Acoustic

Along with Alpha Blondy and the late Lucky Dube, Ivory Coast’s Tiken Jah Fakoly is part of a righteous trinity that remains unrivalled in African roots reggae. Yet here he puts aside the one-drop rhythms, skanking basslines and snare-drum rimshots to reinvent some of his best known reggae anthems with traditional African phrasing and acoustic instrumentation.

Produced by Jonathan Quarmby (who also helmed Tiken’s albums since 2007 and has produced Ziggy Marley), ngoni, balafon, kora, soku (single-string fiddle) and talking drums create a classic Mande soundbed while a cast of well-chosen guests adds a more contemporary feel. The chanson-like tones of Bernard Lavilliers combine splendidly with Tiken’s husky voice on the swaying ‘Tonton d’America’, Brazil’s Chico César and Jamaican reggae veteran Horace Andy (Massive Attack) join him on ‘Africain à Paris’, a smart adaptation of Sting’s ‘Englishman in New York’, the British-Tanzanian rapper Tiggs Da Author is heard to fine effect on ‘Les Martyrs’ and Mathieu Chédid (aka M) lends his high voice and guitar to ‘Ouvrez Les Frontières’.

The spoken interludes taken from a documentary film which punctuate the songs grow tiresome after a while. But make no mistake: the music heard on Acoustic is among the finest Tiken Jah Fakoly has ever made.