Bako Dagnon : Sidiba

[Des]

Some tracks on Bako Dagnon's new CD will alienate purist aficionados of acoustic Malian music but the opening track Wouya Larana is a meltingly wistful, lilting West African classic worthy of Salif Keita. Bako Dagnon's voice is stunning - rich and rugged yet amazingly agile as it follows the complex melody lines. She sounds so different from Oumou Sangare or Kandia Kouyate - lower, huskier - and yet her delivery is every bit as powerful. Most of the songs feature the beautiful guitar-playing of Mama Cissoko.

There is lots of variety on this CD from the chugging desert blues of Badjigui to the flamenco-influenced Fadeem To via washes of unobtrusive electronica a la Rokia Traore's recent work. The 9-minute Kono, however, is weirdly reminiscent of some mutant slice of indie with its Coldplay-esque chord-progressions and languid guitar phrases, yet Bako's soulful vocalising transforms it into an epic listening experience.

A great album from an overlooked Malian diva. Perhaps this will be her breakthrough disc - I certainly hope so.

[kk]

thank you very much for the heads-up about this - based on that mouthwatering description, i looked for - and found - a download of the album on the web, and it really is very beautiful, so i ordered a physical copy of it - the amazon.co.uk list price is ridiculous, but it is available from some amazon sellers

[Dominic]

http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info.php?id=6146642