Jan 12/06
Unrelated Keita
A few weeks ago at 2005′s last poker night Olivier passed me a good mix from Vibrations magazine featuring music from No Format, a small, high-quality label out of Paris, France.
One track in particular caught my ear for African sounds. It’s appropriately by another Keita, given yesterday’s post, but with quite a different sound. Mamani Keita is a little-known female vocalist from Mali who works with musicians both at home and abroad. She has a cool fusion sound of Mali-West-Electro-Folk that I quite like.
You can buy her last album at Calabash. Or, if you can wait, you can find today’s track on Keita’s soon to be released album that will be available at the No Format site in a month or so.
Tags: mali, paris
WOW!
I’ts late, I have to get up early tomorrow — but I am ‘chair dancing’ and I just can’t shut down the computer until I hear this through. Love her voice. This is one I’m going to buy.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the most excellent-est of selections in African music. You open my eyes and ears every time you post.
Marvelous tune, this. I’m familiar with Mamani Keita only from her “Mali Music” album with Marc Minelli. Great to hear more from her – will look forward to hearing more from this album!
By the way, Matt, I hope you will consider a request (if you’ve got it). I’ve had African music on the brain tonight after hearing the new Soweto Gospel Choir album, Blessed. They include the song “Weeping,” which I first heard from Vusi Mahlasela. But I tracked it back to the South African band Bright Blue. Never heard of them before, so if you’ve got any of their music, particularly “Weeping,” I’d love to hear it.
Cheers!
Sorry, I don’t have anything by Bright Blue though it sounds great. Anyone else?
Dear Matt—much gratitude for linking Souled On.
African Guitar is just completely ear catching! It is interesting to hear the different approaches, and the subtle influences. My friend Richard played for a bit with SE Rogie in California, I actually talked to him a little about that on my blog. They call themselves the Palm Wine Boys (palmwineboys.com) because they have been so heavily influenced by the tones and colors of West African guitar. Richard, of course, does not have the voice that I suspect can travel across a savannah.