KALETA Vinyl & CDs

Review: Former Whiskey Barons man Bosq has enjoyed a long working relationship with Nigeria-based, Benin-born guitarist and vocalist Kaleta. We make this the pair's eleventh collaborative single in the last decade and, as with their previous outings, it trumphantly blurs the boundaries between Afro-disco, Afro-beat and Afro-funk. On side A you'll find vocal and instrumental takes on 'Meji Meji, a pleasingly live-sounding affair full of rubbery bass guitar, righteous horns, infectious drums and Kaleta's evocative guitar licks. Over on the flip, they opt for even heavier, life-affirming horn motifs, Afro-disco grooves and more sun-splashed Afro-funk guitars on vocal and instrumental versions of the similarly inspired 'Sonayon'.

Review: Headed up by Benin-born Kaleta - a guitarist who has previously worked with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Lauryn Hill - Super Yamba Band is a New York collective whose decidedly psychedelic fusions of Afrobeat, Highlife and Afro-funk have been getting rave reviews. "Medaho" is their debut album and it more than lives up to the hype. With Kaleta's variously fuzzy, sun-kissed and flash-fried licks to the fore, the band trips its way through nine mostly dancefloor-friendly workouts that wrap heavy funk instrumentation, rousing horns and Afrobeat style organ riffs around polyrhythmic drums that recall the distinctive swing of Tony Allen. It's a stylistic blend that guarantees results, as the sheer volume of highlights triumphantly proves.