After a childhood of exile and rebellion, Bombino is taking the Tuareg tradition forwards armed with his hypnotic guitar. With two albums already under his belt and slice of global fame to his name, the artist recorded his new collection in Nashville at the studios of the indie rock star, Dan Auerback from the Black Keys.

Back in the nineties, Madagascar made a foray onto the world music scene with artists like Jaojoby, D’Gary, Tarika, Njava, Rajery and Régis Gizavo, yet contemporary Malagasy musicians haven’t taken up the torch.

The militant campaigner for union and peace in Mali, Cheick Tidiane Seck, is back with Guerrier, an album recorded by the pianist from start to finish and in which he takes a firm stand against one-way globalization. RFI Musique met up with the musician, who is currently organizing a series of conference-debates and concerts for his homeland.

Salif Keïta’s new album, Talé, put together with Gotan Project’s Philippe Cohen-Solal in Bamako, moves away from a pure “club” sound and takes its listeners into electro lands. RFI Musique spoke with the Malian musician.