Mande Kulu

This is a sequel to 2015's Sangoyi, with the core collaboration between Malian residents Samba Diabaté and Vincent Zanetti (both mostly playing guitars) being expanded here to a quartet. They are now joined by Jacky Molard (violin) and Hélène Labarrière (upright bass). Molard is a frequent soloist, providing significant contrast with a tendency towards extended flourishes and sweeping tonal excursions, set apart from the elaborate picking of Diabaté's guitar. ‘Dan Masa Wulani’ opens with an emphatic bass solo, the tune accelerating into a brisk interweaving of four parts, with fast-bowed violin and choppy guitars. Molard takes a solo or leads an ensemble theme on virtually every track, perhaps even at the expense of Diabaté's time in the spotlight. On ‘Ka Gonbori’, Euro-folk and West African traditions co-exist in the space of a single violin solo, while Zanetti picks up his djembé on ‘Les Bouffons’ and Diabaté plays quasi-bluegrass on the closing ‘Nouk’.