Umoja

Ever since his 2014 self-titled debut, British producer and multi-instrumentalist Will Dorey, aka Skinshape, has looked for inspiration far beyond his native Swanage, incorporating rhythms and melodies from the South of the world into his dreamy, psychedelic sound. But while his previous albums meander in and out of Africa and South America, on 2020’s Umoja he dives right in, collaborating with vocalists from Kenya, Senegal, and Portugal. Across the album he mixes completely different regional styles, like on opener “Sua Alma,” which brings together Brazilian atmospheres with a Ghanaian highlife percussion section, or “Amigos e Inimigos,” with its soft reverb and East African organ (I can’t help but think of 1970s Somalia) and D’Alma’s Portuguese lyrics. “Afande” features the incredible Idd Aziz, a musician from the Kenyan coast (who also sings on the dreamy “Sudan”), singing over an infectious, retro organ groove, while Senegalese Moudou Touré takes us back to 1970s Senegal with the Afro Cuban rhythms of “Kourou,” and the sweeping guitars of “Dourlè.”