Welcome to Mali
Amadou et Mariam
2008: Because BEC5772410
“Compagnon de la vie” is probably my favorite track on this strong but uneven album, with the wild “Sebeke” a very close second (it is impossible to not dance when that track is playing!). “Batoma” has a damn fine groove to it, too, but the vocals can be a little off-putting if you’re not accustomed to the broader, looser sound of African singing. “Je te kiffe” was, I think, the track I first heard from this album and which drew me in to—either that or “Ce n’est pas bon;” in either case it was on a streaming internet radio station broadcasting from the Balkans, as I recall, in 2009.
At the other end of the spectrum is “Sabali,” which apparently was quite the hit in Europe but which I can’t stand because Mariam’s upper-register singing is downright jarring.
I can’t always follow their French, accented as it is, but generally I get the gist, and there’s a little English sprinkled in here and there, plus Spanish if I’m not mishearing things. Which African language is primarily sung, however, I couldn’t say.
Comments © 2017 Mark Ellis Walker, except as noted, and no claim is made to the images and quoted lyrics.