Simo Lagnawi came to attention busking on London streets. Even in that polyglot capital he must have stood out for his colorful tribal garb and music. The Moroccan Berber expatriate maintains a thrumming, hypnotic groove throughout his latest album, whether accompanied by a chorus of polyrhythmic percussion or just his voice with his three-stringed lute. Fans of Tinariwen, a band of Tuareg tribesmen from neighboring Mali, will find affinity with Lagnawi’s similarly rhythmic North African sound.
