AfroCubism, the collaboration between Cuban and Malian musicians that was meant to take place when the Buena Vista Social Club was born, is due out October 19 and is now up for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with the exclusive bonus track "El Manisero." "What I've heard of Afrocubism so far sounds pretty awesome," says NPR's Robin Hilton on the All Songs Considered blog, which premiered a new behind-the-scenes video today. Watch it here.

Today marks the North American release of Philip Selway's Familial. The Detroit Free Press says the Radiohead drummer "defies expectations on his solo debut," which "showcases Selway's gentle, tuneful vocals ... Familial is a wonderful surprise." The Globe and Mail gives the album four stars, citing its ""haunting Nick Drake-style of contemporary folk." The Village Voice says "Elliott Smith's influence runs strong." Philadelphia Weekly calls it "a delicate and dreamy record of intimately told folk songs."

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby have taken the collaborative spirit of their forthcoming album, Lonely Avenue, and joined up with another duo, Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, for the VideoSong "Things You Think," featuring music by Folds and lyrics by Hornby. The song is available now on iTunes, and the video is just out on YouTube. Watch it here.

Philip Selway's debut solo album, Familial, can now be heard streaming in its entirety, featured as NPR's First Listen, at npr.org. "As a member of one of the most accomplished rock bands in the world, the bar is set pretty high," says NPR's Robin Hilton. "But when you listen to the beautifully produced pieces Selway came up with on Familial, it's easy to see him not as a percussionist, but as a genuine singer-songwriter." Hilton continues: "Selway can sing, and he's got a wonderfully nuanced voice ... And the songs Selway wrote sound heartfelt and inspired."

Familial, Philip Selway's debut solo album, is due out in just over a week, on August 31. You can now listen to four tracks off the album here. Selway is the subject of a feature profile in the Irish Independent, which calls Familial "a gentle, comforting, whisper-in-the-ear sort of album with pleasing echoes of Nick Drake." The BBC says the album is "full of sweet sentiment and honest meditations."

Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail, due out September 14, is now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. This outdoor version of the piece—featuring 200 guitarists, 16 bassists, five conductors, and one percussionist—was performed for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. As with almost all Nonesuch Store CD orders, A Crimson Grail includes downloads of the complete album as high-quality, 320-kbps MP3s, starting release day.

Lonely Avenue, the new album from Ben Folds and Nick Hornby, is now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an exclusive, limited-edition Folds/Hornby-penned manuscript score from the album track "Picture Window," a number of which will be signed by the artists. The record, due out September 28, is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and in a deluxe edition that includes the CD, four short stories by Hornby, and photos by Joel Meyerowitz in a hardbound, 152-page book.

Punch Brothers' latest Nonesuch album, Antifogmatic, which was released earlier this summer on CD and described on NPR's Weekend Edition as "10 delectable tunes," is now available on vinyl. The vinyl edition includes the album pressed on 140-gram vinyl plus a CD of the complete album. Actor/comedian Ed Helms offers a "Slobbering Rave" of the band's music in Paste, calling "an impossibly perfect mixture of down-home charm and staggering sophistication."

AfroCubism—the great world music album that never was—has finally been realized and is due for release from World Circuit / Nonesuch Records this October. To coincide with the release of the album, AfroCubism the band, featuring some of Cuba and Mali's finest musicians, will embark on its first full tour this fall. In North America, where the album is due for release on Nonesuch October 19, the group will stop in Montreal, Boston, and New York.

Nonesuch Records is set to release violinist Gidon Kremer’s De Profundis, featuring the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra, on September 14. The album’s 12 pieces, selected from Kremer’s performing repertoire, span nearly two centuries, from Schubert to Schnittke—artists who sought to "sustain humans by appealing to their profoundest emotions," says Kremer. De Profundis is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Genuine Negro Jig, the Nonesuch debut album from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is now available on 140-gram vinyl, with the complete album included on CD. Nonesuch Store orders also include instant downloads of all the album tracks as MP3s, plus seven exclusive live bonus MP3s. The band's recent appearance on PBS's Tavis Smiley show is now online. Next up on tour is a free show at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.