With African music so much a part of the mainstream it's easy to forget how pivotal the Real World label was in getting heard by the west. Both Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno underlined the breathtaking talent of 24-year-old Ugandan refugee Geoffrey Oryema by appearing on this, his acclaimed debut. As atmospheric and multi-textured as one might infer, Exile is all the more remarkable for Oryema's effortless tenor; laden with bluesy inflections, especially on the loping ‘Ye Ye Ye’, it lends the requisite emotion to folkloric Swahili and Acoli-language songs about solitude, home and indeed, exile. The pinging rhythms of his lukeme thumb piano and seven-string nanga harp vie and blend with airy acoustic guitars and percussive flourishes; some soft brushes here, some Senegalese shekeres there. Standouts include the stunning ‘Land of Anaka’, a quietly sung ode to the birthplace of Oryema's assassinated father that features Gabriel on backing vocals and the closing title track, a quietly dignified call for peace. An important early work.