Fatoumata Diawara tops Transglobal World Music July chart with London Ko album

Released on 12 May via 3ème Bureau/Wagram label, London Ko combines traditional Malian music with elements of Afrobeats, jazz, pop and electronica. Renowned British musician and Blur frontman Damon Albarn produced six out of the album’s 14 tracks, while notable guest appearances include Cuban piano virtuoso Roberto Fonseca, Nigerian Afropop singer and activist Yemi Alade and French musician -M-.

Diawara is also behind three other critically acclaimed LPs: Fatou (2011), Fenfo (2018) and Maliba (2022).

Launched in October 2015, the TWMC provides a platform for world music writers and radio DJs specialising in traditional and contemporary folk music, worldbeat, global fusion and global electronica. Distinguishing itself from conventional popularity-based charts, the TWMC emphasises the promotion of talent based on merit and cultural significance.

Also appearing on the July chart are releases from the likes of Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté, whose collabo The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere holds the second position. This is followed by Ali Farka Touré’s Voyageur at No 3, with Damir Imamović’s The World and All That It Holds and Baaba Maal’s Being completing the top five.

Nigerian Afrobeat band BANTU’s What Is Your Breaking Point? occupies the No 11 spot, while Malian group Al Bilali Soudan’s Babi sits at No 14. Ghanaian artist King Ayisoba’s Work Hard sits at No 39, while the Grammy-winning Tuareg collective Tinariwen occupies No 40 with Amatssou.

Transglobal World Music Chart for July 2023

1. Fatoumata Diawara – London Ko – 3ème Bureau/Wagram Music
2. Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté – The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere – Real World
3. Ali Farka Touré – Voyageur – World Circuit
4. Damir Imamović – The World and All That It Holds – Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
5. Baaba Maal – Being – Marathon Artists
6. Blick Bassy – Madiba – InFiné
7. Omara Portuondo – Vida – One World
8. Bokanté – History – Real World
9. Eliades Ochoa – Guajiro – World Circuit
10. Seckou Keita with BBC Concert Orchestra – African Rhapsodies: A Work for Kora and Symphonic Orchestra – Claves
11. Bantu – What Is Your Breaking Point? – Soledad Productions
12. Saîdê Goyî – Jinê – Saîdê Goyî
13. Jawa – Last Breaths from Aleppo – Muziekpublique
14. Al Bilali Soudan – Babi – Clermont Music
15. Shono – Kolkhozoy Traktor – CPL-Music/CPL-Musicgroup
16. Inna Baba Coulibaly – Djilly Kawral – Remote/Studio Mali
17. Matthieu Saglio – Voices – ACT
18. Rastak – Essentials – Rastak
19. Frigg – Perintö/Heritage – Bafe’s Factory
20. Hiram Salsano – Bucolica – Hiram Salsano
21. Naissam Jalal – Healing Rituals – Les Couleurs Du Son
22. Kimi Djabaté – Dindin – Cumbancha
23. La Cantiga de la Serena – La Novia – Zero Nove Nove
24. Yarákä – Curannera – Zero Nove Nove
25. Dom La Nena – Leon – Sabia/Big Wax/Alter K
26. Mara Aranda – Sefarad en el Corazón de Grecia – Mara Aranda
27. V.A. – Taa! Our Language May Be Dying, but Our Voices Remain – Glitterbeat
28. Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood – Jarak Qaribak – World Circuit
29. Sissoko, Segal, Parisien, Peirani – Les Égarés – Nø Førmat
30. Plena Libre – Cuatro Esquinas – GN Música
31. Okwy Osadebe and Highlife SoundMakers International – Igbo Amaka – Palenque/Odogwu Entertainment
32. Aditya Prakash – Karnatik Roots – Yarlung
33. Dur-Dur Band Int. – The Berlin Session – Outhere
34. Lankum – False Lankum – Rough Trade
35. Brìghde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us – Tak:til/Glitterbeat
36. Inna de Yard – Family Affair – Chapter Two / Wagram
37. Zuco 103 – Telenova – Zuco Sound/Six Degrees
38. Le Cri du Caire – Le Cri du Caire – Airfono/Les Disques du Festival Permanent/L’Onde et Cybèle
39. King Ayisoba – Work Hard – Glitterbeat
40. Tinariwen – Amatssou – Wedge