Album: Donso, Denfila (Jazz Village)

What this Parisian/Malian outfit does well is integrate traditional instruments such as the calabash and the djeli n'goni into gritty hip-hop influenced grooves without losing the power or feel that comes from those instruments.

On this, their second album, there's more focus on song quality and creating the sense of a live band getting down and dirty. But the end result is as much about texture and atmosphere as it is about groove, which is no bad thing.