Using microphones carved out of wood, Konono No1 are the living proof that you can make breathtaking music with the most basic of tools.

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Kris Drever
Black Water

CD 

£8.99

Produced by John McCusker at Pure Studios and featuring contributions from Kate Rusby, Andy Cutting, Eddi Reader, Roddy Woomble, Andy Seward and Donald Shaw. They add colour to the album, but Kris' voice and guitar are always the main focus on one of the folk albums of the year.

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Lau
Lightweights and Gentlemen

CD 

£7.99

Debut album from this unique jazz-folk trio featuring acclaimed singer-songwriter Kris Drever

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les Amazones de Guinee
wamato

CD 

£12.99

Songlines magazine, March 2008 (#50)
The British army has given us the Band of the Coldstream Guards and James Blunt. The military of Guinea has given us Les Amazones. Although we could probably crush their defence forces in an armed conflict, in any battle of the bands the tiny West African militia would simply annihilate us. Les Amazones first formed as the Orchestre Féminin de la Gendarmerie Nationale in the early 60s from serving officers and soldiers. They recorded their last album in 1982 but have now reformed. Over the years they've lost a few members but bass-player and chef d'orchestre, commandant Salématou Diallo, has rounded up the original survivors, recruited some new lieutenants and marched her 11-strong platoon from Conakry to Bamako's Bogolan Studio to record Wamato. It's a valorous album that storms our defences with life-affirming good vibes until we're conquered. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla (the only man in the camp), every weapon you'd expect to find in the armoury of a great West African dance record is here - infectious Mande rhythms, ringing electric guitars, riffing horns, soulful lead vocals, hypnotic call-and-response harmonies and a thrilling battery of percussion from capitaines Elisabeth Camara (tumba) and Mato Camara (timbales). There's no indication who's singing on which track, but it's either lieutenant M'Mah Sylla or possibly lieutenant Fatoumata N'Gady Keita who's hitting the high notes with the power and precision of an Exocet. And there are a number of other (all female) guest singers conscripted from civvy street to add vocal variety

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Lunasa
Se

CD 

£13.99

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Martin Simpson
Prodigal Son

CD 

£11.99

"Prodigal Son" is a collection of traditional and contemporary numbers, reflecting his live performances and showcasing his songwriting talents. It's a very personal album with two stand out tracks being a song about his father "Never Any Good" and a tune written on the death of his mother early in 2007, "She Slips Away". With an outstanding guest list on the album of Danny Thompson on double bass, Andy Cutting on melodeaon, Barry Philips on cello, Alistair Anderson on concertina and Northumbrian Pipes, plus vocal appearances by Jackson Browne, Kate Rusby and Kellie While, "Prodigal Son" is an ideal first choice for those who want to know what Martin Simpson's all about!

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Mary Black
25 yeats 25 songs best of

CD x2 

£15.99

To mark the 25th anniversary of Mary Black's first solo album Dara and 3U Records release this special compilation double album containing 25 songs spanning Mary's career and considered to be her most popular recordings. Some of the older tracks have been remixed and all have been fully remastered from the original albums. Mary also recorded two brand new songs specially for this project.

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Nic Jones
Game Set Match

CD 

£10.99

First release of a remarkable series of live performances from the late 1970s

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Nuru Kane
Sigil

CD 

£12.99

Nuru Kane was born and raised in Medina, Dakar, and his distinctive take on Senegalese music explores the connections between the music of North and West Africa - a musical journey across the Sahara. This album captures Nuru's range of influences, from his blues-led solo songs, reminiscent of Ali Farka Touré, through to the driving gnawa trance that forms the backbone of his pulsating live performances. Unhindered, unrestricted and full of musical surprises, Sigil's instrumentation is primarily acoustic, but the results are electric.

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Oysterband
Meet You There

CD 

£11.99

in the band's own words:

"Meet You There is the most consistent thing we've done as a grown-up band, It has what I like to think of as Oyster trademarks - a folk ear for a great vocal tune; strong lyrics; wry politics; and a sort of deep-down musicality that can afford to take itself fairly lightly. It's essentially acoustic, essentially folk-based I suppose. But we try to put it over with big dynamics and a sense of musical theatre."

