Leila

The competition is getting tough out in the Saharan desert, but singer Leila Gobi fares well with her eponymous third album, the first to be released outside of Mali. The first six tracks were recorded with a four-piece band in upstate New York, with the remaining pair laid down by a different (though not entirely dissimilar) crew in Bamako. The two line-ups have a shared sonic zone, suggesting that Gobi's vision is strong, supplanting her career's early role as a chorus singer.

She enters the fray accompanied by a pair of rugged lead guitarists, but the presence of the American keyboardist Pete Levin adds a subtle jazz frisson, with organ and Fender Rhodes textures. The opening ‘Hari Nafa’ sways with a shoulder-dipping motion, acidic guitar interjections forcing a sudden increase in pace towards its climax. Gobi's words cover both international conflict and personal love, sung in multiple Malian languages, her youthfully high, nasally-pitched voice cutting through the competition of the flying guitar solos with power and precision.