The new blood, led by the tall charismatic Djelimady Tounkara, guitarist par excellence, continues in the best tradition of Mali's pop music scene: mixing traditional fare with modern sound. Djelimady Tounkara, on the tunes Mansa, Niamatoutou, Kanou Sale and Silanide, is a painter with the guitar. Employing supple finger movements, he depicts bright vivid colours, sending us perilously close to the edge, before pulling us back gently to safe grounds. That and the strong voice of Damory Kouyate, arguably the best crossbreed between Salif Keita and Kasse Mady Diabate, is mesmerising to behold. The rest of the cast is equally strong: Jean Philippe Rykiel on Keyboard, Lassana Bagayogo and Bamba Dembele on percussions, Kabine Keita and Mamadou Ouedraogo on saxophones. This is dance music at its best, so why don't you do yourself a favour and get up for a twirl.

Some music will never make it to the big prom night, mainly because they are independent releases, often put together on a shoe string budget and then peddled to friends and/or at various festivals. You get the picture. On the eve of my visit to my homeland, Uganda, I have three such albums to review, These albums by Ugandan artists,vary in strength, some being stronger than others. Perhaps the strongest of the bunch is Apaa-Idomo (Festival) by Ugandan born Achilla Orru, a singer-songwriter who lost his eye sights at the tender age of 7. Orru, now a resident of Toronto, Canada, has pushed the limit of what the lokembe (mbira) can do, in the process, crafting a myriad of joyful sound. Indeed, Orru's sweet voice transports the listener to the ancestral land among the Karimojong people of northern Uganda. Staying close to his roots, he combines poetry, chants and, of course, the melodic sound of the lokembe. Yet, with deft finger movements rarely attempted on the lokembe, Orru shifts the musical landscape to Central Africa, South Africa, India, Canada and back to his village.(Contact: Achilla Orru:416-364-7307)