Album review

Adama Yalomba

Kassa

Paris 

16/12/2009 - 

Adama Yalomba may not be well-known in Europe, but he is no newcomer to the 'world music' scene. On the contrary, the young Malian musician has accompanied an impressive number of African stars to date. Yalomba's third solo album, Kassa - the first of his career to enjoy international release - could be about to raise his media profile in the West. 

Kassa, the title of Adama Yalomba's new album is a Bambara word meaning "smell" - not in the sense of the infamous "noise and smell" that so upset Jacques Chirac in his 1991 speech about immigration, but a reference to the enticing aromas that waft through the imagination of those living in exile when they recall their homeland. In short, Kassa works the same magical memory-jolting effect as the Proustian madeleine.

Adama Yalomba's skills as a multi-instrumentalist were spotted by 'world music' cognoscenti when he appeared on the "Festival in the Desert" compilation (back in 2003.) But apart from this appearance, Yalomba has made relatively little impact in the West. Back in Mali, however, it is a very different story. Yalomba is a sought-after collaborator who worked with both the late Ali Farka Touré and his protégé, Afel Bocoum, and who has accompanied everyone from the renowned Wassoulou diva Oumou Sangaré and Touareg groups Tinariwen and Tartit to the French-Malian singer Toma Sidibé and resident Bamako dub artist Manjul.

Yalomba's latest album, recorded at Studio Bogolan in Bamako, is the first of his career to be officially released outside Africa. And the thirteen tracks on it - all infused with an infectious 80s Afro-pop vibe - carry his music well beyond the continent's frontiers as he mixes different musical traditions and switches between Bambara, Boso, Lingala and French.

Collaborer, one of the musical highlights of Kassa, conveys a message that comes straight from Adama Yalomba's heart. The Malian visionary calls for a new era of solidarity and co-operation, urging not only his fellow musicians but also world leaders to work together hand in hand. And Yalomba appears to have heeded his own advice on Kassa, collaborating with a range of talented co-stars including the famous Malian keyboard-player Cheick Tidiane Seck, guitarists Keziah Jones, Piers Faccini and Nicolas Repac and Bamako-based producer Manjul.

Adama Yalomba Kassa (Black Eye/Makasound/PIAS) 2009
Concert at Le Satellit Café, Paris - 16 December 2009

Squaaly

Translation : Julie  Street