The July edition of the prestigious Transglobal World Music Chart brings a fresh breeze from the African continent, crowned by a remarkable musical comeback. Rising to the very top of the global elite is Grammy-nominated Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara with her highly anticipated new release.
The new album, titled MASSA, represents a deeply introspective journey where Fatoumata Diawara explores themes of motherhood, faith, memory, and resilience. She transforms personal reflection and pressing societal ills into universal storytelling, inviting listeners to embrace gratitude and accept destiny as an inevitable part of the human journey. This body of work is also a heartfelt tribute to her late father, whose love continues to guide her beyond his passing.
Sonically, the singer pushes past previous boundaries and expands her musical universe. Under the artistic direction of French pop icon and producer -M- (Matthieu Chedid), she seamlessly blends her rich Malian heritage with exuberant pop tendencies. The result remains firmly rooted in West Africa yet looks boldly forward, reaffirming her position as one of the most vital voices in contemporary African music.
The album’s release is accompanied by a massive non-stop global tour running through 2026. In addition to a prestigious headline performance at the London Jazz Festival in November, Fatoumata continues her part in the wild touring entourage of Gorillaz, joining Damon Albarn and his band on a series of European stages.
Chart of the most successful albums, June 2026:
- Fatoumata Diawara · Massa · Nø Førmat! [5]
- Seu Jorge · The Other Side · Amor in Sound [1]
- Tamikrest · Assikel · Glitterbeat [9]
- Cocanha · Flame Folclòre · Bongo Joe [4]
- Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and The Rajasthan Express · Ranjha · World Circuit / BMG [6]
- Souad Massi · Zagate · BackingTrack Production [2]
- Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai · Parallel Universe, Volume 1 · Airfono [7]
- Tinariwen · Hoggar · Wedge [3]
- Mexican Institute of Sound & Meridian Brothers · Ruido Tovar · Ansonia [-]
- The Klezmatics · We Are Made for These Times · Asphalt Tango [15]
- Kitka · Kolo · Six Degrees [-]
- Nana Osei Twum Barima · Journey to the Unknown · Zephyrus [-]
- Bahar Movahed · Together Yet Alone · Adhyâropa [-]
- Naked & Lakatos Mónika FolkTrió · Neked · Adriatica [-]
- Mah Damba · Taabolo Koura · One World [18]
- Paolo Angeli & Tenore Murales de Orgosolo · Vinti ‘e Maju · ANMA / ReR Megacorp [32]
- Elif Sanchez with O Kwarteto · Así Pues… · Pasión Turca [-]
- Odd Okoddo & Ogoya Nengo · Palagoma · From Cool Waters [-]
- Zuco 103 · Mais Além · Zuco Sound [-]
- Berima Amo · Rhythms of Love · ARC Music [-]
- Muca & Roberto Menescal · Beleza · The Secret Warehouse of Sound [-]
- Stelios Petrakis · Lyric / Lyrikon · Buda Musique [12]
- Lucas Santtana · Brasiliano · Nø Førmat! [14]
- Remon Nakanishi · Yoake Garasu no Wataru Made / Till the Ravens Rise at Dawn · Doyasa! [-]
- Constantinople & Holland Baroque · Dialogos: Francis of Assisi Meets Malik al-Kamil · Pentatone [19]
- Hiram Salsano & Marcello De Carolis · Hirundini · MaDe Sound [33]
- Nuevos Ríos · Nuevos Ríos · ZZK [11]
- Sofia Rei · Antónima · GroundUP Music [16]
- Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo · Historia · Cooking Vinyl [20]
- Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino · Il Mito · Ponderosa Music [21]
- Constantinople: Kiya Tabassian, Ablaye Cissoko, Patrick Graham · Estuaire · Ma Case [27]
- Karsh Kale · Dust · Six Degrees [36]
- Antti Paalanen · Haitarimarinadi · Rockadillo [-]
- Daughters of Donbas · Songs of Stolen Children · Daughters of Donbas [13]
- Tarwa N-Tiniri · Zaman · Atty [25]
- Maria Kalaniemi & Timo Alakotila · Morgondimma · Åkerö [-]
- Marta Elena · Por Amor · Lulaworld [-]
- Neba Solo & Benego Diakité · A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking · Nonesuch [8]
- Gaoussou ‘Sobra’ Kouyate · Sobra Dance · One World [31]
- Shubiao Quartet · Ayalal · Shubiao Quartet [35]
NMR (Photo: Marcello Perego)
Founder members and administrators Transglobal World Music Chart:
Ángel Romero (US), Araceli Tzigane (ES), Juan Antonio Vázquez (ES)
Current active members:
Enrique Blanc (MX), Tiago Lucas Garcia (BR), Zekeriya S. Şen (TR), Benjamín Muñiz (PR), Daryana Antipova (RU), Mika Kauhanen (FI), Luisa Piñeros (CO), Toni Pennacchia (US), Chen Hanzi (CN), Takuya “Salam” Unagami (JP), Janaína Ávila (BR), Ankur Malhotra (IN), Alexis Herrería (MX), Ula Nowak (PL), Banning Eyre (US), Magda Tejchma (PL), Tatiana Naryshkina (RU), Andrii Polianskyi (UA), Michael Rossi (UK), Nicky Blumenfeld [NickyB] (ZA), Ben Wheeler (GE/US), Darek Mazzone (PL/US), Junf Ga (MX), Piercarlo Poggio (IT), Nataliya Averina (Myazina) (RU), Labesse Patrick (FR), Seth Jordan (AU), Tony Hillier (AU), Charlie Crooijmans (NL), Nigel Wood (IE), Dore Stein (US), Roger Holdsworth (AU), Madan Rao (IN), Gil Medovoy (US), Chris Heim (US), Ciro De Rosa (IT), Scott Stevens (US), Hendrick T S Foh (MY), Cliff Furnald (US), Rob Weisberg (US), Toni Polo (FR/ES), Nicolás Falcoff (AR), Masakazu Kitanaka (JP), Jordi Demésenllà (ES), Rafael Mieses (DO/US), Luís Rei (PT), Jean Trouillet (DE), Evangeline Kim (US), Alejandro López (ES), Jon Kertzer (US), Ken Stowar (CA), Jiří Moravčík (CZ), Mu Qian (CN), Gil Rouvio (IL), Bouna Ndiaye (SN/US), Kutay Derin Kuğay (TR), Robert Gregor (SK), Yatrika ShahRais (IR/US), Armen Manukyan (AM), Rolf Beydemüller (DE), François Bensignor (FR), Eleni Ziliaskopoulou (GR), Marija Vitas (RS), Jaïr Tchong (BE)
More at: https://www.transglobalwmc.com/
