AfroCubism—the album that unites some of the greatest musicians from Cuba and Mali as they were meant to be 14 years ago when the Buena Vista Social Club was born—makes its much anticipated release outside the US and Canada today on World Circuit Records. There are a few more weeks to go before the album's North American release on Nonesuch, November 2, the week that also launches the group's three-city tour of Montreal, Boston, and New York. AfroCubism is still available for pre-order in North America in the Nonesuch Store, with the complete album, plus the exclusive bonus track "Keme Bourama," included as high-quality, 320 kpbs MP3s on release day.

Leading to today's release in the UK, the Guardian recently published a feature profile of the group, examining the collaboration that was not to be back in 1994, and the successful gathering that finally did take place to bring the new album to life. The Guardian's Will Hodgkinson takes an in-depth and honest look at the rich and complicated cultural history between the two countries.

"A joyfully ebullient meeting point between traditional Malian music and the kind of Cuban rhythms the Buena Vista Social Club brought to the wider world," writes Hodgkinson, "AfroCubism continues a cultural exchange that has been going for over half a century."

Read all about it at guardian.co.uk.

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Hodgkinson's colleague at the Guardian, Robin Denselow, gives the album four stars. Now that the they have finally come together, the musicians of AfroCubism "have recorded an elegant, gently exquisite album," says Denselow, and "the collaboration works." Read the complete review, also at guardian.co.uk.

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The Observer agrees. "Much delayed, the project proves dazzling," writes reviewer Neil Spencer. "There's rural languor ('Jarabi'), scorching dance numbers ('Nima Diyala') and fabulous, intricate playing at every turn. The numbers are mostly standards, but none emerge unchanged by the transatlantic dialogue between the masters of kora, balafon and tres guitar. A delight." Read the complete review at guardian.co.uk.

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The Financial Times gives AfroCubism four stars as well. "This is what Buena Vista Social Club was meant to be," writes reviewer David Honigmann: "the cream of Malian musicians meeting their Cuban counterparts." He cites some "informal marvels" on the album and "furious" playing on some tracks, but concludes that "the set pieces are relaxed rather than imperious." Read the review at ft.com.

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MusicOMH gives the album a perfect five stars. Though it may have taken years to bring these musicians together, doing so has produced "predictably wonderful results," writes reviewer Daniel Paton. "Yet it's hard to imagine how a project involving musicians of the calibre of Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté and Eliades Ochoa could be anything other than stunning. These are simply the masters of their individual fields—virtuoso instrumentalists and supremely expressive musicians and writers."

Paton explains: "The great skill and brilliance in this music lies in its effortless nature—the supreme command these musicians have over feel and vibe—the innate, intangible understanding and interaction between musicians that can only be acquired through years of performing experience."

There's much more a musicomh.com.

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World Music Central says: "The whole album is excellent so it’s hard to point out highlights ... AfroCubism is a prodigious recording that embraces and intertwines the finest roots music from Cuba and Mali." Read the review at worldmusiccentral.org.

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To pre-order AfroCubism in the US or Canada, due out November 2, head to the Nonesuch Store now. For more on the North American tour, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.