Bolokolonia

With all the dazzlingly talented women in Malian music, it’s hardly surprising that some of the greats have yet to get their due.  Near the top of that list has to be Djeneba Seck, whose new album is one of the best roots pop releases from out of Mali this year—and that is saying something.  Produced in France by Cameroonian maestro Yves Ndjock, this set of twelve, varied songs steadfastly avoids keyboards and drum machines and builds rich, organic grooves rooted in djembe drum and double bass and filled out with superb ngoni, riffs, soukou (traditional violin) from the great Zoumana Sacko, and precise, glittering acoustic guitar work from Seck’s husband Sekou Kouyaté, who also deserves kudos for the splendid arranging here.

Seck is sometimes billed as a wassoulou artist, and the bluesy, swinging southern Malian genre is well represented here.  Songs like “Sidian” and the concluding track “Oudiobila” play like the best work of Oumou Sangare.  In fact, Seck was born in Kita, a seat of Mande music, and many of her songs draw on melodies and rhythms of pentatonic Bambara music.  “Nata Furu,” a meditation on marriage, unfolds over a brisk backbeat, buoyed by Tareta’s soulful bowing and tasty ngoni picking by Badie Tounkara.  “Foulbe” digs into a dark-toned Fula mode, gilded by edgy soukou melodies, to celebrate the virtues of the herding Fula people.  Another standout, “Anka Maliba,” condemns corrupt politicians with a slinky, deep-pocket groove.  A fabulous, craggy male voice—possibly Tareta’s—joins Seck here, creating a pleasing contrast.

Seck has a clear, supple voice, with a pleasing nasality not unlike that of wassoulou star Nahawa Doumbia.  Her melodies are sweet, from the ambling, lyrical “Sounana” to the bristly, bucking “Dothi I Fassola,” a song urging Malians who venture in the world not to forget their homeland.  Even on the album’s one misfire, the somewhat drippy piano ballad “Tigne-The Truth,” Seck’s lithe vocal saves the day, full of the character of Bambara song despite bland, Western music.  This is the work of an artist ready for her star turn in the word music spotlight.  Though made in Paris, it palpably captures the mood of Bamako .  Close your eyes, and you could be in a taxi threading through the city’s chaotic, colorful, infinitely welcoming streets. 

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org