Music in Exile presents "Jutna" (LP) (Mint (M))

Late in 2024, six musicians from six countries - Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, France, the United Kingdom and Australia - met for the first time on the island of Hydra, Greece, at the Old Carpet Factory recording studio, united by a simple question: How does music carry us home?

"Jutna" is the result of their time spent together, and an answer to that question. In the Wolof language of Senegal, the phrase ‘Jutna’ means "it is time". Asked to expand on this, guitarist/vocalist Magou Samb stated — “Jutna means, it is time. Time to believe in yourself. Time for peace. This record is about worldwide peace, about ‘jaam’, about everyone coming together to achieve peace.”

In the words of the artists themselves, Jutna is a journey. It is not African music, nor Western music. It is worldwide music, as complex and multi-layered as the experiences of the people who made it. It is joyful and expansive, blending traditional West African instrumentation - kora, balafon and djembe, performed by griot masters - with a London jazz-scene groove, alongside fuzz guitar, cosmic synth and a locked rhythm section.

The album arrives at a moment when migration is once again framed through fear and division. As a result, new anxietiesemerge, erecting borders where none existed before. Yet movement across borders has always shaped culture, art and music and Jutna celebrates collaboration, exchange, and the creative possibilities that emerge from this movement.Among the musicians gathered were Seydou “Kanazoé” Diabaté, the balafon virtuoso and bandleader of Kanazoé Orkestra, who reimagines Sambla musical traditions through contemporary sound; Senegalese vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sény “Magou” Samb, whose work draws on ancestral roots and cultural diversity to create music grounded in respect and unity; and Mamadou Dembélé, a traditional ngoni, kora, and djembe player from Burkina Faso who has contributed to multiple West African jazz, groove and folk recordings.Also contributing were Gordon Li, also known as Don Glori (Mr Bongo, Deep Matter Records), whose work blends jazz, soul and global influences; Harry King AKA Mackwood, the London-based producer, drummer , and multi-instrumentalist known for his distinctive UK jazz sound; and Boubacar Gaye, bandleader of the legendary Melbourne-based ensemble Ausecuma Beats, whose members hail from Australia, Senegal, Cuba and Mali.Working closely alongside the group was producer and engineer StefanBlair, also one half of the band Good Morning (Polyvinyl Records), who played a key role in shaping the album’s final sound.The residency was delivered by Music in Exile, an Australian not-for-profit record label and registered charity working to amplify the voices of artists with lived experience of migration and displacement.Developed in partnership with Mnemosyne Projects and hosted by the Old Carpet Factory, the gathering created space for artists to collaborate freely and share stories across borders. Old Carpet Factory provided the setting - a studio and cultural meeting place known for its spirit of radical hospitality.Above all, Jutna is a celebration - sunny and vibrant, radiating the joy of collaboration and the beauty of cultures coming together. It is music that invites you to move, to feel, and to connect, to each other, and to the idea of home. It is a call for peace and understanding, for a show of love and fellowship between people and between nations.This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.All compositions property of the musicians, under exclusive license to Music in Exile (2026).