Guinea music reviews

I am an African dancer, and have been for nearly eleven years. The very first percussion CD that I ever owned was this one. "Wassolon" is a beautiful, well recorded percussion masterpiece that should be in the library of every serious dancer and music lover. Not only will you love it the first time you read it, but the second time and the third time sound even better. Buy it today, support the art.

I only know one song from this album, it is called Haidara and is available on the Rough Guide to Mali & Senegal album, which in itself is as good a guide to the music of the region as one can get in my opinion.

Haidara is one of the best songs I've ever heard.

and I've heard plenty. I second everything the other reviewer says. Sadly, this CD has been out of print for years. As I type this, the only used copy of the CD listed on amazon goes for $87.39.

I'm astonished that this CD has no reviews. It is easily my favorite recording of African music of any kind (followed closely only by some Ethiopian dance instrumentals from the 1970's), and the song 'Haidara' is one of my top ten favorite recordings in the world since I first heard it 14 years ago.

Guinean kora player and vocalist Jawara essembled an absolutely perfect group for this all too brief recording. Along with the two guitars, balafon (a hand-made marimba-like percussion instrument) and two female backup singers, Jawara's kora bursts from their unified sound with shimmering confidence like rain whipping on ocean waves. His honeyed voice glides just over the surface, answered by a bright, distant chorus. Unlike the steady beat of South African pop, Manding music is propelled by a rolling pulse that can induce the feeling of floating bodily among intersecting, organic currents.

This is no scratchy field recording, but the all-acoustic songs are rooted in deep traditions from the urban music of both Guinea and Mali. It suffers from none of the banal Western influences that can occasionally saturate less traditional African pop. The album was recorded in Ivory Coast, first released in France in 1985 and reprinted in the US by Hannibal Records (Polygram) in 1990. Also check out Jawara's earlier album with the same instrumentation, 'Soubindoor'. As rich as 'Yasimika', but with a less perfectly balanced mix by the recording engineer.

Bidinte is an excellent songwriter, and his compositional skills are very much at display here. All the songs are in Guinea-Bissau Creole (except for #6, La rumba del viajero, which is in Spanish, the only song I don't like on this album). Although most of the vocabulary is from Portuguese, this language is still somewhat obscure, which might detract from most listerners' appreciation of Bidinte's excellent wordcraft. It also doesn't help that the translations in the English-market release are translated from the Spanish translations, and that the Creole lyrics in the booklet are full of errors; it's a shame that more care wasn't taken in this regard. If you know some Cape Verdean you'll figure out quite a bit of the words on your own; otherwise you'll have to stick to the translations.

When it comes to arrangements, some of the songs are just perfect as they are (Ke ku minino na tchora, Kumura, Sindin vela, Gumbe 45), but others could benefit from a larger band (Amor di um mindjer and Candjura would be killer tracks if given a more "tropical" arrangement, rather than the flamenco treatement they get).

In sum, an excellent showcase for a singer-songwriter that deserves much wider exposition.

what an absolute gem of a record... i caught the video for Kumura on a satelite tv world music channel and had to buy this immediately. With a voice as soulful and beautiful as any around...and the when the cd arrived the entire album is stunning. the "hit" on this record could be the fantastic Ke cu minino na tchora(track 3) easy one drop reggae groove with a hook that has you singing all day long. portugese, creole, whatever the language bidinte sings in, it is wonderful. great flamenco guitar too! this is not your standard african artist, this is THE shining star of new african/world music. wait 'till you read the lyrical translations on the inside of the disc. amazing & haunting images of life, love , death struggle and humility...

i've already ordered my friends to buy this disc. it's a must for any music lover. i cant wait to hear more from Bidinte

my newborn son loves to be rocked to sleep by some of these fantastic songs.

excellent!

This albulm is great. I have never even heard of this band until I saw their video on television. If you like to get stoned and listen to good music. This albulm is for you.

