Aurelio - Laru Beya

(Stonetree/Real World)

When Belizean singer Andy Palacio died tragically three years ago, people feared his placing of Garifuna language music onto the global scene, via the extraordinary album Wátina would end. Palacio must be beaming at the sound of Aurelio whose first track has him duetting with Senegalese star Youssou N’Dour, his mentor courtesy of the Rolex Arts Initiative.

This is an album of 2011 by a major world musician (who also happens to be a politician): a sublime and original fusion of sounds, irresistible often poignant musical stories, the ‘feelgood’ factor (it was recorded in a beach shack) underpinned by a sense of audacious pleasure. There’s even a Manu Chao’ish feel to ‘Ineweyu’.