Welcome to Mali cover

Welcome to Mali

Released

Guitarist Amadou Bagayoko and singer Mariam Doumbia met in a school for the blind as kids in Mali. They have been touring steadily for the past twenty years and their stock in trade is a kind of a loose synthesis, a taste for combining Mali guitar pop with whatever else appeals to them. The reggae and pop you sort of expect, but the forays into high energy dance feel unique. In the same rough cultural zone as Manu Chao and his various sandwiches of sound.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Beautiful Africa cover

Beautiful Africa

Rokia Traoré
The Mandé Variations cover

The Mandé Variations

Toumani Diabaté
O Shakuntala! cover

O Shakuntala!

Debashish Bhattacharya
Folila cover

Folila

Amadou & Mariam
Mother cover

Mother

Xylouris White
San Patricio cover

San Patricio

Ry Cooder, The Chieftains
Faya cover

Faya

Sekou Kouyate, Joe Driscoll
Alafia cover

Alafia

Sidi Touré
Sabou cover

Sabou

Mory Kanté