Julien Jacob - Cotonou Julien Jacob - Cotonou Julien Jacob - Cotonou

(Wrasse Records)

Benin-born and Brittany-based, Julien Jacob is a composer, singer, writer, poet and spiritualist. Although he sings in - for a lack of a better word -'jibberish', he somehow conveys his musical intention to speak to the spirit of every listener. 'It was not deliberate to make up a language, it just happened one day.'

His current album 'Cotonou' named after the second largest city in Benin - is refreshingly unlike any African music I've ever heard, full of original nuances, twists and the musical compositions of a very rich imagination, soothing and timely. My favourite track, 'Rag', demonstrates this to its fullest.

Reviewer: Shaheera Asante

Rag (clip)