Baka Beyond, the British-Cameroonian collaboration between folk musicians Su Hart and Martin Cradick, has released Sing the World Awake on 18 September 2026 through March Hare Music. The 11-track album marks their first new recording in 12 years and draws on 34 years of field recordings of traditional Baka music from Cameroon, showcasing a new generation of singers from the Baka people while deepening the duo's long-standing exploration of an ancient oral tradition.
Over three decades, Hart and Cradick have cultivated a distinctive fusion that pairs the polyphonic yodelling traditions of Baka women with contemporary western instrumentation. Their journey began when Martin Cradick and Su Hart first travelled to Cameroon in 1992, leading to their 1993 debut Spirits of the Forest on Joe Boyd's Hannibal Records. Throughout their career, the pair have maintained equal royalty splits with Baka collaborators and channelled support through their Global Music Exchange charity, ensuring the community benefits directly from the partnership.
How do the instrumental arrangements shape the album?
Cradick's instrumental work spans a wide spectrum of influences and textures. The track Topé Malangui Kpode features sprightly, Ghanaian highlife-inspired guitar melodies layered with percussive polyrhythms, while Fair Molly (Mál Bhán Ní Chuilleanáin) welcomes Gaelic vocals from guest singer Irene O'Meara. The Swift showcases Ben Moneypenny's intricate violin playing in a folk idiom. However, the integration of Baka vocal fragments into these varied musical contexts produces an uneven sonic landscape, with the fusion sometimes feeling more like a collection of disparate elements than a cohesive whole.
When do the Baka voices truly shine?
The album reveals its most remarkable qualities when the Baka ensemble occupies the foreground rather than serving as an accent to western arrangements. Dance the Dawn interweaves Mbakolo Elaine's yearning ululations with finger-picked acoustic guitar and a soft synth bed, allowing her piercing voice to emerge with gentle embellishment. The reggae-influenced We Miss You! features the powerful group vocals of Nahwia Hélène, Loni Julienne, Barma Thérése and Mayo Jacqui, their voices ricocheting like dub echo across the mix. The title track stands as a highlight, bringing together a large ensemble of Baka singers who respond to the soaring yodelling of lead vocalist Loni Julienne, creating an enveloping soundscape of undulating voices. When presented unadorned and in full force, these voices demonstrate a deeply skilful and strangely moving quality unlike anything else found on contemporary recordings.
What is the broader context for this release?
Baka Beyond's work sits within a growing international interest in field recordings and Indigenous musical traditions. Similar projects have emerged across Africa, including vibrant Tanzanian field recordings showcasing women's traditional songs, which highlight rhythmic and harmonic creativity rarely heard outside Indigenous communities. The band's commitment to long-term collaboration and equitable partnership with Baka communities reflects a broader shift in how western musicians approach cross-cultural musical exchange, moving away from extractive models toward sustained relationship-building.
What are the upcoming live performances?
Baka Beyond will perform at Folkestone on 2 October 2026, followed by an album launch gig at The Jam Jar on 8 October 2026. The current touring lineup includes Ayodele, Kibisingo, drummer David O'Farrell and fiddler Ben Weedon alongside Cradick and Hart, representing 32 years of touring for the project.
Key Facts
- Sing the World Awake is an 11-track album released on 18 September 2026 through March Hare Music
- The project draws on 34 years of field recordings and features a new generation of Baka singers
- Baka Beyond has maintained equal royalty splits and community support through Global Music Exchange since their 1993 debut
- The album's power emerges most strongly when Baka vocals are presented unadorned and centre-stage rather than integrated into western arrangements
Also released this month
Turkish psychedelic innovators Baba Zula mark 30 years as a band with a new release delving into murky, dub-influenced territory, blending droning bass with twanging saz melody and sparse darbuka rhythm to produce a charmingly ambient odyssey. A reissue of rare 1980s Ethiopian synth experiments by Teodros Makonnen offers a wistful exploration of Ethio-jazz melodies and early electronic dancefloor sounds. Syrian composer Khaled Kurbeh's latest album presents a profoundly tender collection of solo piano pieces that weave dextrous Iraqi folk rhythms with soothing neoclassical melodies, each inspired by recording at dawn and dusk.
