Country : Mali Label : Nø Førmat Genres and styles : Afropop / Malian Traditional Year : 2020

Acoustic

· by Alain Brunet

An acoustic album from Mali… Another one? Not again! The great West African singer Oumou Sangaré launches 11 songs under the title Acoustic, a reinterpretation of her previous Mogoya. Released in 2017 with a host of top-shelf guests, including the late drummer Tony Allen, it was undoubtedly one of the best African albums of the previous decade. Excluding percussion instruments, the acoustic extension of this recording could have been one folk exercise among many, but that’s not quite the case. Played with virtuosity and fervour by Guimba Kouyaté, the nylon-stringed guitar gives these harmonic proposals a nice flamenco-jazz side flavour, without however distorting the West African foundations of harmonic constructions and melodies often based on pentatonic scales – five notes instead of seven, as is the case in the blues for example. Vincent Taurelle’s discreet keyboards complete the harmonic work, no lack of taste in this programme. What’s more, Brahima “Benogo” Diakité’s kamele ngoni (a string instrument) and the magnificent backing vocals of singers Emma Lamadji and Kandy Guira , remind us that Acoustic is profoundly Malian – yet less traditional than it seems.

Latest 360 Content

The Golden Violin Award as told by David Montreuil

The Golden Violin Award as told by David Montreuil

Lost in the Labyrinth at the Yoo Doo Right + Victime Album Launch with We Owe

Lost in the Labyrinth at the Yoo Doo Right + Victime Album Launch with We Owe

OM and YNS Choose Messiah’s Immersion at Notre-Dame Basilica

OM and YNS Choose Messiah’s Immersion at Notre-Dame Basilica

Maestro Nagano at The Holiday Season, With The OSM, Marie-Nicole Lemieux And Le Vent du Nord

Maestro Nagano at The Holiday Season, With The OSM, Marie-Nicole Lemieux And Le Vent du Nord

A Baroque Christmas with Arion | When The Hurdy-Gurdy Awakens The Holiday Spirit

A Baroque Christmas with Arion | When The Hurdy-Gurdy Awakens The Holiday Spirit

Dear Criminals at Théâtre Outremont | Rallumer la flamme

Dear Criminals at Théâtre Outremont | Rallumer la flamme

Rau_Ze at Club Soda | The voice of Montreal Youth

Rau_Ze at Club Soda | The voice of Montreal Youth

Montreal / Nouvelles Musiques 2025: All About The Program

Montreal / Nouvelles Musiques 2025: All About The Program

Joé Dwèt Filé Set The Olympia On Fire

Joé Dwèt Filé Set The Olympia On Fire

Bond symphonique, First and Foremost a Festival of Theme Songs

Bond symphonique, First and Foremost a Festival of Theme Songs

The sparkling magic of Christmas, Yannick Nézet-Séguin… and Antoine Gratton!

The sparkling magic of Christmas, Yannick Nézet-Séguin… and Antoine Gratton!

Schulich | Horatio Quartet wins the Chamber Music Competition 2024-2025

Schulich | Horatio Quartet wins the Chamber Music Competition 2024-2025

Schulich | Christmas classics with the McGill Jazz Orchestra

Schulich | Christmas classics with the McGill Jazz Orchestra

Schulich | Playing in the snow with the Contemporary Music Ensemble

Schulich | Playing in the snow with the Contemporary Music Ensemble

Festival de Jazz – Brazil’s Luedji Luna Brings The Snow to Montreal

Festival de Jazz – Brazil’s Luedji Luna Brings The Snow to Montreal

René Lussier | Trésor de la métalangue, 50 Years of Guitar and Atypical Practices

René Lussier | Trésor de la métalangue, 50 Years of Guitar and Atypical Practices

Ensemble SuperMusique Sets Out to Alarm Sound

Ensemble SuperMusique Sets Out to Alarm Sound

Victime / En Conversation Avec… The Concert Follows The Album

Victime / En Conversation Avec… The Concert Follows The Album

Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia

Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia

Jeanne Rochette & l’ONJ Live at Gesù: Classic Songwriting, Classic Jazz

Jeanne Rochette & l’ONJ Live at Gesù: Classic Songwriting, Classic Jazz

Joel Jeschke – Time & Place

Joel Jeschke – Time & Place

Lubalin, from TikTok fame to a live show and a first album

Lubalin, from TikTok fame to a live show and a first album

Thélème/Sting – All we get is life

Thélème/Sting – All we get is life

Jocelyn Gould – Portrait of Right Now

Jocelyn Gould – Portrait of Right Now

Subscribe to our newsletter