Baloji - Afropolitan rumba rapper. Equally at home crooning old-school Congolese chestnuts or rapping, teaming up with Afropop greats like Franco’s veteran guitarist Dizzy Mandjeku or pioneering Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, or with big names in international hip-hop (M1 of dead prez, for one), this stylish, smart performer knows how to take the rumba-inspired past and make it fresh and globally appealing.
The Bombay Royale (US debut) - Technicolor Bollywood big-band pop. The magic and mayhem of vintage Bollywood collides with surfer disco theatrics, complete with mysterious leading lady, a dashing leading man, and a killer brass section. Organs wail, guitars purr through surreal soundtracks for chase scenes and dance numbers, brought to life by this Melbourne 11-piece band in their US debut.
Brushy One String (NYC debut) - Infectious Jamaican single-string guitarist. The son of a musical family with ties to reggae greats, Brushy grew up with a profound sense of joy, a feeling that pervades his stripped down songs. When a dream told him to pick up his one-stringed guitar—he’d broken the other strings—Brushy went from remote Jamaican stages to international acclaim, garnering an outpouring of love online and at major festivals like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Como Mamas - Deep gospel a cappella trio. With rough, praise-filled voices that invoke the full power and beauty of life, these longtime singing partners were discovered by the folks behind Daptone Records. They may have honed their sound in a small rural church, yet their music resounds with hope and redemption, with an uncanny timing and perfect vocal blend that can speak to any audience.
DakhaBrakha - Subversive, Ukrainian punk folk. They can wink at a sappy pop tune one minute and render a thunderous, chilling rendition of a Ukrainian folk song the next. Sprung from an underground theater group, the band’s four-part harmonies, bass drum, accordion, mouth harp, cello, and eerie, quirky toughness reveal both love of tradition and post-modern punk defiance.
Fanfare Ciocarlia - Blazing Gypsy brass legends. If you’ve heard brass band music from the Balkans, you’ve likely heard the iconic Fanfare Ciocarlia. Leaping from their village roots, the very, very big band never forgot where it got its start, even as it charmed international audiences with its humor and virtuosic musicianship. With more than a dozen crack players, they simply blow minds live.
Hassan Hakmoun - North African Gnawa trance master. With his rich voice, welcoming presence, and striking sintir (camel-skin bass), Hakmoun brought the music of the Gnawa of Morocco to the world. A veteran performer now at the height of his powers, Hakmoun and friends promise to remind everyone why he has long served as ambassador for the looping, trance-inducing sounds of his people.
KiT (Kuenta i Tambu) - Dutch-Antillean global bass dance beats. This Amsterdam-born quartet started with tambu,the drum and dance music of the Dutch-Antillean island of Curaçao, and made it club-friendly, adding plenty of low end and moombahton and baile funk-inspired beats. Dancehall-style vocals in Papiamentu, Curaçao’s creole of African languages, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, ricochet off of Afro-Caribbean drumming, all backed with a solid European house vibe. Diplo and Bomba Estereo would approve.
Noura Mint Seymali - Mauritanian desert soul. Step-daughter of renowned Mauritanian singer Dimi Mint Abba, Seymali hails from a scholarly musician family and has the voice to prove it. Drawing on Mauritania’s unique intersection of Arab and sub-Saharan African culture, the young, thoughtful singer has brought her country’s continued love for traditional music together with a younger generation’s ear for global pop, reggae, and club influences, accompanied by the exploratory sound of her husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly’s ngoni-inspired, distortion-fueled psych guitar lines.
Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta - Mambo Mexicano meets indie-cumbia. Relishing exotica’s indulgent arrangements while staying true to mambo’s driving sway, Sergio Mendoza and his Tucson-based 12-member band keep it gritty and danceable. Hitting as hard as infamous Cuban bandleader Perez Prado, as raw as the Sex Pistols, this multi-instrumentalist mambo instigator has gained a following as an indie musician’s musician, wowing everyone from Devotchka to Calexico. Add in Mendoza’s fanciful forays into psychedelia and his ensemble’s big-band impact, and you have one provocative dance party.
Wu-Force featuring Abigail Washburn, Kai Welch and Wu Fei (NY debut) - Appalachian-Chinese avant-folk. World traveler and cultural bridge-builder Abigail Washburn’s clawhammer diplomacy in China happened naturally: While on tour, the banjo innovator began collaborating with Chinese musicians she met en route. Wu-Force reveals how close Appalachia and China can sound, uniting guzheng (traditional zither) and trumpet, sprightly banjo lines and catchy Chinese tunes. The simplicity of the trio—which makes full use of Welch’s many instruments and electronics—belies its music’s complex texture.
Yasmine Hamdan - Post-modern Parisian pop via Beirut underground. Hamdan founded Soapkills, one of the first indie-electronic projects on the Lebanese scene before the young, soulful singer went to Paris. Collaborating with musicians like Marc Holland of Nouvelle Vague and producers like Madonna-favorite Mirwais—and starring in Jim Jarmusch’s next film—Hamdan has developed hip, subtle sound, singing in Arabic and crafting tracks with a savvy pop sensibility.
