(Agogo Records, Kidal / Berlin)

Afrobeat can be a pretty formal, sterile and sometimes even boring affair in the hands of many of Fela Kuti's admirers worldwide. Thankfully this is not the case with the oddly named Onom Agemo: Led by the restless saxophonist Johannes Schleiermacher, this Berlin-based quintet has been pushing the boundaries of the genre to its most extreme, incorporating explosive Jazz improvisations, far out Krautrock, bubbly keyboard sounds and Psychedelia to create a spell-binding musical melange completely their own.

Now they are taking it to the road again with their old friend, exceptional Tuareg "desert blues" guitarist/singer Ahmed Ag Kaedy. Hailing from Kidal in the civil war-stricken north of Mali, Ahmed was a teen soldier before picking up an instrument to become a man of peace and music. His own band, Amanar ("starry sky"), is considered to be one of the most influential voices of the modern, guitar-driven sound of the Sahel.

In the spring of 2025, Agogo Records will release a new collaborative record, with the German-Malian brotherhood set to hit the road next summer.