fRoots 2008

It’s got folk, it’s got roots, it’s got young guns, old masters, innovation and tradition from all over the world of music – it’s the fRoots Album of the Year Award 2008. The top 10 shortlist has just been announced, along with 6 nominees for Best Reissue/Compilation. Votes are collected from an international panel of journalists and broadcasters. We’ll find out who wins on a special BBC Radio 3 broadcast on 5 December, followed by fRoots fanfare on 6 December and a full round up in the Jan/Feb issue of the magazine.

What was your favourite album of 2008 and why? Email your answer to competition@mondomix.com and we’ll send a copy of the Mondomix Experience 4CD to a winner chosen at random by our incredibly hi-tech selection gadget [a hat].

Meanwhile, the fRoots Critics’ Poll is a chance to look back on a very rich year :

Album of the Year 2008 - shortlist

Natacha Atlas & The Mazeeka Ensemble : Ana Hina (World Village) [Review]

Atlas’s nostalgic tribute to the golden age of 1950s Egyptian song

Issa Bagayogo: Mali Koura (Six Degrees) 

Malian maverick ‘Techno Issa’ electrifies Bamako grooves

Bellowhead: Matachin (Navigator)

The second album from England’s favourite funked up folk big-band

Eliza Carthy : Dreams Of Breathing Underwater  (Topic)

The inventive pioneer continues to revitalise new folk

  Toumani Diabaté : The Mandé Variations (World Circuit) [Review]

A sublime solo album from Mali’s premier kora virtuoso

 Kasai Allstars : In the 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy By Magic (Crammed Discs) [Review]

The super-saturated visceral electroclash of Kasai cultures

Jim Moray: Low Culture (NIAG Records)

The adventurous second album from folk’s radical young multi-instrumentalist

Taksim Trio: Taksim Trio (Doublemoon) [Review]

Genius improvisations by three of Istanbul’s most sought after players

Rokia Traore: Tchamantché (Nonesuch/Tama) [Review]

Mali’s gifted young songstress balances sweetness and power

The Garifuna Women's Project : Umalali (Cumbancha) [Review]

Garifuna heritage given heartfelt voice by the women’s community collective

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