Putumayo Presents: Mali
Listeners as yet unfamiliar with the startlingly broad musical geography of Mali might find it hard to believe that the 11 tracks on Putumayo's newMalicompilation all come from the same country. Indeed, part of the pleasure of listening toMalicomes in encountering a musical tradition so rich it encompasses everything from the electric guitar-powered trance music of Tinariwen ("Amassakoul 'N'Tenere") to the picture perfect global pop of Ramatou Diakite ("Gembi") and the virtuosic acoustic guitar fireworks of Habib Koite and Bamada. As compilations go,Maliisn't quite the sprawling musical survey that the West African country so richly deserves--for one thing, worldwide stars like Salif Keita, Ali Farka Toure and Oumou Sangare are unrepresented here. But as an introduction to the almost shocking musical diversity of Mali, it's a good start. Most listeners, after journeying from Boubacar Traore's countrified, accordion-laced "Kanou" to Issa Bagayoyo's house beat-inflected "Bana" to the electronic landscape of Mamou Sidibe's "Bassa Kele," will find it hard not to dig a little deeper on their own into one of the many facets of this musical world thatMalirepresents.--Ezra Gale