Soukabbè Mali

Hailing from Bandiagara on Mali's Dogon plateau, Sékou Bah's impressive track record includes several years playing in Salif Keita's band, a spell as Oumou Sangaré's musical director and, most recently, playing bass for Fatoumata Diawara. His solo debut is a smooth set of West African grooves, his voice ranging from suave to plaintive on a set that spans Mande tradition on the title-track, gentle Afro-pop (‘Adamadenw’), rap (‘Kalan Ko’), funk (‘Nge Mounkila’) and desert blues (‘Nourou Chi Bory’). His themes cover the traditional social concerns of Malian song – honouring one's culture, respect for each other, our shared humanity and, in the light of his country's recent troubles, peace and reconciliation. One of the album's greatest assets is the strong supporting cast, including the whip-smart rapper Master Soumy, lead guitarist Yacouba Koné, kora player Cherif Soumano and kamalengoni player Harouna Samaké, who contributes an astonishingly inventive and bluesy solo to ‘Fifi’.

For those who like that sort of thing, dance remixes of the tracks ‘Kalan Ko’ and ‘Nge Mounkila’, featuring some pretty hideous drum programming, are added at the end.