Afel Bocoum, Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate [FLAC] TQMP

Afel Bocoum, Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate And Friends - Mali Music

2002



Brought to you by TQMP

The Quality Music Project



Album review ---

Mali Music is based on the recordings made by Damon Albarn on an Oxfam-organised trip to Mali a couple of years ago. Rather than take the usual rushed celebrity approach, the Blur and Gorillaz man stayed for a few weeks and with his melodica in hand, played wherever he could (clubs gigs, village jams, on riverboats and in musicians' compounds) with anyone who would let him join in: Toumani Diabate, Lobi Traore and Kasse Mady to name but a few. The tapes were taken back to his West London studio, things were mixed and added and then it was back to Mali for further additions from the excellent Afel Bocoum. Perhaps surprisingly, this doesn't result in a self-indulgent mess. Albarn is clearly motivated by a love of Malian music but he's not afraid to mess with it when he feels the need. So that while some tracks (the self explanatory 4am At Toumani's for example) are pretty much unmucked around with, others feature twangy guitars, muted synth lines or the deep dubby bass of Junior Dan. Apparently the aim was to create a musical travelogue of Mali, but it's one filtered through a particular laid-back West London sensibility. Albarn mainly contents himself with orchestrating the whole thing and playing simple melodica melodies, with just the occasional understated vocal thrown in. The decision to involve Bocoum is a definite plus and all in all, Mali Music is pulled off with just the right mix of respect and inventiveness.

--Jamie Renton. fRoots, May 2002.



Tracks

01- Spoons

02- Bamako City

03- Le Relax

04- Nabintou Diakite

05- Makelekele

06- The Djembe

07- Tennessee Hotel

08- Niger

09- 4 AM at Toumani's

10- Institut National des Arts

11- Kela Village

12- Griot Village

13- Le Hogon

14- Sunset Coming On

15- Ko Kan Ko Sata Doumbia On River

16- Les Escrocs



Artwork (300dpi scan), EAC log and CUE sheet included.



Format: FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)

http://flac.sourceforge.net/index.html



Enjoy, seed and inhale!



Legalise it!



Pastafari Cubensis

http://thepiratebay.org/user/pastafari/


Proud Member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

http://venganza.org