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The famous "Blind Couple of Mali" have always asserted themselves strongly on record, whether produced at home in Bamako or in France. The gutsy vocals and stinging guitar of Amadou Bagayogo and his rootically chanting wife, Mariam Doumbia, are joyously, instantly identifiable. Dimanche à Bamako is something completely different -- but very, very good. Collaborating with globe-trotting auteur Manu Chao his role is much more than that of a mere producer, the Africans are sucked into his vertiginous world of bleating sirens, mysterious radio transmissions, and hypnotically simple melodies. As such, it's a much better follow-up to Chao's blockbuster Clandestino than his own Próxima Estación: Esperanza. Not only do Amadou & Mariam put their own Sahelian stamp on Chao's feverish soundscapes, but their Islamic-accented traditions ring more urgent in 2005. In many ways it's the perfect answer to Clandestino's dark positing of the transnational immigrant "lost in the century," as the Malians inhabit Chao's dreamscapes to tell their own stories. On the stomping "Coulibaly" -- three tracks in, when Amadou makes his entrée with a John Lee Hooker guitar line and forceful chorus -- they Africanize house music, guitar rock, and Chao's own percolating dub style. Dimanche à Bamako is too layered, rich, and long to digest at once, but its otherworldly ambience will sate those longing for the magic of Clandestino, and introduce many more to this talented pair.
Condition:NEW. Marked upc
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 M' Bifé (2:11)
2 M' Bifé Balafon (1:58)
3 Coulibaly (3:18)
4 La Réalité (3:32)
5 Sénégal Fast Food (4:19)
6 Artistiya (3:11)
7 La Fête au Village (4:11)
8 Camions Sauvages (4:08)
9 Beaux Dimanches (3:31)
10 La Paix (4:19)
11 Djanfa (4:13)
12 Taxi Bamako (3:44)
13 Politic Amagni (4:56)
14 Gnidjougouya (3:45)
15 M' Bifé Blues (5:21)
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