Recorded in 1985, the 'Aikea-Guinea' EP continues in the same tradition as 'Treasure'. The title track 'Aikea Guinea' - a Scottish colloquialism for seashell - is a beautiful, emotionally stunning piece of music. There is also a version of this song on 'The Pink Opaque' with a slightly different mix. This EP was the last work of what I like to call the cocteaus "minimalist" period; subsequent to this period the twins moved into more aural soundscapes and ambience characterized by the use of sequencers and guitar effects (e.g., 'Echos in a Shallow Bay' EP)

If you know FSOL and their epic singles and EPs full of complete transformations of already wildly unusual tracks into totally new forms of music, then this one will seem, well, rather bland.
Don't get me wrong. "Papua New Guinea" is one of the great dance tracks of our time, a true pop hit without a trace of compromise, and a reminder to club-goers and casual listeners alike that dance music can be more than Eiffel 65. But a great song deserves a great single, like "Lifeforms," "Cascade," and "We Have Explosive" got.
This isn't it. Of the eight tracks on here, only three really depart from the original. One of these, the Hamish McDonald mix, is very quiet and not very good sound quality. The other two, by Graham Massey and Andrew Weatherall, are both solid.
But as far as FSOL goes, two remixes does not a single make. Just a cursory dip into the more recent "Papua New Guineau Translations" can remind us of what the Future Sound of London is capable of.

What people visiting this page need to understand is that Papua New Guinea in any form is but a gateway drug. No argument: it is a wonderful song that rises above much of the Dance/Trance/House/Floor pap of today, and debatably has more staying power than any other song from those heady days when Electronic began its glorious assault upon the ears of the world, fulfilling its manifest destiny.

What you must realize is that FSOL is more than Papua New Guinea; to truly understand their genius you must receive the ISDN transmission, examine Lifeforms, walk along Lifeforms:Paths 1-7, and travel unaccompanied through Dead Cities. With these albums FSOL exhibit through the newest musical medium musical genius that would make the great classical masters bow their heads. In those songs are aural landscapes of such beauty and sonic visions of such complete sublimity that other musics will be measured against them from then on, and either found lacking or at best: in complete harmony.

Start your journey in Papua New Guinea, but do not stop there.

This song --i cannot say enough about it. It is pure emotion. It is the most organic, earthy song i've ever heard in my life. If nature were to compress all the sounds that it produces, i think this would be the product of that, or close to it.

Apart from being breathtakingly original in its melody and form, it is composed in such a natural, smooth, poignant moderate tempo that the brillance of such timing is almost startling. The vocals are wonderfully selected and appropriated in the song--they capture the essence of that ancient, ethnic, uplifting chanting style of singing. They are a very emotional part of the song for me. The ones at 2:38 minutes into the song emote the most.

The instrumentation of it reminds me of listening to sounds that are carried in the wind...that smooth melody is the wind, and all these natural sounds, and worldly vocals that are vocalizing in sync with nature. I feel like im being taken on a boat, drifting around the world, almost too relaxed, yet totally aware of the harmony being presented and the nature of nature happening around me.

The only other song i've heard that has similar instrumentation, and sort of connotes the same type of harmony, is the amazingly empathetic "Porcelain" by Moby.

I just can't get over how machine-made music can sound this earthy and celestial. It's pretty whimsical....

This was a not bad effort by Alpha Yaya Diallo. It's a nice listen but a little disappointing. You don't need to read the notes to realize he lives in either Europe or North America. The music has a very noticeable western influence to it, which is perhaps understandable since Diallo now lives in Vancouver. If you're looking for something a little more purely Africa, try Ali Farka Tour�...

It's a good record of West African music, with strong influences from Senegamese mbalax, Mali nad Guinean styles. The acoustic lines are sophisticated, especially the Diallo's guitar and some piano solos. The only defect of this CD is lack in originality. Diallo's singing is too similar with Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal or Selif Keita, melodies are something already heared. Finally, this is not the first African CD to buy. Weakly reccomended.

This is an excellent recording of modern West African music, from a guitarist, composer, singer from Guinea. It won the Canadian Juno award this year for best global recording (he lives in Canada). There is a good variety of traditional and modern instruments and rhythms, and it's well produced. As a result, the music is consistently stimulating. Also, the retro Blue Note style cover is great. Of his 3 CDs, I enjoy this one the most.

I'm not in the habit of writing these things...however I am so enthralled by this music I felt I had to share my thoughts. The CD is a good introduction to the immense variety of music coming out of Africa. My favorites are Ndima Npapedza (#1) by Oliver Mtukudzi and Wassiye (#7) by Habib Koite'. The music is fun and yet has depth to it. I listen to it and while I'm tapping my toes, my soul is singing right along. I recommend this one highly.

