Addoh

On this, his debut album, guitarist and singer Oumar Konaté seeks to place himself among the ever-growing pantheon of Mali's global stars. Having worked as a backing musician for Vieux Farka Touré, Sidi Touré and Khaira Arby, Konaté takes things in his own direction, mixing the guitar styles of northern Mali with rock, funk, reggae and more, with some pieces even bringing to mind Senegalese mbalax.

Although the variety of styles presented on the album generally works in its favour, Addoh seems at its weakest when trying out reggae: the opening track is based on a cool reggae groove and misses the mark a bit. After that, however, the album begins to pick up, and its second track ‘Bisimillah’ is probably the best of the lot, with Konaté's distorted guitar providing dramatic exclamations above a brooding blues. Konaté also introduces some interesting guests to his band: current hot property Sidiki Diabaté brings his kora (harp-lute) to the duet ‘Terya’ to good results and the American-Ethiopian horn section of Debo Band also feature, though they seem somewhat underused. Addoh isn’t a great album, but it's certainly a good one, and one that shows promise in some exciting directions. Konaté is a musician to keep an eye on.