The Congolese singer Maryse Ngalula, who has just won the Institut Français’ Visas pour la Création programme, took advantage of a 5-month residency in the French capital thanks to sponsorship from the Archimusic association run by saxophonist Jean-Rémy Guédon. By the end of her stay, the artist had put together a seven-track demo that displays an array of talent, including an agile, transparent voice, some sharp lyrics and a very personal style that swings between jazz and Congolese tradition.

After producing three albums as a trio, the Kora Jazz Band has doubled its numbers and taken on Manu Dibango, Andy Narell and Omar Marquez for its latest collection. An album overshadowed by bereavement following the death of kora player Soriba Kouyaté a few days after recording ended.

A modern-day nomad who came to France to escape repression after the Berber Spring in 1980, Akli D. plays his hyper sensitive music with the careless confidence of a trapeze artist using no net. The singer, a fan of Neil Young and the movies, has just released a third album, Paris Hollywood.

With an appetite for learning almost as big as her vibrant personality, the Malian Fatoumata Diawara has modestly slipped out of her actress persona to inhabit her new role as a singer. The simplicity of her first album Fatou translates her desire to stand forward unadorned.