JOLIE MELANGE D INSTRUMENTS MODERNES ET TRADITIONNELS

Sabou

FR-9W1-12-16707

Aboubono

Sona Jobareth Kemet

Anansy Cissé’s souped-up guitar distortions re-work the West African Desert Blues genre with a new, agitated attitude. Featuring the soku fiddle playing of Zoumana Tereta and accompanied by ngoni, bass and calabash, Cissé’s sound harnesses musical traditions and spits it out anew, taking us into Mali Overdrive.

For further information, please visit www.worldmusic.net/anansycisse

When Cissé’s recording ‘Bala’ landed on our website via World Music Network’s online ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition, we were immediately taken by his gutsy guitar style that plays on tradition by matching it with the direct influence of 1960s and 1970s psychedelic-flavoured rock and roll. 

The story begins in late 2012, when Anansy was forced to dismantle the recording studio he ran in Diré following the invasion of Mali’s northern regions by militant Islamists, many of whom are opposed to secular music-making. His poignant track ‘Gonmi’ calls for peace across Mali and is a reminder of the despair felt by many at the concerning political divisions and connected social reverberations caused by religious tension in the Northern region. Forced to relocate further south, Anansy headed to the beating heart of Mali’s capital city and is now resident blues bad-boy in Bamako.

In Bamako Anansy met Philippe Sanmiguel who is now his percussionist and manager. Anansy soon called on a few more friends to add to the musical pot: esteemed ngoni player Djimé Sissoko laid down some riffs, Abdramane Touré took to the bass and Mahalmadane Traoré found time to slap and smack his calabash. 

Presently Anansy lives in the Faladié district of Bamako and consistently and is steadily working on more material. In the corners of his house, vast towering piles of old-school vinyl peer down on  visiting musicians providing a clue to Anansy’s inspirations: The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd and CSN&Y are all represented. His close appreciation of rock music is heard distinctly via the anthemic guitar riff of the track ‘Fati Ni Koye’. Equal stimulation for his songs, text and rhythm is drawn from traditional Fulani and Songhai music. ‘Sekou Amadou’ pays tribute to the leader and founder of the Fulani Empire of Macina. ‘Horey’ is a takamba song from Gao and Timbuktu. The rhythm is historically linked to the Songhai nobility but electrified and re-energised in Anansy’s version. 

In the often polarised world music community, young African musicians are often either too hastily dismissed as local pop stars who have no international appeal or as authentic saviours in a misplaced quest for authenticity. Now, proudly ramping up the volume and fearlessly taking Malian music into rock overdrive is Anansy Cissé – a pioneer of new music that champions ancient tradition and uncharted modernity at once. 

Anansy Cissé: Fati Ka (taken from the album Mali Overdrive)

Boubacar Traoré - Mouso Teke Soma Ye

Cheikh Lo - Degg Gui

An Ka Belebele

Vieux Kanté

Congo Mboka Kitoko

Voix Juslin Likaka et Patricia Mvumbi Bakezy
Guitares: Alexandre Bellando
Percu: Thibaud Rancoeur / Antoine Villette

Enregistrement/Arrangement Antoine Villette 

Red Room Records / Baklawa music 2016

Congo Mboka Kitoko

Toumani Diabate at Mt. Carmel College

Five Great Guitars - African Blues Tour
Live recording 2011

Special guest: Habib Koité
Zoumana Diarra: guitar, kora, balafon, n'goni
Mousse Pathe M'Baye: percussion
Dramane Diarra: percussion

Sound: Neil Denholm

Five Great Guitars - Wassiye

Total respect to the singer who died unexpectedly in June 2010.

http://thequietus.com/articles/05041-lobi-traor-rainy-season-blues-review :

When Malian guitarist Lobi Traoré stepped into a Bamako studio last August to record the tracks on this album he did not know it was to be his final recording session. After four hours work, he took a break for lunch and then left to attend a friend's wedding, where he played a further five hours. Later still, he was at a regular club haunt in town where he played long into the night.

There was no fuss. As a jobbing musician he simply fulfilled his engagements for survival as much as anything else. As he said: "This is the only thing that I do." But on June 1st this year, Traoré's life ended at the age of 49, and a certain poignancy inevitably imbues what became his final statement. Themes of redemption, mortality and peace among men run deep throughout Traoré's lyrics. Lines such as "To every single thing his time," on 'Hiné (The Pity)' or "The life of a man is a brief stay... All which stands up will lie down one of these days," from 'Alah ka bo (God is Great)' are especially moving given his untimely demise.

The sparse recordings were captured entirely in one take, with vocals sung live alongside the lone guitar. No overdubs were necessary, and it makes for a haunting listen as every breath, every loose string pick and every stamped foot rings out as the intricacies of Traoré's accomplished playing come to the fore. 

Although the songs on the album average around three and a half minutes they give a glimpse into the extended trance-like explorations Traoré was known for playing live. Repetitive corkscrew patterns weave in and out, the insistent, yet loose, tempos reinforced by fills of improvised phrasing. The voice is always deeply soulful, whether singing, or in spoken passages. The music gradually builds from a distinctly African take on the blues to the final couple of tracks which have a drive reminiscent of Canned Heat, particularly the romp through instrumental track 'A Lamén'.

A snapshot of a morning's work the album may be, but on Rainy Season Blues the soul of a man is captured for posterity with devastating effect. It was by chance that the session even took place at all. American producer Chris Eckman (of the Walkabouts) had been in town to record Tuareg desert rock band Tamikrest. As he hoped to record an album, Traoré had been in email contact with Eckman before his visit, and had supplied him with some recent home demos. Eckman, a fan of Traoré's previous electric output, was taken aback by these acoustic solo pieces, and they set aside a day to record. There had been no prior discussion as to what material, or how much Traoré would aim to record, and he breezed through the 10 numbers here before he had to leave.

But was Traoré a bluesman? The rolling chords may resemble something recognisable as bluesy. John Lee Hooker rock musicians from Cream and Jimi Hendrix to AC/DC were acknowledged influences, so it is interesting to read Traoré's own definition of the music: "I listened to a lot of blues," he said. "Maybe I was inspired by that. Maybe the blues was inspired by Africa. Maybe the resemblance is just a coincidence. But listen, for me the music I play comes from me, from my place. Someone who hears my music and says it's the blues, well, to me blues is American music. We don't even have that word. Each place has its arts. It wasn't me who came up with the idea of Bambara blues. People kept saying, 'Bambara blues, Bambara blues'. In the end I accepted it. But I don't think the blues is our music."

Whatever it is, Traoré was certainly feeling it that drizzly morning within the shelter of the studio. Through this wonderful music, Lobi Traoré lives on and, to paraphrase his lyrics on 'Melodie de Bambara Blues': "Take and taste!"

Lobi Traore - Djougouya Magni

Il s’agit d’une captation de répétition.

Zimbabwe - Rokia Traoré et le choeur Passerelle

WMN is one of the leading forces on the world music scene & consists of 4 labels – Music Rough Guides, Think Global, Riverboat Records & Introducing.

Anansy Cissé: Fati Ka (taken from the album Mali Overdrive)

World Music Network

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