(Muso's Guide, February 23, 2009)
Single review
Two of Mali’s most famous musicians Amadou and Mariam are the very essence of the genre “world music”.
Known as “the blind couple from Mali”, their 2008 record Welcome To Mali was largely produced by world music fan Damon Albarn.
It makes sense that Albarn would elect to be a part of the fifth record from such a successful music duo, and he is the latest in a long line of influential collaborators for the duo - including Manu Chao and Herbert Grönemeyer.
‘Ce N’Est Pas Bon’ has been released as a download-only single and, as such, is the perfect time to discover what an African nation of more than 11 million know and what you, well, probably don’t. Fresh from playing at Barack Obama’s inauguration, the blues duo have produced something here closer to the British pop which we all know so well.
What we get from Albarn is the great soundscape, the very essence that makes this “op”. His familiarity with the African rhythms and guitar sounds is all too clear - after all, he borrowed from it liberally on the unfinished monkey business of Gorillaz.
The track is catchy and dancey, with a great lyric about power corrupting and people losing out thanks to big business and politics in the duo’s native French. With this sort of socio-political awareness coming in such a pop package, Albarn’s coming up roses this time, and Amadou and Mariam reach a whole new audience.
Ca c’est bon.
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