Dud Sea Scrawls The Writing, clearly, is not on the wall!

Trick title (see the P.S. for additions to your fund of pointless trivia), but let’s just call this Timbuktu-redux for now, shall we ?

Issa Bagayogo aka Techno-Issa

This guy defies labels. Techno-Issa’s got a foot in two worlds, so to speak - the Wassoulou music from his ancient land, and the more contemporary dancehall music. He’s got an unbelievably cool, gravelly, blues voice, and a great backing band. Guitar, the 6-string version of the kamele n’goni, percussion, flute, and the electronic mumbo-jumbo (loops, synth, etc) handled by a Frenchman called Yves Wernert who’s apparently established his recording studio in Mali. The CD I have is his latest “Tassoumakan” (Six Degrees Records) released sometime last year. Found Issa in a compilation “Putumayo presents Mali” (Putumayo World Records) - which, incidentally, is a great introduction to the fabulous sounds coming out from that country, and that led me to this album. This country seems to be churning out great musicians like the Caribbean pace-bowler-production-assembly-line once did.

Hard to pin Issa’s music down. Think roots music meets sorta-ethno-trance. A review I read said “his sound is quintessentially African all right, just not so National-Geographic about it”. The first track has a barely perceptible electronic loop, a melody consisting of the traditional call-and-response style of West African music laid on top of the loop, - all very laid back & all …. and then from nowhere comes a flute solo, with a frantic “overblowing” section (think Jethro Tull !). Totally kick-ass - what better way to say - “Hi, pleased to meet you, I’m Issa. This is my way of making music”. And the song immediately after that is an unabashed dance track .. funk, Timbuktu style. The rest of the songs mix it up pretty well. A couple of songs seem a bit repetitive … maybe it’s the Issa/Wernert standard concoction, but as concoctions go, they’re all pretty heady nevertheless.

Tangent: There’s one more thing I’ve got to say - what’s with the guitarists from West Africa ? They’re *incredibly* cool. Habib Koite, the guy from Orchestra Baobab, Ali Farka Toure, the awesome guys from Tinariwen (the Touareg band) & many many more … all self-taught, and all absolute wizards. To say I’m impressed as hell, would be an understatement. I had the incredible fortune to see Orchestra Baobab live a couple of months ago. And Tinariwen is rolling into town next month. I’m drooling as much as the nearest Pavlovian pet . I thought of blogging about Tinariwen, but I’ve blabbered enough about them on the buckwaas-box.

Happy weekend, all. I’m off to see Joshua Redman & Nick Payton’s Sonic Trance tomorrow.

P.S. The promised trivia-nugget. Bamako is the modern capital city of Mali, and the residents of that town are apparently nicknamed “Bamada” which translates to “In the mouth of the crocodile”. There you go - don’t you feel your life seemed rather insipid until you knew this ?