AFRICA EXPRESS, the brainchild of Blur and Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn, was formed in 2005 in response to Bob Geldof’s Live8 series of 10 charity concerts designed to raise money to help African nations raise themselves out of poverty.

The concerts were announced for July 2, 20 years ago, with gigs throughout the world. The London gig was planned for Hyde Park, but Geldof faced heavy criticism as Zimbabwe’s Thomas Mapfumo and Blacks Unlimited were the only African band listed to play London.

Geldof justified the line up, arguing that British black performers were not available and it was necessary to have a line up of international names to attract the massive live and TV audience needed to raise the millions to help African nations. Angered by the response, Albarn organised a meeting, pressed Geldof on the issue, and formed Africa Express.

Scrambling to defuse the row, Geldof added black artists including Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour and UK soul artist Ms. Dynamite and announced an “all-African” concert on the same day at the Eden Project in far-off Cornwall featuring African stars Thomas Mapfumo, Youssou N’Dour, Kanda Bongo Man and Tinariwen and others, prompting broadcaster and global music champion Andy Kershaw to publicly criticise Geldof and the Cornwall gig with the riposte: “And I thought apartheid had died.”

In 2006 Albarn took a number of white artists to Mali, including Martha Wainwright, Fatboy Slim and Robert Plant, to the Festival In The Desert in Timbuktu to see the many African artists who were drawing a large audience, and media attention. Africa Express was up and running.

In 2012 Albarn hired a train and took 80 musicians (including the Congo’s Jupiter And Okwess, Baaba Maal, Amadou and Mariam) and road crew on a UK tour playing spontaneous gigs, starting in Middlesbrough, culminating in a free concert in King’s Cross, London. It was headlined by Paul McCartney and featured Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. “Borderline insane. I can’t believe that some rail company’s been mad enough to let us do this,” said Albarn at the time.

Africa Express shows have featured African artists including Femi Kuti, Oumou Sangare, the legendary drummer Tony Allen and white artists including Paul Weller, Elvis Costello and many others.

This new studio set (the sixth release) titled Africa Express Presents … Bahidore was recorded in Mexico on a tour of the Americas last year.

Headlining a five-hour show on the banks of the ancient springs at Bahidore, Mexico, among the musicians and DJs appearing and recording the album (in field studios, tents and hotel rooms) are Abou Diarra, Damon Albarn, Django Django, Joan As Police Woman, Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Fatoumata Diawara and Jupiter & Okwess (from the UK train tour), DJs and producer/multi-instrumentalist Tom Excell.

Stand out tracks include the opener Soledad with Albarn, who appears on nine tracks with singer Luisa Almaguer, Zinner, Seye Adelekan, Joan As Police Woman, and the Mexican Institute of Sound.

Almaguer, who takes lead vocals on Soledad, says: “Soledad and Africa Express are symbolic and material examples of reparation for the historical debt that whiteness and the mainstream owe to racialised and independent artists around the world.”

With 21 tracks including Kuduro featuring two African female voices of Mali’s Diawara and South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly; Mi Lada featuring soulful vocals with reggaeton beat (Latin American rap) featuring Mexican rapper Mare Advertencia — a feminist activist who explores issues such as misogyny and gang violence — and Los Angeles-based producer Alansito Vega, who penned the track, and says: “So much of the music came out of spontaneous jams, just soaking in the natural surroundings”.

A remarkable set of hip hop, salsa, reggae, soul, cumbia and traditional Mexican music Africa Express hits the road again in early July. Alas, no UK gigs.

Africa Express Presents... Bahidora is released by World Circuit Records, on CD and vinyl