Les Bateaux

Malian guitarist and singer Mamadou Kelly is a graduate of the bands of both Ali Farka Touré and Afel Bocoum, and this is his fourth full album. There is a clear consistency displayed in this artist's recordings. He is a good singer, albeit not with a particularly distinctive voice. He does, however, demonstrate that he can produce highly enjoyable music that is thought-provoking and memorable.

This release continues to maintain a fairly traditional instrumental line-up of acoustic and electric guitar, ngoni, calabash and electric bass. However, as on his previous releases, there is some occasional additional instrumentation. In this case it is lap steel guitar on two tracks, clarinet on another two, balafon on one track and violin on two others. These add some very sympathetic adornment and variation from the standard line-up. In particular, the lap steel brings an ethereal atmosphere to the poignant title-track, which describes villagers anxiously waiting on the river bank for the arrival of boats carrying food during periods of famine. One ‘bonus’ track in the form of a techno remix is slightly misplaced and adds little to what is otherwise a highly tasteful and engaging release.