I'm Clyde Macfarlane, an NCTJ qualified journalist and illustrator.

Clyde Macfarlane looks back at the African music releases that made a mark in 2013

Tamikrest: Chatma
For a nation renowned for its endless treadmill of musical talent, the concept of banning music seems impossible. Yet this is the situation Mali is facing due to its recent conflict and imposition of Sharia law; its musicians now find themselves political representatives by appointment of the masses. Desert blues’ rising stars Tamikrest offer their voice with Chatma, a hugely powerful album recoded in exile in Algeria. An ode to Kel Tamasheq women or “sisters” (cue a mighty undulating cry from female vocalist Wonou Walet Sidati), Chatma once again indulges in the hypnotic, campfire loving earthiness that first brought Tamikrest international recognition.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba: Jama Ko
Probably the most direct musical address to the Malian conflict, the recording of Jama Ko began as fighting erupted around the ngoni maestro. The way he plays his ngoni– a stringed instrument often compared to a banjo – could be likened to the delicate licks of a flamenco guitar here, urgent in today’s context yet inherently fun-loving. Jama Ko again demonstrates everything that makes Bassekou Kouyate, his band and fundamentally his instrument invaluable Malian exports.

Owiny Sigoma Band: Power Punch!!!
The Kenyan/British collaboration hones everything that made their eponymous debut one of the cross-cultural highlights of 2011. Brothers Jesse Hackett (vocals, keyboards) and Louis Hackett (bass) push forward a Krautrock/Warp Records style ambience, with Joseph Nyamungu’s vocals chanting back and forth through this constant but never oppressive wall of sound. It may all sound duly space age, but traditional Luo melodies (a familiarity to fans of the debut) root the group to a particular spot in rural Kenya.

Mulatu Astatke: Sketches of Ethiopia
The undisputed ‘father of Ethio-jazz’ returns with a complex exploration of the genre, accompanied by his touring band Step Ahead. The opener, ‘Azmari’, could have been recorded during the golden-age of The Ethiopiques, possessing all the energy and horn-heavy brilliance that made Ethiopia’s super-group legendary. Offering guest vocals to rising Malian star Fatou Diawara (if you haven’t heard her 2011 debut, do so) on ‘Surma’ heralds a sway towards ‘afro’ and away from ‘jazz’, a recurring theme for Astatke. Again, the emphasis here is complexity; instruments ranging from East Africa, across the Middle East and into Europe create a deliciously exotic mix of blasts, plucks, twangs and whacks.

Jupiter & Okwess International: Hotel Univers
Eagerly anticipated for those lucky enough to have seen him live, Jupiter Bokondji has arrived off the streets of Kinshasa with a bang. A funky mix of jangling electric guitars, Congolese rumba at its most danceable and a militantly tight instrumental backing, Hotel Univers shows exactly why this project has been so heavily endorsed by Africa Express. A self appointed “rebel general”, Jupiter knows exactly what he’s doing as regards maintaining a balance between producing great music and giving a voice to the unspoken.

General Paolino and Mama Cecilia: South Sudan Street Survivors
Whilst a wrinkled blind man with an acoustic guitar may seem misplaced outside of the Mississippi Delta, General Paolino creates a distinctly African incarnation of American country blues. South Sudan Street Survivors is thus stylized by fast, incredibly dexterous finger picking, but done so with a naturalness that feels more laidback than frantic. As a creator of the world’s newest nation’s revolution music, no higher accolade than his frequent comparison to Bob Marley exists. The tracks were Mama Cecilia provides backing vocals are simply stunning; it’s an honour to have these two local legends, effortlessly harmonised through decades of partnership, on record.

Angola Soundtrack 2: Various Artists
Semba music – that gloriously upbeat snapshot of Luanda in festival mode – brings up conflicting emotions. On the one hand, this is a wild party like no other; picture a Brazilian carnival and then multiply it by ten. In light of the bloody, 30 year civil war that followed, however, semba represents the tragedy of Angola’s newly independent high, manifested in the hope and optimism of its musicians. Analog Africa’s second semba compilation is just as flawless as their first, with an essay-long accompanying booklet to outline the scene. Politics aside, semba provides a relentless party atmosphere that’s impossible not to get swept up in.

Mar Seck: Vagabonde
Probably this list’s joker in the pack, Mar Seck is – or was, you could justifiably say – a Senegalese stalwart who disappeared off the map in the mid ‘80s. Vagabonde is a re-release of his best work. Ten years before Youssou N’Dour, Seck was focussing Senegal’s musical identity, finding something unique to his patch of West Africa in the Cuban ensembles that toured the nation in the ‘70s. Caribbean influencing African is an unusual role reversal, and the effect creates a perfect marriage between slow grooves and tropical heat induced laziness. Through Latin guitars and percussion, crackly vocals and a sultry, effortlessly cool pace, images of Havana are conjured as if glimpsed through the window of a slow moving vintage car.