Thursday, October 9, 2014

CD Review: Awa Sangho's 'Ala Ta'

Awa Sangho
Ala Ta
Motema

Mali's Awa Sangho is a very talented singer with a passion for music and incorporating traditional instrumentation in a contemporary setting. The music is fresh, catchy, and full of rich textures. The melodies and rhythms are equally-astounding. There are thirteen delicacies on this album and not one of them are identical. In addition to Awa's youthful vocals, the album is graced with guitar, bass, percussion, ngoni, kora, balafon, talking flute, ndjarka, bolon, bass guitar, and djembe. "Tambin Y Tambor" is a perfect blend of international instruments coming together for a relaxing and intriguing tune. "Denko" is a jazzy, Afro-pop tune with stellar vocals and sounds, "Emama" is a gritty, guitar tune with rippling sound effects and a Congolese-like rhythm. All of the songs are easy to listen to and void of anything distracting, disruptive, or unnecessary. Anyone with an interest in contemporary Malian music will love it. ~ Matthew Forss

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