AFRICA EXPRESS ARE BACK

Globally revered musical collective Africa Express are returning with their first album in six years. They share two fresh teaser singles, “Mi Lado” and Kuduro”.

A continuous breath of fresh air on the global music industry, Africa Express is a collective who keep community and artfulness at the core. Nearly 20 years into the project, Damon Albarn’s brainchild is back with a full-length body of work for the first time since 2019’s EGOLI, with their Mexico-recorded new studio album Africa Express presents… Bahidorá set for release on 11th July via BMG.

Two initial singles have now been unveiled. “Kuduro” features a multifarious array of talent in the shape of Fatoumata Diawara, Moonchild Sanelly and Tom Excell, and is a rhythmic masterclass with some incredible vocals from South African trailblazer Sanelly. “Mi Lado” borrows the nous of Alansito Vega, Poté and Mare Advertencia, and is a Latin-infused cut, which is uplifting and groove-laden.

“MI LADO”

Poté

“For me “Mi Lado” started from all of the conversations Alan and I had every night about love, relationships and life. It beautifully summarises the Africa Express experience as a whole for me. It’s being vulnerable with people you’ve just met, finding the common thread, making something different and special through your cultural connections.”

Mare Advertencia

“Mi Lado” was a surprise, Alan’s musical proposal for this song was something I didn’t expect for myself. It’s exactly that—finding myself in a side I didn’t know I could inhabit. But I think that’s what África Express has been: discovering myself from a different place. This song is part of that experience…”

Alansito Vega

“It was an honour to be personally invited by Damon to join the Africa Express camp. I’ve done writing camps before, but this one was by far the most special — not just because of the music we made, but because of the beautiful, kind people I was surrounded by. Everything about the trip felt organic. So much of the music I was part of came out of spontaneous jams, being outdoors by the water, and just soaking in the natural surroundings. It genuinely changed the way I approach writing. Mi Lado is such a feel-good record — you can thank the beautiful Mexican weather for that. Pote and I set up a little studio outside by the water and started jamming, and the vibe of the track really came from being outdoors. Later that day, we got Mare to lay down an incredible verse, and it all came together naturally.”

“KUDURO“

Tom Excell

““Kuduro” was one of the fastest, most free-flowing tracks I’ve ever worked on. The whole process felt totally organic—no revisions, no second-guessing. The first thing that went down stuck, and that’s how it stayed. It was a real joy to be encouraged to create like that, without overworking or polishing the life out of a composition. Super refreshing.

Getting to collaborate with Moonchild Sanelly and Fatoumata Diawara—two visionary forces in today’s African music scene—was a total dream. They brought such life and creativity, it lifted everything from the off.

“The track itself is short but sweet—a dancefloor banger built to be wheeled up and played again. Although the result is an electronic sound, I wanted to include the amazing environment we were surrounded by in Mexico, so I ended up manipulating samples of the various birdsong, rivers, and wind in the trees rhythmically into the track. I’m incredibly proud of what we made together. Big love to Africa Express for creating the space for this to happen.”

Moonchild Sanelly

“Working with Africa Express changed my life back in 2019, so of course I was excited to join them in Mexico. Working on ‘Kuduro’ was surreal, surrounded by incredible nature & the electric environment at Bahidora Festival. I’ve collaborated with Tom (Excel, of Onipa) before so I knew the beat would be wild, and I was excited to finally have a track with Fatou! Of course I’ve seen her KILLING IT out in the world, and there’s a real respect between us even though our genres are so different. This is what Africa Express does – brings the best artists together to make EPIC new music.”

Fatoumata Diawara

“The Africa Express family – I really loved participating in this event because its very friendly, it’s like a little family, we love each other and we always experiment with new music, something that you never normally get to create, I love those challenges, to challenge myself, working with other people, you always learn from those experiences, you learn a lot. It’s also an honour for me to be invited back by my brother Damon Albarn, I just want to thank him for his support, for his love and to all of the Africa Express team thank you for your love, thank you for your trust because it’s very important for us to work together, you can not work without trust. This is Fatoumata Diawara, big kiss!”