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Featured Release
Rokia Traore
Beautiful Africa
Produced by English musician John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Sparklehorse) and recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol, UK, Rokia Traoré’s album Beautiful Africa features lyrics sung in the Malian–born Traoré’s native languages of French and Bambara, as well as some English. The album earns five stars from the Observer, Guardian, and Songlines, which raves: "It really doesn’t get better than this in today’s African music ... Rokia’s work is exciting, surprising, and always perfectly executed."
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Rokia Traore
Beautiful Africa
Produced by English musician John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Sparklehorse) and recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol, UK, Rokia Traoré’s album Beautiful Africa features lyrics sung in the Malian–born Traoré’s native languages of French and Bambara, as well as some English. The album earns five stars from the Observer, Guardian, and Songlines, which raves: "It really doesn’t get better than this in today’s African music ... Rokia’s work is exciting, surprising, and always perfectly executed."
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Rokia Traore
Zen (live) (MP3)
This version of the Tchamantché song "Zen" was recorded live in Paris, following the album's European release. Rokia is joined by Tchamantché bassist "Disco" Minck, along with a new supporting band on senza, n'goni, guitars, and drums for the occasion.
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Rokia Traore
Tchamantché
Singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré—whose work Time has lauded as "mesmerizing, casting its spell with virtuoso vocals, rich textures and startling diversity"—combines electric guitar with traditional instrumentation on nine self-penned tunes plus the Gershwin classic "The Man I Love." The Guardian gives fives stars to this "intriguing, sophisticated and often intimate set that is quite unlike any of the other great music Mali has produced." The BBC World Service calls it "an absolute stunner."
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Rokia Traore
Bowmboï
On her Nonesuch debut, Malian star Rokia Traoré mixes traditional instrumentation with a modern sensibility for a mesmerizing set that includes a guest appearance from Kronos Quartet. The Boston Globe labeled her “one of the rising stars of Malian music.”




