The Very Best

Call it a soundtrack of displacement or an assertion of kinship between ghetto-dwellers the world over. Whatever Warm Heart of Africa is, it is compelling -- the sound of three U.K.-based expats (production duo Radioclit and Malawi-born singer Esau Mwamwaya) throwing their influences into a supercollider and rocking out over the result. M.I.A. and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig guest, but the head-turning moments come elsewhere: John Hughes-era synth pop sung in a Malawian dialect, or robotic beats stuttering behind a love song that otherwise wouldn't be out of place on African radio.

U.K. DJ crew Radioclit have far-ranging ears (along with a great name). They joined
Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya for last year's Internet freebie Esau Mwamwaya and
Radioclit Are the Very Best, a mixtape combining originals with remakes of tracks by M.I.A.
and Vampire Weekend. On Warm Heart of Africa, those acts return the favor with guest
spots, alongside fat beats and Mwamwaya's warm vocals. The best tune is the titl... More >