Laolu Senbanjo: Behind The Scenes for Guardian Life cover

Pone, former member of the famous French hip-hop collective Fonky Family, has been stricken with ALS and yet continues to make music thanks to software that follows the movement of his eyes. The eye-tracking system guides a computer mouse allowing him to compose, but also to write and speak via a voice generated by his computer. His four-track mini-album 'Listen and donate', is out now with the goal to raise funds for the Trakadom association.

Norwegian singer-songwriter Sigrid shot to fame in 2017 following the release of her debut EP "Don't Kill My Vibe". The 2019 release of her debut album "Sucker Punch" confirmed her place in pop stardom. She's been described as iconoclast, rewriting the rules of what it means to be a pop star – especially a female pop star.

As a teenager, she had to perform in the Auschwitz girls' orchestra. But Esther Bejarano never stopped loving music — or fighting against racism.

With a violin bow fixed to her prosthetic arm, Manami Ito's short but breathtaking performance at the Tokyo Paralympics opening ceremony was the product of many years of determination.

One year after singer Akon laid the first stone of the $6 billion futuristic city he plans to build in his native Senegal, the site remains grassland. Construction of "Akon City," a project due to feature ultramodern twisting skyscrapers, was already meant to have begun near the Atlantic Ocean village of Mbodiene. But building work is yet to start, prompting residents who were hoping for jobs to wonder about its future.

Britney Spears fans celebrate outside a court in Los Angeles after a judge ordered the singer’s father be removed as her guardian. Spears’ father had controlled her life for the past 13 years, under a legal arrangement the 39-year-old singer has slammed as “abusive”.

Quebec-based singer-songwriter Hubert Lenoir shot onto the scene with his debut solo album "Darlène", a glam rock psychedelic postmodern opera that was shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. He’s back with a very personal sophomore album entitled "PICTURA DE IPSE : Musique directe". This musical autobiography is a tribute to the "cinéma direct" movement, which started in Québec at the end of the 1950s.

This week, we chat to Australian jazz singer, pianist and composer Sarah McKenzie, who is currently touring France with a mini residency at the prestigious Duc des Lombards jazz club. She tells us more about the creative way in which she connected with musicians from around the world at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. We also meet young Parisian artist Yoa, whose bedroom pop-filled debut EP "Attente" has just been released.

Born and raised in Canada, Nigerian singer-songwriter Falana has crafted a unique soundscape mixing afrobeat, pop, soul and dancehall influences. Her self-produced 2019 EP "Chapter One" was described by The New Yorker as "changing the sound of global pop". Recording in Jamaica, England, Canada, the US, Portugal, Ghana and Nigeria, Falana has a uniquely global perspective. She recently dropped her hotly anticipated sophomore EP, entitled "Rising". The singer-songwriter told FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot about the new release, which explores themes like female empowerment.

Dino Brandão is considered one of the most promising young stars on the Swiss music scene. The half-Swiss, half-Angolan musician recently released a debut EP under his own name. "Bouncy Castle" features five afro-folk tracks and is a multicultural melting pot of sunny and yet melancholic songs. Oscillating between tropical melodies and darker folk tunes, he honestly addresses physical ailments and mental issues. He speaks to FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot about the importance of opening up.

Malawian musician Giddes Chalamanda had never dreamed in his 92 years that he might one day be famous enough to dine with the president followed by a night in a luxury hotel. Last month the singer did both, thanks to his unlikely new stardom on TikTok, a social media platform beloved of youths four generations removed from him -- one he can't access because he lacks a smartphone or even electricity to charge one.

Her distinctive blend of pop, folk, soul, jazz and reggae has become a firm favourite at home in Nigeria, and a regular on the radio here in France. Asa joins us from the studio in Lagos to tell us about writing and recording her fifth album as the world came to a shutdown. She tells us how reconnecting with nature created an uplifting mood on the album “Five”, and how she found inspiration through spontaneous, convivial collaborations with musicians like Whizzkid, Amaarae and The Cavemen.