Ma Ya

Malian singer Habib Koite and his band Bamada serve up 12 songs with a gentle acoustic guitar-led swing, reminiscent as much of African troubadours like Henri Dikongue as his well-known native counterparts like Salif Keita. There is certainly a definite Malian lilt to his delivery as well as in the instrumentation and straightforward arrangements, and at times he displays the same bluesy penchant as Ali Farka Toure, albeit less stridently. Koite tilts toward a very contemporary, almost Western interpretation of his spiritual songs, with an overall folksiness softening the unmistakable African roots of his music. The result is a highly textured airy excursion that makes, with his dusty, soulful vocals, a highly appealing album of great introspective sincerity. --Derek Rath