Ko Sira
Ko Sira is an album by the Malian wassalou singer Oumou Sangare, released in 1993. It was originally issued independently as "Bi Furu". The album was a commercial success in Europe, spending months on the world music charts. Production. Written by Sangare, the album was recorded in Berlin. It was produced by Nick Gold and Massambou Welle Diallo. Like much of Sangare's work, "Ko Sira" explores feminist themes. The album title translates to "Marriage Today". Critical reception. "The New York Times" thought that "even on her calmest numbers, Ms. Sangare quickens beats and tickles locutions, impatient to  cram more sensations into her singing, and her hunger for excitement is infectious ... [her] two-woman chorus adds to her sensuous swing, giving her abrupt interjections the kick of blues shouts." "Guitar Player" called Sangare "sublime," writing that she "spins her heartbreakingly beautiful melodies over interlocking webs of guitar, electric bass, and indigenous stringed instruments." Reviewing the Nonesuch reissue, "The Washington Post" wrote: "Sangare forgoes international pop, rock and disco influences for a small-combo acoustic sound. Yet her supple music is not strictly traditional; Western guitar, bass and violin intertwine with African percussion and call-and-response vocals." "The  San Diego Union-Tribune" deemed "Ko Sira" "enchanting," writing that "the focal point remains [Sangare's] high, keening, soulful singing, which is steeped in tradition yet very much of the moment." AllMusic wrote that "the focus remains on Sangare's gliding singing (thickened by a couple of female backup singers) and the music's looping (but not laid-back) grooves."