Seya, Oumou Sangare's first international release in six years, received its US release on Nonesuch earlier this year to great acclaim. Audiophile Audition adds its own praise with a five-star review. "A new album from Oumou Sangare," says reviewer Brian Whistler, "is always cause for celebration, and with this latest release fans won’t be disappointed."

Whistler praises the new album's sound, markedly different in tone from her previous recordings, its arrangements "lush and sophisticated." It all develops into "something wonderful and unexpected," including "one of the coolest B3 solos" the reviewer had heard in a while. "Heaven."

The album mixes these new sounds with the "warm, seductive at at times very powerful" vocals one has come to expect from Sangare to such great effect that there is much to please fans both new and old alike. Whistler concludes:

Taken as a whole, the album is a delicious stew of exotic sounds and rhythms that tickle the ears and stir the senses. "Seya" means “Joy,” and considering the beauty and exultation it evokes it is aptly named.

Read the complete album review at audaud.com.