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Album review
The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali
Manding tradition, folk music & desert blues
Paris
12/09/2008 -
If you don't have the chance to visit Bamako, Mopti or Timbuktu in person, then try and get your hands on the latest CD compilation put together by the travel publishers Rough Guides. The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali features an extraordinary mix which reflects the full diversity of the Malian music scene, exploring contemporary sounds as well as centuries-old tradition.
The Rough Guides, co-founded by Bristol university graduate Mark Ellingham in 1981, started out as the original 'thinking travel guide.' Rough Guides were aimed at those who wanted to get more cultural satisfaction out of their holiday than the average package tour could provide. And as music plays an essential role in any country's culture it was inevitable that the Rough Guides should launch their own music compilations one day. The series now includes some 200 records, The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali being the latest musical offering to date. This fascinating fifteen-track album comes complete with a set of well-researched notes enlightening listeners about significant events in the country's history (the Manding empire), its traditional instruments (the ngoni, the Malian lute and the balafon) and the regional diversity of its music. The selection of tracks included on the album is equally well researched, introducing listeners to young, up-and-coming talents from Mali as well as celebrating the country's legendary vocalists and virtuoso instrumentalists.
The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali opens with Bala, an energetic track full of raw, bluesy riffs delivered by the renowned n'gonifôlaw (ngoni-player) Bassekou Kouyaté. And it is swiftly followed by Simbo, an astounding duet that combines the musical talent of the late African blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré and the Malian kora maestro Toumani Diabaté. The pair initiate their own culture clash, juxtaposing earthy Songhai blues from Mali's northern territories with the "noble" court culture of the Nyamakala (a caste of Fulani people). Songhai blues also powers out on two other fine tracks: the powerful Ali Farka by Afel Bocoum and the more nostalgic Tabara by Vieux Farka Touré (the latter the son of Ali Farka and the former a worthy musical heir of the late great bluesman).
The Rough Guide to the Music of Mali also explores Mali's vibrant folk scene, including tracks by Habib Koïté (who serves up his own "Bamana" electro-acoustic mix on Mali Ba) and Rokia Traoré (who opts for an open style of acoustic folk on Kanan neni). Meanwhile, the country's leading female vocalists are all present and accounted for, the Rough Guide compilation celebrating the talent of the great N’gara (master singer) Kandia Kouyaté, notorious for her critical songs and outspoken lyrics, Babani Koné, the queen of Sumu (a ritual ceremony) and Oumou Sangaré, the voice of Wassoulou (a region in southern Mali).
On a mesmerising track entitled La réalité, blind husband-and-wife duo Amadou & Mariam explore the influence rock has exerted on Mali's modern music scene, while Tinariwen perform the most extraordinary rap in their native Tuareg tongue, Tamasheq, on Arawan. Following in the wake of legendary Malian acts like Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux (serving up their usual incisive mix of brass) and Boubacar Traoré (doing a fine line in keening vocals and kora-inflected guitar), the Rough Guide compilation builds to a magnificent finale with Summertime in Bamako, Kélétigui Diabaté's extraordinary balafon reworking of the Gershwin classic Summertime.
Sylvie Clerfeuille
Translation : Julie Street
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