Africa Express Presents... Bahidorá

Africa Express has always been a high-wire act: a sprawling collective bringing together Western and (initially) African artists, it could have easily slipped into a white saviourish, Live Aid style disaster. But ever since its inception in 2006, when founder Damon Albarn and other major European artists travelled to Mali with the likes of Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Amadou & Mariam, Africa Express has built something far more organic: there’s no sense of Western musicians playing the role of tastemaker, sounds aren’t stripped of context or repackaged for western palatability. Instead, they’re shaped collectively, without a dominant genre, guiding hand, or hierarchy. Bahidorá, their sixth album, was born from a week-long session after the collective’s performance at the Bahidorá Festival in Mexico, and captures the loose, collaborative ethos that has defined the project from the start. “Soledad,” the tender Spanish-language ballad from Luisa Almaguer and Damon Albarn, gives way to Electroacholi pioneer Otim Alpha and The Pharcyde founder Bootie Brown’s laid-back hip hop groove on “Otim Hop,” then swerves into the infectious Latin pop sunshine of “Mi Lado.” “Tayhana” throws gqom, rap, and dancehall into the blender, while “Kuduro” surges forward on a propulsive beat from Tom Excell, lifted higher by Moonchild Sanelly and Fatoumata Diawara. On the wildly infectious “El Niño,” Eme MalaFe delivers rapid-fire bars over a lush salsa groove. The album as a whole pivots between high-voltage tracks and darker, more emotionally charged moments. Mexican artist Luisa Almaguer is a revelation — her rich baritone brings weight and vulnerability to some of the record’s most affecting songs, particularly the aching “Hacernos Así” and the spectral “Ofrenda de Sangre.”