Amadou & Mariam are making a mockery of the term “world music”. Not content to be the king and queen of Malian tunes, their new album, Welcome to Mali (Gallo), announces their intentions to be players at the top of the globe’s music charts.
And with an album this good, they deserve it.
One listen to the disco lullaby Sabali (produced by Damon Albarn) and it’s clear that this is not a band that can be relegated to the world music charts.
Although Albarn’s otherworldly keyboard riffs drive the song, it’s Mariam’s vocoder-assisted, high-pitched vocals that really steal the show, until the disco beat kicks in after a minute and a half to bring it home.
This is Amadou & Mariam as they’ve never sounded before and it begs the question: what could these African music stars and this British producer have created if they had recorded an entire album together.
But the rest of Welcome to Mali is hardly a letdown — in fact it is one of the most sublime listening experiences you’re likely to chance upon this year.
Amadou & Mariam are a powerhouse Afropop outfit that effortlessly blend their traditional Malian musical heritage with the best soul, disco, reggae and rock have to offer.
The best description of their sound was written by Uncut reviewer John Lewis. He described it as “the music that Booker T and the MGs might have made had Stax been uprooted from Memphis to Mali”. Blues harmonicas, funk guitars, dub production, farfiso organ stabs, reverb guitar riffs and all the bells and whistles that typify disco production are peppered throughout the album.
Other highlights include the Afrobeat-inspired Unissons Nous, which features Nigerian guitarist Keziah Jones and the delightful torch song, I Follow You, Amadou’s beautiful dedication to his musical and life partner.
The blind duo from Mali have outdone themselves, managing to better 2005’s Manu Chao-produced Dimanche a Bamako, which brought them to the world’s attention. Welcome to Mali is a global record for a global audience.