Tumi and the Volume: Pick a dream

Tumi and the Volume have been playing different European festival this summer and appeared with Shakira at the last football world cup opening concert in South Africa.
They should hit the UK soon with their positive energy.

The South African band gathers Tumi Molekane, one of South Africa’s brightest MC, Tiago, aka The Volume the lead guitarist, Paulo Chibanga the beat master, and Dave Bergman the bass player.
They met in a Jazz club in Johannesburg and played since then all around the world, becoming one of the great South African musical export. They recently found their new home on the Reunion island in the Indian ocean where they signed with Sakifo records, the label created from the eponymous festival and released earlier this year their third studio album  “Pick a dream”, a master piece mixing afro-beat, Hip Hop, Funk and real poetry.
The LP has the same energy as its predecessors but is also covering a larger musical environment, featuring Zubz the Zimbabwean MC on ‘Asinamali’, Fixi from Java with a stunning accordion feature on  ‘Reality Check’,  and hidden in the last minutes of the album  a special creole ballad featuring the  Maloya Music  defender Danyel Waro.

Tumi and his crew have picked up their dream, we can’t wait to share it with them.
http://www.myspace.com/tatv

Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate

Last Month, World circuit/Nonesuch records released the second and final album of duets from two of Africa’s most distinguished musicians, the late guitarist legend Ali Farka Touré and kora player Toumani Diabaté, revered as the guardian of an ancient musical tradition but also as a boundary-crossing experimentalist.

The album was recorded over three afternoons at Livingston Studios, London, in mid-2005. Sadly, less than a year later, Touré succumbed to a long illness and passed away.

Ali And Toumani is a document of friendship and a deeply personal statement with elegant blues tracks and firmly soulful. It’s a naturally warm and delightfully refreshing album, made with 100% of sun and sincerity, the final picture of the rich malian culture.

See a video of Ali and Toumani recordings.

Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate “Ali and Toumani” (World Circuit/Nonesuch Records 2010) available on play.com