Track Listing
Click tracks with speaker icon to listen| 1 | Sounsoumba | 4:21 |
| 2 | Sukunyali | 6:02 |
| 3 | Kounadya | 4:33 |
| 4 | Donso | 6:09 |
| 5 | Wele Wele Wintou | 5:19 |
| 6 | Senkele Te Sira | 4:33 |
| 7 | Djigui | 4:38 |
| 8 | Seya | 4:13 |
| 9 | Iyo Djeli | 6:01 |
| 10 | Mogo Kele | 5:40 |
| 11 | Koroko | 4:29 |
News & Reviews
- Monday, August 1, 2011
Oumou Sangare, "Regal, Righteous and Funky" (NY Times), Brings North American Tour to a Close
Malian singer Oumou Sangare concluded her North American tour this weekend with shows in Brooklyn and Maine. "Regal, righteous and funky," exclaims New York Times music critic Jon Pareles, "the Malian singer and songwriter Oumou Sangare commanded the stage of Celebrate Brooklyn! on Friday night at the Prospect Park Bandshell." Through her music and lyrics, this longtime champion of women's rights took on "the traditional West African singer’s role as community conscience while delivering her messages with a modern kick."
- Friday, July 22, 2011
Oumou Sangare Launches North American Tour "At the Summit of Her Art" (Boston Globe)
Oumou Sangare launches a rare North American tour this weekend with a free set at the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique in Montreal tonight before heading to the States and the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. The tour includes additional stops in Boston, Manhattan, Maine, and Brooklyn. The Boston Globe says: "A visit from this charismatic queen of Malian music and fierce combatant for women’s rights is always an occasion, not least because, as seen on her most recent album, Seya, she’s at the summit of her art."
About this Album
Singer and songwriter Oumou Sangare is a genuine superstar in her native Mali, and a charismatic performer who has thrilled audiences around the world with her exhilarating live performances. Her 1990 debut disc Moussolou ("Women")—released on CD by Nonesuch in 1999—was a sensation in her homeland, as inspiring to many as it was controversial to some. In the lyrics to her songs, Sangare takes up the causes of her fellow Malian women, frankly exploring their problems and unabashedly articulating their desires; the outspokenness of her words are a liberating as her music, which combines traditional instrumentation and rhythms with a sophisticated, funk-driven, contemporary groove.
Seya, which means “joy,” is Sangare’s first international release in six years; to call it long awaited, in the US as well as in Mail, would be an understatement. (Along with making records, the hard-working Sangare, who has supported her mother and siblings as a singer since the age of 13, has opened a hotel in the Malian capital of Bamako, imported her own line of cars, served as a Global Ambassador for the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization, and become a mother herself.) The 11-song disc has already met with great acclaim in the UK, where the album debuted in February. Seya, said London’s Observer “combines modernity and tradition with seamless verve ... Even without the translations, her universal concerns—joy, hope, love—are plain.” Her vocals, the Daily Telegraph noted, exude “ancestral passion and a thoroughly modern, urban poise.”
The singer co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Cheick Tidiane Seck, and wrote all but one song, the traditional number “Donso.” Sangare is backed by a large, all-star ensemble of Malian and international musicians, including longtime accompanist "Benogo" Brehima Diakité, master of the six-string kamele ngoni (“young person’s harp”); two James Brown veterans, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley; and Fela Kuti’s legendary musical director, Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. Sangare's lyrics remain forthright, and her delivery has become even more uplifting. The Evening Standard praised “the dynamic rhythms, sinewy instrumental lines and empowering vocals.”
Credits
MUSICIANS
Oumou Sangare, lead vocals, percussion
"Benogo" Brehima Diakité, kamele n'goni (3, 5-11), donso n'goni (4)
Kassim Sidibé, kamele n'goni (4, 5, 7, 10), backing vocals (4)
"Bastos" Mahamane Touré, guitar (1-3, 5, 7-9, 11)
Djelimady Tounkara, guitar (5, 6, 11)
Tony Remy, guitar (4, 5)
Harvé Samb, guitar (3)
Cheick Tidiane Seck, guitar (2), Hammond organ (3, 4), cabasah percussion (2), calabash (8), karignan (1, 6), maracas (10), shaker (1)
Neba Solo, balafon (1, 7, 10)
Souleymane Ouattara, balafon (1, 9)
Malik Mezzadri, flute (1, 8)
Dramane Koulibaly, flute (4, 7)
"Adez" Amadou Traoré, flute (9)
Ahmed Fofana, Peul flute (7)
Anthony Leung, violins (9)
Bassekou Kouyaté, Andara Koyaté, n'goni (2)
Binefou Keita, n'goni ba, talking drum, backing vocals (2)
Zoumana Tereta, soku (traditional violin) (3, 7)
The Kick Horns, horn section (9)
Harouna Barry, saxophones (5)
Pee Wee Ellis, saxophone (8)
Fred Wesley, trombone (8)
Sekou Ba, bass (1, 6, 7, 11)
Guy N'Sangue, bass (3, 7, 8)
Sekou Kante, bass (5)
Dougouyé Coulibaly, bolon (4-7), flute (4)
Habib Sangare, bolon (2, 8, 9)
Will Calhoun, drums (1, 8), oudu drum (2)
Michael Notebaert, drums (3, 5)
Tony Allen, drums (11)
Winston Clifford, drums (4)
Joe Price, drums (9)
Adama Diarra, djembe (2, 3, 5-7, 9), yabara (3)
Sekou Diabaté, djembe (1)
Prince, percussion (1), calabash (2, 5, 9, 11), talking drum (2)
Alpha "Hammer" Sankare, calabash (3, 5-7, 10, 11)
Souleymane Sidibé, karignan (4, 5, 7-9, 11), backing vocals (4)
Miguel Fernández, congas (3)
Drissa Diabaté, talking drum (11)
Massambou Wele Diallo, maracas (10)
Lamine Tounkara, dundunba (7)
Thiam Mohammed, Mahamadou Tounkara, sabar (11)
Pamela Badiago, backing vocals (3, 5, 7, 10, 11)
Dandio Sidibé, backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 8-10)
Paye Camara, backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 8, 9)
Maraima Tounkara, backing vocals (3, 5, 7)
Baou Tounkara, backing vocals (10, 11)
PRODUCTION CREDITS
A World Circuit Production
Produced by Nick Gold, Oumou Sangare, and Cheick Tidiane Seck
Recorded at Bogolan Studios, Bamako
Recording Engineer: Eliézer Oudba
Assistant Engineer: Ibrahim Coulibaly
Additional recording by Jerry Boys at Studios Davout, Paris, and Livinston Studios, London
Assistant Engineer: Fernando Pereira
Track 4 recorded by Yves Wernert at Bogolan Studios
Mixed by Jerry Boys and Sonny at Livingston Studios
Mastered by Tom Leader and Jerry Boys
Track 4 arranged by Oumou Sangare; tracks 2, 6, 9 arranged by Oumou Sangare and Cheick Tidiane Seck; track 1, 3, 7, 8, 11 arranged by Cheick Tidiane Seck; trackd 5, 10 arranged by Massambou Wele Diallo
Artwork by House@Intro
Cover Photograph by Ed Alcock
FORMAT AVAILABILITY
This album is available from Nonesuch in the United States and Canada only.
