Darandi

With their lilting, soulful melodies, drums and guitars, the paranda songs of the Garifuna people are one of the world's great musical traditions. Their unique blend of African, Caribbean and Latin influences reflects the extraordinary history of a people who can trace their ancestry back to the African slaves who escaped from a shipwreck to intermarry with the Arawak people of St Vincent, and who now live along the Caribbean coast of Central America. Since the death of the great Andy Palacio, it has been left to his former colleague Aurelio Martinez to promote this glorious, compelling music on the international stage.

His fourth solo album is something of a magnificent curiosity. It's a ‘Greatest Hits’ set – a selection of the most popular songs in his live shows, including nine that appeared on his earlier albums. And it's also his answer to a live album, though it wasn’t recorded on stage but live at the Real World studios, soon after he made a tremendous appearance at WOMAD last year. Backed by his own guitar, two large Garifuna drums, bass, and twanging electric guitar from Guayo Cedeño, he treats songs such as ‘Dondo’, the charming ‘Laru Beya’ or the more slow and pained-sounding ‘Dugu’ to a thrilling, compelling work-over. Well worth checking out, even if you own all his earlier albums.