Africa Express Presents...Bahidorá - Out July 11th

Globally acclaimed music phenomenon Africa Express is back with a brand new studio album titled ‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá’, recorded in Mexico and set for release on 11 July 2025 via World Circuit Records. Partners can stream the album privately via the player below.

Africa Express is a collective of African and Western musicians. It started in 2006 in Mali, connecting local stars Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Amadou & Mariam with visiting artists including Martha Wainwright, Fatboy Slim and co-founder Damon Albarn. Now it is a globally known project, ready to release its sixth studio album.

Africa Express went to the Americas for the first time in 2024 to headline the Mexican festival Bahidorá, 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 ahead of an epic 5-hour show on the banks of the ancient springs of Bahidorá. Afterwards, they stayed on to record together in field studios, tents and hotel rooms. The result is this remarkable collection of 21 tracks - the project’s sixth album and first since 2019’s ‘Africa Express presents...Egoli’, which was recorded in Johannesburg.

An album like no other, ‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá’ is a joyful and mind-blowing sonic trip which distills the joy of a musical adventure in Mexico into 21 extraordinary songs that are perfect for our times.Featuring artists from four continents but with roots firmly planted in Mexico, it entwines rich musical traditions ranging from cumbia, hip-hop and kuduro through to soul, salsa and the sweetest pop. The first two singles ‘Mi Lado’ (ft. Alansito Vega, Poté & Mare Advertencia) and ‘Kuduro’ (ft. Fatoumata Diawara, Moonchild Sanelly & Tom Excell) are out now, listen to both HERE!

First track ‘Mi Lado’ is the catchiest of Latin pop with soulful vocals over a reggaeton beat. It features quickfire Mexican rapper Mare Advertencia - a feminist activist whose lyrics often explore issues such as misogyny and gang violence - alongside St Lucia-born electro artist Poté and LA-based producerAlansito Vega.

‘Kuduro’ is the fast and furious second track in which two of the most distinctive African female voices - Mali’s Fatoumata Diawara and South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly - swap vocals over a pounding beat laid down by Tom Excell of Onipa. ‘Men come and go’ sings Moonchild resignedly. ‘They come back crying as if it was not them.’

From the following couple of singles, ‘Soledad’ is a stunning cinematic duet sung in Spanish by Damon Albarn and Luisa Almaguer, a melancholic and beautiful track with mournful lyrics that intone ‘Soledad soledad soledad sin fin’ (Loneliness, loneliness, endless loneliness). It is accompanied by ‘Otim Hop’, a cool slice of laid-back hip-hop with Bootie Brown’s slick tale of a hustle spliced with Ugandan Afrofuturist Otim Alpha’s autobiographical lyrics about ‘Big man running trying to escape poverty’.

Hacernos Así’ and ‘Invocation’ are the fifth and sixth singles to be taken from the forthcoming studio album.

Mexican singer-songwriter Luisa Almaguer features once again on ‘Hacernos Asi’, a passionate and deeply-personal meditation on being transgender in a hostile world. She sings - ‘Te propongo algo quitarnos la ropa, y hacernos así ‘(I'll tell you what, take off our clothes. And make us like this) - backed by Damon Albarn on piano, Joan As Police Woman on violin, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on guitar and Seye Adelekan on bass, with what Albarn has described as “one of the most unique and enchanting voices I have ever heard.” The track is accompanied by a profoundly moving video, filmed during the album recording sessions in Mexico, and captures an extraordinary and emotional moment of musical collaboration and human connection. Watch video HERE.

This powerful song is joined by Invocation - a dark, haunting and mystical hymn to the ancestors and ancients - from Congolese singer Jupiter Bokondji and K.O.G. What starts as a ritual incantation from Jupiter is lifted up by K.O.G.’s poetic rap to become an unforgettable piece of music. Watch video HERE.

Africa Express is an adventure and a journey, always evolving and exploring fresh musical boundaries. It is based on respect and seeks to promote a simple concept: that human beings are stronger when we collaborate, when we communicate openly and when we accept that we all have something to say. It is about breaking down barriers with artists from different nations, genders, generations and musical genres, joining forces in a display of unity. The idea is perfectly expressed by the eclecticism, spirit and sounds of ‘Africa Express presents... Bahidorá.’

Africa Express will hit the road this summer for a run of dates across Europe, including Roskilde Festival on 5 July and Barcelona’s Cruïlla Festival on 11 July.

‘Africa Express Presents... Bahidorá’ will be available in the following formats: Digital; Double CD; and Double Gatefold Vinyl LP.

Festival Tour Dates 2025:

• 5th July 2025 Roskilde Festival, DENMARK
• 6th July 2025 Müpa, BUDAPEST
• 8th July 2025 Huxleys, BERLIN
• 9th July 2025 Elbphilharmonie, HAMBOURG
• 11th July 2025 Cruïlla Festival, BARCELONA

ABOUT AFRICA EXPRESS:

Africa Express started in 2006 in Mali, connecting local stars Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Amadou & Mariam with visiting artists including Martha Wainwright, Fatboy Slim and co-founder Damon Albarn. Now it is a globally-known project - yet it never loses its capacity to surprise, whether live or on record. It has invited Western artists to countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Mali; staged collaborative concerts lasting up to seven hours from Liverpool to Lagos; taken a train filled with musicians around Britain to mark the London Olympics; reformed a Syrian orchestra divided by civil war; and recorded the first African interpretation of Terry Riley's minimalist classic In C. Participating artists have included Baaba Maal, Blur, Charli XCX, Faia Younan, Femi Kuti, Flea, Franz Ferdinand, Kano, Oumou Sangaré, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller, Rachid Taha, Rokia Traoré and Tony Allen among many others.

The complete list of artists featured on the album (artist bios at this link HERE):

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