Keleketla!

Born out of an encounter between Ruth Daniel of the charity In Place of War and Johannesburg's Keleketla! Library in-house artists Rangoato Hlasane and Malose Malahela – who were then introduced to Ninja Tune founders Coldcut – this outwardly looking album brings together collaborators from the immediate South African jazz scene and artists based in the UK.

Political in intent, its opener ‘Future Toyi Toyi’ – recorded in the Khayelitsha township – features hip-hop activists Soundz of the South. Later, ‘Papua Merdeka’ features a call from Benny Wenda for the liberation of West Papua from the strictures of Indonesian rule, while ‘Freedom Groove’ is powerful and propulsive, spearheaded by a call to arms from Los Angeles’ Watts Prophets.

These diplomatic demands are tempered with moments of optimism. ‘International Love Affair’ is a straight-up Afrobeat stomper, with a soulful chorus and some fine organ playing from Dele Sosimi, while ‘Crystallise’ features a killer contribution from MC Yugen Blakrok, alongside high-octane electronic beats and scintillating sax lines from Tamar Osborn.

While often stretched in terms of its ambition, with no fewer than two dozen collaborators, the project is a bold slice of Afrobeat-driven jazz, interspersed with spoken word, and global dance forms.