Sou Ni Tile

SSC3039 2006-04-04

Track List

Je pense à toi - 5:16
Combattants - 4:26
Mouna - 4:44
Pauvre type - 4:35
Dogons - 4:04
Baara - 4:33
Dounia - 3:17
A radio mogo - 4:49
Djandjola - 4:06
On se donne la main - 4:34
Mon amour, ma chérie - 5:23
A chacun son problème - 4:40
Teree la sebin - 5:33
Toubala kono - 5:22
C\'est la vie - 5:26

Musicians

Amadou Bagayoko - vocals and lead guitar
Mariam Doumbia - vocals
Stéphane San Juan - drums and percussion
Shihab M’Gehzzi Bekhouche - bass
Matu - fender rhodes, hammond, organ,
Walde Baba Sissoko - Tama
Andrès Viafara, Alberto Rodriguez - trombones
Barbaro Teunter Garcia - trumpets
Loic Landois - harmonica
Sameh Catalan - violin
Alain Hatot - tranverse flute
Johar Ali Khan - violin
Idwar Iskandar - ney (arabian flute)
Awa Timbo, Sanata Doumbia - background vocals

Never mind that there's not a word of English to be heard on this album. Even if they sing in three African languages and French, Mali's Amadou & Mariam are fluent in a musical language that often transcends ordinary speech. Polyrhythmic percussion, complex vocal harmonies, and fluid guitar, violin, and horn lines -- as well as the occasional harmonica -- are combined to create earthy songs that are more given the breath of life than performed. Each of the album's 15 songs beats with its own human, living pulse. "A Radio Mogo" hints at Caribbean reggae, while "Mon Amour, Ma Cherie" allows Amadou to stretch out a bit on guitar, over a rolling, throbbing beat. While not as blues-oriented as the more internationally known Malian guitarists, Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traore, Amadou plays guitar in an accomplished, heartfelt style that's accessible in any language. In Sou Ni Tile, Amadou & Mariam and their band have created mature, intelligent pop music that's accessible exactly because the musicians have chosen not to trade exuberance or passion for their maturity and intelligence. ~ Brian Beatty