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Rachel Unthank and the Winterset
The Bairnes

CD 

£10.99

beautiful collection of watery songs from this highly acclaimed young folk singer and her ensemble, including a fine cover of Robert Wyatt's classic "Sea Song"

Mojo Folk Album of the Month, August 2007
"..quite possibly the folk album of this generation" Rock'n'Reel
"Magnificently original soundscape... audacious, challenging and gripping" BBC Folk and Acoustic
"...utterly gorgeous" The Guardian »

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Sharon Shannon
galway girl the best of

CD 

£9.99

The 13 tracks on The Galway Girl: Best of Sharon Shannon album include a selection of classic Sharon Shannon favourites along with both versions of her hit single, The Galway Girl--the original version featuring Steve Earle and a newly-recorded studio version with Mundy. Special guests featured on the album include Damien Dempsey, Dessie O'Halloran, Kirsty MacColl, Michael McGoldrick, Jackson Browne and Mike Scott of The Waterboys. The title track was written by Steve Earle and he recorded it with Shannon in 1999 for her hugely successful Diamond Mountain Sessions album. The song has been gaining in popularity ever since--it won the most downloaded single for 2007 at the Irish Meteor Awards.

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Sharon Shannon
Live at Dolans

CD 

£12.99

Recorded live at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick this double CD include classic Sharon Shannon tracks as well as a cast of established Irish artists performing their own songs as well as covers.

Included on this incredible guest list are Damien Dempsey, Declan O'Rourke, Dessie O'Halloran, Jon Kenny, Mundy and Roesy and introducing Jack Maher and The Brennan Sisters.

The band are Robbie Casserly, Paul Moore, James Delaney, Jim Murray, Jack Maher, Richie Buckley. This show which runs for over two hours not only reinforces Sharon talent as a top Irish star but also showcases her ability as a producer and arranger

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Solas
Reunion

CD x2 

£15.99

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Tim van Eyken
Stiffs Lovers Holymen Thieves

CD 

£12.99

Strikingly natural, beautifully recorded and sparingly presented, an album full of thought, variety and surprises" fROOTS

"a clarion call for tradition...... a triumph"  Neil Spencer  The Observer

And so say all of us !

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Tinariwen
Aman Iman: Water is Life

CD 

£12.99

Originally formed from a group of exiled Touaregs from Mali, Tinarwien came together in Algeria. Their third and latest album continues to blend Western instrumentation with traditional Malian and Moroccan styles in an exciting and electric fusion. Highly recommended. Destined to be one of the albums of 2007 !

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Toumani Diabate
Boulevard de L'Independance

CD 

£13.99

CD+DVD

Toumani Diabaté is one of the great figures in African music. This super-charged, traditional meets modern dance-band album unites the two sides of his remarkable musical personality - the virtuosic traditionalist and the restless innovator. Recorded in a series of all night sessions at Mali's Hotel Mandé, it packs the fruit of ten years experimentation into some of the densest, punchiest, most richly textured music you'll ever hear. 

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Various
Africa scream contest- raw & psychadelic afro sounds

CD 

£12.99

After releases by Zimbabwean 70s bands the Green Arrows and Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, the Analog Africa label now delves into the amazing history of music from 1970s Benin and Togo. This compilation highlights forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds, and the well-researched liner notes tell fascinating stories to accompany the mind-blowing music. The essence of Analog Africa is clear; searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep the sound alive. Label owner & vinyl collector Samy Ben Redjeb arrived in Cotonou, Benin, "without any special expectations, just hoping to lay my hands on few good records--what I found in the process cannot really be described in words".

Like most modern music in French-speaking West African countries, the music of Benin and Togo was influenced by a few main musical currents: Cuban, Congolese and local traditional music, as well as Chanson Francaise. Additionally, the geographical location of Benin and Togo--sandwiched between Ghana and Nigeria--exposed Beninese and Togolese musicians to Highlife music.

