Zim’s Mokoomba makes Songlines Best Group category

Artists from West Africa top the list with Mali represented by Tamikrest, Oumou Sangaré, Vieux Farka Touré, Boubacar Traoré, Trio da Kali & Kronos Quartet (Mali/US) while Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita stood out for Cuba/Senegal.

Adding to the list of nominated African acts are Mokoomba (Zimbabwe) and Msafari Zawose (Tanzania).

The Best Artist category features Syria’s Maya Youssef and Malian artists Oumou Sangaré, Boureima Farka Touré and Boubacar Traoré.

Mokoomba is the only African act nominated in the Best Group category. It will compete alongside Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (Italy), Eliza Carthy & the Wayward Band (UK) and She’Koyokh (UK).

Oumou Sangaré, Msafari Zawose, Tamikrest and Maya Youssef are competing in the Africa and Middle East category. The Fusion category includes Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita, Trio da Kali & Kronos Quartet, Puerto Rico’s Ìfé and the Warsaw Village Band from Poland.

“The nominees in the geographical categories were selected by our ace team of international contributors and the Best Artist and Best Group nominees were voted for by Songlines readers,” Songlines said. “The winners of the geographical categories will be announced in June (issue #138).

Speaking to Music In Africa, Mokoomba bass player Abundance Mutori said: "We are excited to be nominated for the Songlines Music Awards 2018 and we are grateful to Songlines for this recognition and to Outhere Records, our label.

"The nomination means a lot to us because it suggests that our current self-produced album Luyando released in 2017 faired well in terms of quality and originality among many top releases from around world in the same category. It also means that we are putting Zimbabwean music on the map both on and offstage."

Mokoomba are well known to those who follow the Songlines Music Awards. In 2013, the band won the Best Newcomer Award after releasing the Rising Tide in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Mutori said Mokoomba would be inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame alongside Aurelio (Honduras) at the Afropop Worldwide 30th anniversary gala joining past inductees like King Sunny Ade, Youssou N’Dour, Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, Habib Koite, Harry Belafonte, Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo.

Songlines is a world music magazine based in the UK. Apart from its online offering, the magazine is published eight times a year and contains CD reviews, artist interviews, guides to particular world music traditions, concert and festival listings as well as travel stories.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Artist

• Oumou Sangaré
• Boubacar Traoré
• Vieux Farka Touré
• Maya Youssef

Best Group

• Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
• Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band
• Mokoomba
• She’Koyokh

Africa and Middle East

• Oumou Sangaré
• Msafari Zawose
• Tamikrest
• Maya Youssef

Americas

• Aurelio
• Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn
• Rhiannon Giddens
• La Mambanegra

Asia and Pacific

• Black String
• Farida Parveen
• Archie Roach
• Baluji Shrivastav

Europe

• Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
• Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band
• Lankum
• Saz’iso

Fusion

• Ìfé
• Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita
• Trio da Kali & Kronos Quartet
• Warsaw Village Band