La Différence

Salif Keita’s record company are claiming La Différence is the ‘third chapter of an acoustic trilogy’, following his two wonderful back–to–the–roots albums Moffou (2002) and M’Bemba (2005). Although the music shares much of the same spirit as those two records, it’s a somewhat misleading claim, for La Différence really stands on its own: it’s a one–off with a quite specific purpose. All proceeds will go to Keita’s charitable foundations for albinos and the title–track which he has recorded in different languages for release in different territories sets out his manifesto. ‘I am black but my skin is white,’ he sings on the UK release, and then proceeds to explain the discrimination that he and other albinos suffer. It’s a beautiful song, although it’s a little disconcerting to hear him singing in English. Many of the other eight tracks are re–workings of some of his greatest songs, such as ‘Seydou’, ‘Folon’ and ‘Papa’, but the rearrangements are fairly radical – rather like a Malian equivalent of those MTV Unplugged shows on which the world’s most successful rock bands used to stretch out in the 1990s. Recorded partly in Paris and partly in his own studio in Bamako, further sessions were conducted in Beirut. Several tracks, such as ‘Samigna’ and ‘San Ka Ka’, deploy Oriental–style strings, much in the style of Youssou N’Dour’s Egypt album.

This is perhaps not a major release in terms of the glittering canon Salif has created since his solo debut with Soro almost a quarter of a century ago. But it’s a relaxed and highly pleasing release, which certainly doesn’t disappoint on any level.