"Dandala"

Less than two minutes into "Dandala," the lead track on this snappily polished Mande pop album, the kora soloist slips out of the taut, funky groove the band has set up and sprays out a wild, distorted flood of notes, a mix of griot showiness and unbridled electric passion worthy of the Mahavishu Orchestra. West African music fans are familiar with guitarists who appropriate kora style, but one mark of this spectacular debut is the degree to which Cissoko's kora captures a surprising array of electric guitar sounds, from pointed, percussive lines, to flowing melodies, to high-tech jazz fusion. That said, this is very much a kora album, perhaps the most unusual and innovative one to appear in years. The band is two koras, bass, percussion and vocals. The thirteen tracks here span funk, Mande pop grooves and classic songs, blues and Latin flavors, even a bit of reggae and pop balladry. All of it glistens with youthful exuberance and top-shelf musicianship.

Four young Guineans based in Marseilles, this act is billed as a "family band," and they certainly sound that tight. Ba Cissoko himself sings lead and plays clean, backing kora, leaving the electronics to Sekou Kouyaté. Overall, the singing is more than pleasant, but not up to the level of the instrumental work and arranging. The recording itself is wonderfully clear and detailed to maximize the effect. "Wawata," another cranker, punctuates an original groove with precision hits, but keeps to conventional kora techniques and sounds, while the briskly loping "Kounkoré"--a salute to the group's percussionist--works around a propulsive bass line and layers in driving djembe drumming and wah-wah kora. "Likhirin," with its rich kora reggae groove, gives the nod to the band's second home: "Salam Aleïkum Marseille."

The most traditional song on the album is "Mamaya," where the two koras interlock masterfully--Toumani Diabaté and Ballake Sissoko, watch out! "Manssani" continues the long established tradition of merging the Mande classic "Masane Cisse" with a slow blues, but given this group's fluidity with arranging and mastery of guitar idioms on kora, a well-worn idea sounds fresh all over again. If this group continues to record and tour, it will surely carve out a unique niche in the ever-more-competitive pantheon of Mande pop music.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org