Joa

Coco Mbassi is a versatile and highly accomplished Paris-based female singer from Cameroon. She has recorded and performed live as a backing singer with many artists, notably Manu Dibango, Salif Keita and Oumou Sangaré, and has appeared as a featured vocalist with Cirque du Soleil. As a performer under her own name she has enjoyed considerable acclaim on the international festival circuit.

This is her third solo album and it ably demonstrates her ability to combine her African musical roots with contemporary soul, jazz and even classical musical nuances. Her husband, Serge Ngando Mpondo, deserves much of the credit for this album, having produced, arranged and also played bass and many of the guitar parts. There are moments, as on ‘Madoi’, when his bowed double-bass arrangement makes the music sound almost like a classical recital; while Mbassi's vocal becomes quite hymn-like. And then there are stunningly effective stripped-down songs such as ‘Makaki’, featuring Mbassi's multi-tracked vocal, double bass and djembé drums. A very enjoyable and musically sophisticated album, its predominantly slow tempo and atmospheric sensibility are a long way from typically Cameroonian uptempo dance music.