Mali music reviews

Fantastic! I have no idea what the heck these folks are singin' about, but frankly it doesn't matter... I love it! Upon first listen, it would be easy to dismiss this album as just one of hundreds crammed into the "world" or "international" section at the music store. However, play it at least twice and I guarantee you'll be hooked. I found the album to be an unexpected blend of a variety of musical styles. The pace is quick, with brief breaks of slow, sometimes haunting tracks. My one year old daughter loves dancing to it; "M'Bif� balafon" gets her going and by "Camions Sauvages" she is in full swing with no hope of stopping her! To summarize, fantastic!

No one has mentioned this yet, but this album is at least a third Manu Chao (And if you don't know who he is, get his album Proxima Estaci�n: Esperanza, right now) and while the husband and wife duo of Amadou and Bamako do their usual thing--very Malian sounding (to my ignorant ears perhaps) guitar and soulful vocals--the production and keyboard programming comes courtesy of Senor Chao, which gives the album both a much wider and deeper palette of sounds and rhythms than previous albums by the duo. Manu Chao's singing and musical style is radically different than theirs, but they blend together like rhythm and melody (which would be the most blunt way to describe the difference between them: Chao sing raps, funky and dancing around the beat, while Amadou and Mariam soar and play through the melodic register). The best track, to my mind, is "Coulibaly" with the best of african polyrhythms and guitar playing, though the very Manu Chao-ish "Senegal Fast Food" and "Taxi Bamako" are growing on me.

"Authenique," palatable to the West, this is the best world music I've heard this year. The Malinese duo of Amadou et Mariam should have premiered at Live 8 to show what Africa has to offer musically. Not quite so political, "la realite" of their blind (yes, I understand they are blind!) world is rooted more in the streets of their experience. "Senegal Fast Food" will have you springing fare for a ticket, but don't forget to tip the "Taxi a Bamako." You just know this is the tip of the iceberg because they've released many a good album (not availible on Amazon yet) prior to this.

It's fantastic. First when I was passing by an African goods booth I heard that. When I asked the seller about this song she told me "Isn't that great?" It really was! Then she introduced me this album and Amadou et Mariam as it's singers. People who are open to world music will love it.

This album has something to it that makes you like it, maybe is the recognizable and by now, classic, manu chao's beat present throughout? Maybe the freshness of the singing? I don't really care why, but this buy is a no brainer for any Manu fan, and for all people open minded to music.

There are 8 tracks out of the 15 that are credited to Manu Chao, and are so easily recognized. I think that this fact makes the album a lot more accesible and is a great introduction to these great musicians (Amadou et Mariam) and is certainly the album to buy first.

I just saw them live last week, and they are so good and energetic live that it was a pleasure to see. Don't miss them since they are touring now!

The Bambaras, Mali's largest ethnic group, have many famous musicians in their ranks. It is odd, then, that most of the music heard in the west, while it may be traditional material, is played on non-African instruments. For instance, Amadou Diabate's album "Djiriyo" with its electric guitars (played of course in a Bambara style), keyboard, and punctuating trumpets. Or Amadou and Miriam's albums, filled with horns and Indian percussion. Rokia Traore brings another perspective; her music is played primarily on traditional instruments but in a very non-traditional style. The music of Habib Koite and Bamada is a mixture of traditional and modern instruments, and much of it has a strong Cuban influence.

Here, however, we have traditional Bambara music played on traditional instruments (with the exception of the ubiquitous guitar).

This is beautiful music, Mah Damba is one of my favorite Malian singers, right up there with Oumou Sangare and Kandia Kouyate. Her smoky vocals slide through the crisp, clean playing of the guitar and ngonis like a snake over desert sand. The main ngoni here is played by Mah's husband, the incomparable Mamaye Kouyate. The string instruments, playing in that crisp Bambara style, produce bouncy rhythms which remind me of Venezuelan or Cuban folk music. The percussion is provided by nothing more than the slapping of the string instruments, hand claps, and the earthy thumps and clicks of Mahkan Tounkara's hands on the calabash. The essential backing female vocals are lower and more metallic than the girlish piping heard in Wassalou music, which sounds exactly right.

The songs here are traditional griot themes. I am constantly amazed at African musicians' ability to impart mood to their audience even through the language barrier -- when Mah sings Simbala Kone, accompanied by thumping calabash and dry ngoni lines, it SOUNDS epic, so that we know it must be about some hero or martyr of Bambara history.

Distinctly West African in its light charm. But great variation across tracks, almost as though produced by a collective with lots of room for different people to lead. Typically transparently layered with varying mixes of polyrhythms, harder Western grooves, and many different special effects. The influence of rap and reggae is apparent throughout. Sung mainly in clear French, but in African languages, too. General mood is happy and light. But stories about politics and society weave throughout like a kind of reporting. Children pop everywhere in many guises. Not at all what I expected (something closer to Afrobeat) from all the hype.

This music brings you back to the beginning of rythmic raw sound!!!
Amzing to hear , POp yet African!! You can't get the Two again!! My review has to be read like you hear the music, so Makes no sense..ANyway..Buy It dudes and Dudettes!! Best ever:)))

This is a GREAT CD, the music is wonderful, inventive, different and amazingly engaging. I've had it on repeat play for days. Mariam's voice and the guitar work is outstanding. I recommend it. If you love West African music, you'll love this. If you want to try West African music, Dimanche a Bamako is a great start.