Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Ali Farka Touré & Ry Cooder - Talking TimbuktuAli Farka Touré & Ry Cooder - Talking TimbuktuRecorded in Los Angeles in 1993, this Grammy-winning collaboration between Niafunke guitarist Ali Farka Toure and American multi-instrumentalist Ry Cooder built an effortless bridge between West African Songhai traditions and American blues. Cooder's subtle slide guitar and Clarence Gatemouth…0
  2. 2Toumani Diabaté - KairaToumani Diabaté - KairaRecorded in London in a single afternoon in 1987 without overdubs, Kaira was the first solo kora album in recording history. The then twenty-one-year-old Toumani Diabate demonstrated astonishing technical virtuosity, weaving basslines, melodic ornamentation and rhythm simultaneously across…0
  3. 3Salif Keita - SoroSalif Keita - SoroProduced in Paris by Jean-Philippe Rykiel and Ibrahim Sylla in 1987, Soro was a revolutionary turning point for modern African pop. Salif Keita's piercing, griot-derived tenor voice rose above gleaming synthesizers, brass stabs and driving percussion, fusing traditional Malian modal phrasing with…0
  4. 4Oumou Sangaré - MoussolouOumou Sangaré - MoussolouOriginally released on cassette in Bamako in 1989 and selling over two hundred thousand copies, Moussolou introduced the world to the defiant sound of Wassoulou music. Sangare's commanding vocals and fearless lyrics challenged polygamy and forced marriage, driven by the buoyant groove of the kamale…0
  5. 5Tinariwen - AmassakoulTinariwen - AmassakoulRecorded in Bamako in 2003, Tinariwen's second international album crystallized the Saharan desert blues sound known as assouf. Blending traditional Tuareg call-and-response vocal poetry and handclaps with driving, interlocking electric guitar riffs, songs like Oualahila Ar Tesninam and Chet…0
  6. 6Rokia Traoré - WanitaRokia Traoré - WanitaHailing from the Belidougou region, singer-songwriter Rokia Traore forged a distinctive sound outside hereditary griot lineages on this celebrated 2000 release. Pairing her delicate, crystalline voice with ngoni, acoustic guitar, balafon and the deep pulse of frame drums, tracks like Souba and…0
  7. 7Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal - Chamber MusicBallaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal - Chamber MusicCaptured over two nocturnal sessions at Salif Keita's Moffou studio in Bamako in 2009, this sublime duet album pairs Ballake Sissoko's luminous kora with French cellist Vincent Segal. Stripped of percussion, the two acoustic string instruments weave intricate, counterpointed dialogues that blur the…0
  8. 8Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba - Segu BlueBassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba - Segu BlueBassekou Kouyate completely revolutionized the ngoni, an ancient lute traditionally associated with hunters and griots, by forming a band around four differently pitched ngonis. This 2007 debut album, produced by Lucy Duran and featuring lead vocals by Kouyate's wife Amy Sacko, transformed ancient…0
  9. 9Boubacar Traoré - Kar KarBoubacar Traoré - Kar KarAfter disappearing from public life for two decades following early sixties stardom, Boubacar Kar Kar Traore re-emerged in 1992 with this haunting acoustic session. His idiosyncratic thumb-and-finger guitar picking style, influenced by American blues and native Kassonke rhythms, provides a…0
  10. 10Fatoumata Diawara - FatouFatoumata Diawara - FatouRecorded in London and Paris in 2011, Fatou established Fatoumata Diawara as one of Mali's most versatile contemporary singer-songwriters. Combining warm acoustic guitar picking with Wassoulou vocal melodies, Diawara addresses female genital mutilation, migration and modern African womanhood with…0