The finest African exile album of the year comes from two great Senegalese musicians now living in Belgium. Malick Pathé Sow is a singer, guitarist and exponent of the hoddu (the Senegalese n'goni), who moved to Europe in the 1990s after working with Baaba Maal and playing a key role on his classic album Baayo, while Bao Sissoko comes from a griot family and a long line of kora players. As a duo, they create an exquisite, trance-like set that is remarkable for Sow's warm, soulful vocals and for the interaction of the two players. There's occasional calabash percussion, female vocals and spike fiddle, and fine guitar work from Sow, but kora and hoddu dominate. This is an album rooted in tradition, but stories from Senegalese history and Islamic praise songs sit alongside a sturdy instrumental dedicated to an NGO fighting to end female circumcision.