Various: Musiques Metisses: Le Sahel (Marabi)

When the Buena Vista Social Club burst into public consciousness every major record company starting looking at its catalogue -- and wondrous to report, they too had recorded Cuban artists down the decades!

Suddenly Cuban music was everywhere.

The sceptical among us might look at this compilation of "desert blues" from the Sahara which has arrived in the wake of global success of artists like Tinariwen, Malouma, Vieux Farka Toure and Etran Finatawa (all of whom have featured at Elsewhere over the past year or two).

Well, the Marabi label behind this collection is also the one which brought those people to attention so they get my vote as the one to have a few bragging rights and pull together a compilation (their earlier Marabi Africa collection is tagged below).

So here is an excellent overview which includes all of those mentioned plus more than half a dozen names which I am sure will become familiar over time.

The sound of Sahara blues is quite compelling, let this collection be your guide into it if you aren't already in there.