Honest Jons logo

Judith Juma’s wonderful mbira playing — shona ritual music, with singing, drum and rattle.

The masterful Greek folk violinist. ‘So raw and unmediated that anyone who has ever yearned for anything will feel these songs like a club to the back of the knees…immediate, destructive, and stunning.’ Crumb artwork.

Deep taarab from 1982.
Zuhura and co came through the Mombasa scene of the 1970s, with a more uptempo musical style, and with Zuhura turning away from the usual Bollywood influences towards traditional Swahili poetry, for her direct, feminist lyrics.

‘Amazing! Like stumbling on a treasure-trove of unheard Charlie Patton and Blind Willie McTell 78s, but imbued with the spirit of Mahlathini and Ladysmith Black Mambazo,’ says Joe Boyd.