"Africa" was one of the first world music CD's I bought - I was involved in a show which included African and African-influenced music and I wanted to do some first hand audio research. This CD is just amazing! One of the things which immediately struck me was the beautiful and distinctive guitar work on many of the tracks, particularly those by Oliver Mtukudzi, Habib Koite, and Les 4 Etoiles. Other noteworthy instrumental work includes the B-3 organ intro on the Soul Brothers' "Thandaza", and the accordion featured in Sam Mangwana's "Ya Mbemba". There are also soul-stirring vocals featuring gorgeous harmonies (like Oom's "Anoma") and alternating call-and-response type melodies, and best of all, a wide variety of really cool grooves - each track has its own unique flavor. My favorites are Johnny Clegg and Juluka's "Love Is Just A Dream", Samba Ngo's "Sa Ntima" and Ricardo Lemvo's "Manuela", but really, there isn't one track here I don't love - five years after buying this CD it's still one of my favorites! I have since gone on to buy more CD's by several of the artists featured here, as well as by other African artists. I've also bought many of Putumayo's other compilations, which all serve as great introductions to a variety of artists as well as to many types of world music. By all means I recommend buying "Africa" - you won't regret it, but I warn you, you won't stop here :)

I have a bar & grill in Bogota Colombia and I play this and other Putumayo CDs to provide an interesting atmosphere. #8 is my favorite, it makes you move and groove. Customers constantly ask about these CDs.

Pivi ("Samba","Kogno Koura","Djina Mousso") and the virtuoses Diabate ("Koumanfe","Keba Mirima","N'FA") provide the bulk of this selection, Keletigui's "Donsoke" is very engaging but Bembeya strikes out with the mediocre "Mme Tolbert". Very Good overall

Beautiful, hypnotic electric guitar music from the African country of Guinea in the early '70s. This series is one of the best "world music" artifacts you'll ever come across... as the person who turned me on to them said to me, snap these puppies up while you can!

This CD was my first exposure to West African music. Surprise! They aren't limited to bongo drums and acapella chants! I've fallen in love with several of the songs on this CD, and so have my children. We are now tracking down and collecting the CD's of the artists we enjoyed most! Great variety.

This is the perfect introduction to West African music. Some of the songs are absolutely captivating (Oumou Sangare and Ali Farka Toure especially). Brilliantly sourced album.

Ornate, expansively arranged West African music, very much in keeping with the world-pop crossovers of Youssou N'Dour, Habib Koite, Toumane Diabate and others. Bambino is one of the younger Guinean griots, son of singer Marlama Samoura, a popular vocalist during the late 1960s. Bambino's approach is pretty adventurous and varied; on with a hip-hop flavored tune, "Promesse," a duet with Parisian-based Senegalese rapper Diziz La Peste. Kinda slick, but kinda nice!

The future of music is not in the US, which veers disasterously between thudding repititious rap, and belly button pop. Instead, look elsewhere, music lovers. In particular, Africa has really cultivated an intensely brilliant culture that produces the most compelling contemporary music to be found anywhere. There are the reformed and glorious Orchestra Baobab, Youssou N'Dour and Saleif Keita, all of whom have released stellar CDs in the past few months. The brilliant Mailian guitarist, Habib Koite, is preparing his next release, Cesaria Evora is finally getting the recognition she so truly deserves, and add to that estimable list
Sinikan Bambino Diabate, who has just turned in the first truly great CD of 2003.
From the opening blast, this Cd jumps, dances and insinuates its rhythms with a seductive percolation. Sinikan is descended from a long line of griots, and in his case, seeks not so much to harken back with his inherited gifts but cast his vision forward. As you listen, you'll hear tonalities shared with N'Dour, but with a much more in your face arrangement style that grabs you out of your seat. The dance rhythms are terrific. His French producer has mastered a terrifc blend of instruments that give this all the excitement of Motown at its best. Sinikan's messages are those of love, culture and concern for the future of his community. His sinewy way with his lyrics leave you exhilaratingly captivated.
Africans seem to have found a way to take rap and hip-hop out of its formulaic reptition and breathe life into it. Youssou has done it, and here you'll find Sinikan raising the artistic bar far beyond the imagination of its American purveyors. Elements of jazz, r & b and that quintessential African guitar sound fill in the palette of colours at his disposal, and Sinikan makes the most of all of them.
This is a great CD. Go out and buy it NOW! Hopefully a support tour is launched. In fact, it's time a number of these terrific musicians got a chance to demonstarte to North America that not all is lost. Hope exists. And what a wonderful sound it has!