Wati

If you think Mali is all about the kora or the Super Rail Band, you need to take a listen to Amadou & Mariam, a blind married couple who take Malian music in a whole different direction. They keep to the bluesy, pentatonic root that's the heart of the desert sound of Mali, but bring it toward the West, even letting guitars howl here and there and funking things up with some lovely keyboard work. Amadou & Mariam sing both separately and together (indeed, they're at their strongest together, when the two voices can work off each other on songs like "Chauffeurs"), and they're both strong writers, using rhythm as much as melody for a sound that's remarkably down-home. There's nothing complex about it -- perhaps the Bamako equivalent of a bar band, albeit a very good one. "Sarama," for example, rocks wonderfully and hypnotically, and wouldn't sound out of place in a roadhouse, getting the crowd up and dancing. Perhaps it's because they don't sound especially African in their approach to music -- allowing the roots to be just one part of the whole -- that they haven't received the praise they deserve. ~ Chris Nickson|

盲目の夫婦デュオ、アマドゥ&マリアムの新作がリリース。〈マリ発のファンキー・ブルース〉といった趣のサウンドは今作でも健在だ。曲自体はマリの音楽によくあるタイプのものともいえるが、そこにアマドゥの強烈に泥臭いギターが加わって、なかなかユニークな雰囲気を生んでいる。民俗楽器を使ったナンバーからハモンド・オルガンをフィーチャーしたグルーヴィーなナンバーまで、多彩な魅力に溢れる一枚。
bounce (C)篠原裕治