The Very Best

African music project The Very Best has a gangly reach, having come together when a couple of European guys known as Radioclit met Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya in London. Together, they began crafting modern backing tracks for Mwamwaya's golden voice, and the ensemble took off in 2008 with a beloved mix-tape that drew original stuff alongside material by M.I.A. and other artists. Now, The Very Best has a proper album to tout, and it's a good one: 2009's Warm Heart Of Africa is in fact warm, with songs full of heart that sound like futuristic memories of what African pop could stand to sound like now.

Updated 05/26/2010