Africa Express "Africa Express Presents... Bahidorá"

964147021 / World Circuit / 2025 / 2LP / 

Globally acclaimed music phenomenon Africa Express is back with a brand new studio album titled ‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá’, recorded in Mexico and bringing together artists and musicians from four continents. The boundary-breaking music collective has, for over two decades, united artists across countries and genres in radically creative collaborations in which anything can, and does, happen.

With the idea of bringing together artists from different cultures, genres, and generations to perform and make music, Africa Express was founded in 2006 with a trip to Mali connecting local stars Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Amadou & Mariam with artists including co-founder Damon Albarn, Martha Wainwright and Fatboy Slim.

Each Africa Express outing is unique, filled with spontaneous moments of magic, collaboration and discovery. In 2024, Africa Express headlined Mexico’s Bahidorá Festival, a trip which saw an extraordinary group of musicians, singers and DJs from around the world come together to rehearse, perform and write new music on the banks of the ancient springs of Bahidorá. The result is ‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá,’  a completely original, one-off collection of 21 songs showcasing an exceptional line-up of talent from across Mexico, South America, Africa, the U.S. and U.K. including:

Abou Diarra - Baba Sissoko – Bonobo - Bootie Brown - Damon Albarn - Django Django - Eme Malafe - Fatoumata Diawara - Hak Baker – Imarhan - Joan As Police Woman - Jupiter & Okwess - La Bruja de Texcoco - Los Pream - Luisa Almaguer - M.anifest - Mare Advertencia - Mexican Institute of Sound  - Moonchild Sanelly - Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) – Onipa - Otim Alpha - Poté - Son Rompe Pera - Tayhana

‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá’ is a remarkable collection of songs. A mind-blowing sonic journey originating in Mexico and encompassing a rich list of musical traditions from Latín to Urban; reggaeton to rap; Kuduro to Cumbia; Oaxacan mixe brass to Salsa; as well as folk, hip hop and pop, this is an album like no other.