Seckou Keita is a gifted singer, percussionist and kora player; a Senegalese griot literally born to play music, a man who learned his craft so expertly from his father and grandfather that he formed his first band at the age of 12.

The thirtysomething Keita has released a series of albums since relocating to the UK, all of them notable for his technical virtuosity and willingness to experiment; his cross-cultural bass-kora-percussion quartet and later, quintet, saw him improvising on the 22-string kora of Casamance in southern Senegal, adding new tunings, discovering new possibilities. There have been WOMADs, international tours, creative partnerships with the Red Cross; a song, ‘Rewmi (Country)’, the opener on this new excellent release, was ubiquitous during the presidential elections in Senegal earlier this year.

Were the hard working Keita still based in Africa he'd undoubtedly be a massive star by now; Miro should at least command further international attention. Recorded everywhere from London and Paris to Bogota and Havana, with a seven-piece band featuring the likes of Malagasy guitarist Modeste Hughes and Keita's golden-voiced sister Binta Suso, it shimmers with new ideas and moments of genuine brilliance.