One of my current favorite bands–haven’t seen them play live yet; they’re out West–is Bell Atlas. That the lead singer Sandra Lawson is a distant relative of late Nigerian legend Rex Lawson (he is a distant cousin of her mother) and of another highlife legend, Erasmus Jenewari, may be part of it. But Sandra’s talent speaks for itself. The other band members are Derek Barber, Geneva Harrison and Doug Stuart. Things are moving fast for them. They’ve been releasing new songs online for a bit now and have a new album coming out on Bandcamp on March 11. Meanwhile, here’s a sample of their sound, self-described as an “Afro-Indie-Soul sound … incorporating an eclectic range of influences including Highlife, Hip-Hop, Samba, R&B, Post Rock, and Indie Pop”:

Another video:

And a soundcloud of their latest, and second, single from their debut EP, “Loving You Down.” It’s about “the weight of attachment that is involved in a relationship. It’s about a woman near the end of her life, revisiting some painful memories and deciding to re-craft the telling of her life story”:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/79397145″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

* Photo Credit: Bells Atlas

Further Reading

Kagame’s hidden war

Rwanda’s military deployments in Mozambique and its shadowy ties to M23 rebels in eastern Congo are not isolated interventions, rather part of a broader geopolitical strategy to expand its regional influence.

After the coups

Without institutional foundations or credible partners, the Alliance of Sahel States risks becoming the latest failed experiment in regional integration.

Whose game is remembered?

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations opens in Morocco amid growing calls to preserve the stories, players, and legacy of the women who built the game—before they’re lost to erasure and algorithm alike.

Sovereignty or supremacy?

As far-right politics gain traction across the globe, some South Africans are embracing Trumpism not out of policy conviction but out of a deeper, more troubling identification.

From Cape To Cairo

When two Africans—one from the south, the other from the north—set out to cross the continent, they raised the question: how easy is it for an African to move in their own land?