The cultural and spiritual riches of traditional Beninese music had an immense impact on the sound of Benin's modern music. Benin is the birth place of Vodun (or, as it is known in the West, Voodoo), and some of the rhythms used during traditional rituals - Sakpata, Sato, Agbadja, Tchenkoumé and many others - were fused to Soul and Latin music as early as the mid-1960s and later to Funk. In the late '60s and early '70s rock and soul music started creeping into the region. In particular, the music of James Brown and Johnny Halladay became immensely popular with university students. It was then that the music scene in Benin really started to take off. That fusion is the essence of this compilation. The CD includes a well researched 44-page booklet & rare photographs.

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Various
Congotronics 2

CD 

£14.99

More from the vibrant Kinshasa scene that brought us Konono No 1.

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various
nigeria rock special- psychedelic afro rock and fuzz funk

CD 

£11.99

A fascinating look at the underground Rock scene in 1970's Nigeria, this unique collection shines a light on the flipside to the well-documented sounds of Highlife and Afrobeat coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s - young bands caught up in the wave of Psychedelic and Progressive Rock that was sweeping Europe and the States in the late 60's and early 70's.

The sounds of Jimi Hendrix and bands like Santana had started to seep into the mainly soul-based sets of a handful of young bands playing Western-influenced pop in West Aftrica. Spurred on by Cream drummer Ginger Baker's visits to Lagos and his band Airforce (featuring many Nigerian musicians), the sound of fuzzed-out Rock reverberated around the universities and nightspots of Lagos and Ibadan. This compilation contains 15 of the best cuts from the scene, available for the first time in 30 years

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Various
Nigeria Special- modern highlife

CD x2 

£12.99

Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-1976 presents some of the best un-reissued and forgotten sounds from Nigeria, covering the amazing vibrant and diverse styles that emerged and flourished at the time. Everything from Highlife, Jazz, Afro Beat and Blues to more traditional styles are represented. The 32-page booklet covers a history of the time plus in-depth information on the artists and musicians, as well as a look at the striking pop-art cover designs of Nigerian records

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Various
World Circuit presents....

CD 

£13.99

World Circuit Records celebrate their 20th anniversary with this excellent 29 track double CD which collects classic favourites alongside previously unreleased gems:

Disc One

• 1. Chan Chan-Buena Vista Social Club
• 2. Soukora-Ali Farka Toure
• 3. Boul Di Tagale-Cheikh Lo
• 4. Rumba Argelina-Radio Tarifa
• 5. Rire Zarga Ouana-Bellemou Messaoud
• 6. Amor Verdadero-Afro Cuban All Stars
• 7. Al Vaiven Mi Carreta-Nico Saquito
• 8. Mogo Ti Diya Bee Ya-Oumou Sangare
• 9. Tumbanga-Orlando Cachaito Lopez
• 10. Yumala-Mustapha Baqbou [Previously Unreleased Studio Recording]
• 11. El Rincon Caliente-Guajiro Mirabal
• 12. Bazali Bhetu-Black Umfolosi
• 13. Flor De Amor-Omara Portuondo
• 14. Mal Wa Ihtagab-Abdel Gadir Salim

Disc Two

• 1. Tapha Niang-Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra
• 2. El Carretero-Guillermo Portabales
• 3. Song 4-Dimi Mint Abba [Previously Unreleased Studio Recording]
• 4. Juana Pena-Sierra Maestra
• 5. El Son Te Llama-Orchestra Baobab
• 6. Central Constancia-Ruben Gonzalez
• 7. Si Te Contara-Ruben Gonzalez
• 8. Amandrai-Ali Farka Toure [Previously Unreleased, Live At The Palais Des Beaux Arts, Brussels]
• 9. A Love Supreme-Anga Diaz
• 10. Dr Binol-Shirati Jazz [First Time On CD]
• 11. Candela-Buena Vista Social Club] [Previously Unreleased, Live At Carnegie Hall]
• 12. Fafaye Yo-Afel Bocoum [Previously Unreleased Location Recording]
• 13. La Luna En Tu Mirada-Los Zafiros
• 14. Du Du-Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate [Previously Unreleased Studio Recording]
• 15. Silencio-Ibrahim Ferrer & Omara Portuondo