As preparations for the Second Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algiers get underway, RFImusique turns the clock back forty years to focus on the cultural extravaganza of "Panaf" in 1969. ...

The soundtrack to Eliane de Latour's film Après l’océan has just been released as an album, giving listeners a taste of the multiple musical flavours of Abidjan.

Following in the footsteps of her famous father (Jacques Higelin) and her music star brother (Arthur H), Izia has arrived on the French music scene with a vengeance. ...

Nosfell, possibly France's most avant-garde singer-songwriter, is back in the news with a third full-length offering. His latest album, simply entitled Nosfell, ...

The unexpected death of American pop legend Michael Jackson, who suffered a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles on Thursday 25 June 2009, has left millions of fans around the world devastated. ...

The singer, writer and jazz critic Boris Vian has enjoyed an incredibly successful career from beyond the grave. Vian's posthumous fame and the fact that so many contemporary singers ...

21st June brings us the longest day - and the shortest, noisiest night of the year! This Sunday, France will stage the 28th edition of the 'Fête de la musique' and 2009 promises to be a bumper...

Marc Collin, Olivier Libaux and their revolving cast of 'chanteuses' are back in the news with a third Nouvelle Vague album, simply entitled 3. ...

Amar Sundy has spent close on 25 years now weaving his subtle mix of Saharan rhythms and American blues. The singer-guitarist, who was born near Tamanrasset, ...

Like many French bands of the moment, Revolver have looked across the Channel for inspiration, taking their name from a Beatles' album and their sound from Abbey Road. ...

An increasing number of French musicians have been heading out to play in Tucson, Arizona - and a number of them, including French 'chanteuse' Marianne Dissard, ...

Following on from Alkibar and Niger, Afel Bocoum and his group Alkibar ("Messenger of the Great River") have just released Tabital Pulaaku, ...

The singer Charlotte Mbango, a major figure on the Cameroon music scene and composer of African hits such as Konkaï makossa, ...

On his new album, Tabital Pulaaku, Malian singer and guitarist Afel Bocoum continues his heady mix of protest songs and acoustic tradition. ...

This year, the 34th "Musiques Métisses" festival held in Angoulême (29 May - 1  June), is flying the flag for Guinea, showcasing artists from across the generations. World ...

If you're one of those melancholy souls who find that grey days are never grey enough and Radiohead are too upbeat, Sébastien Schuller's second album is just for you. ...

After experimenting with Indian instruments on Rimayer and Gypsy vibes on Banjara, Ziskakan highlight another aspect of Reunionese culture on their new album, ...

Versailles-based foursome Phoenix have gone back to their roots on their fourth album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. After eighteen months in the studio the band have blended finely-honed pop melodies ...

Choosing to call your new album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix might be considered an open act of provocation. However, given their burgeoning international success, ...

Morocco's capital city, Rabat, is normally a quiet, business-like place. But between 15 and 23 May 2009, the city has been partying to the "rhythms of the world" ...

After two decades as Congo's roving rumba ambassador in East Africa, Samba Mapangala has released a rare and unashamedly exuberant new album. ...

Congolese star Samba Mapangala and his legendary Orchestra Virunga deserve the title of "official rumba ambassadors" on two counts. ...

La Belle Epoque is a bumper double album retracing the rollercoaster career of Senegal's Orchestra Baobab. The group originally rose to fame in their homeland in the 1970s then fell into total oblivion ...

In the past, Cameroonian jazzman Gino Sitson has divided his albums between a cappella songs and orchestrated tracks. On his new album ...

Tales of a Kleptomaniac is the fifth studio album by France's most successful DJ export: Laurent Garnier. As its title suggests, album number 5 hops about like a manic magpie, ...

Laurent Garnier, France's pioneering DJ and electro producer, has honed his eclectic machine-instrument mix both live on stage and in the studio. ..

Could the music industry ever operate on a fair trade system? A handful of innovative French labels and tour organisers believe that it can. ...

On her eagerly-awaited third album, Miss Météores, Olivia Ruiz whirls through a galaxy of musical styles. And the quirky brunette from the Languedoc ...

Five of the best-known musicians in Madagascar have banded together to export the sounds of their Indian Ocean isle. After wowing audiences live in concert, ...

Régis Gizavo, Marius Fenoamby, Erick Manana, Justin Vali and Dama (from the group Mahaleo) are all famous Madagascan music stars in their own right. ...

French music stars have been out in force this month, playing at venues far and wide. Manu Chao, Patricia Kaas and Khaled travelled to Mexico, ...

Sliimy, the hot young French pop phenomenon ‘du jour’, belongs to the Internet generation and owes much of his lightning rise to fame to Myspace. ...

Didier Awadi, one of the pioneers of Africa's hip-hop movement with the group Positive Black Soul, is still going strong over 20 years after his debut. ...

Israeli rock band Izabo emerged on the scene two years ago now with their acclaimed debut album The Fun Makers. Now the foursome are back with an eagerly-awaited follow-up: ...

Released to coincide with her sixtieth anniversary on the French music scene, Juliette Gréco's new album is appropriately entitled Je me souviens de tout (I Remember It All.) ...

Tiken Jah Fakoly's mini-album Radio libre has been exclusively released in just a handful of African countries. On this ultra-topical missive, ..

Ivory Coast's leading reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly believes there can be "no development without education." And this is one of the reasons he is about to kick off a major new tour in the Guinean capital, ...

Molecule, an artist who forged his reputation on the electro scene with an experimental dub album in 2006, is back in the news with Climax. The mad ...

Kinshasa is renowned as a hotbed of musical talent. But Staff Benda Bilili, the latest discovery from Belgian label Crammed Discs, are truly unique. This band ...

Listening to the opening notes of La Musique, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were back in the days of Blue Nile or Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. But no, this is 2009...