Sya

Many world music fans will recall Issa Bagayogo's Timbuktu, but Bagayogo first struck gold on Sya, originally released in 1998 to great acclaim. It's on Sya that Bagayogo, guitarist Moussa Kone, and programmer Yves Wernert first infused traditional Malian music with electronic beats and other technological production techniques. Creating a more unobtrusive backing than would be heard on Timbuktu, Wernert's programming on Sya not only updated the traditional music, but did so without overshadowing the hypnotic and subtle acoustic strings and percussion. Listeners can hear the timbre of Bagayogo's remarkably expressive kamele n' goni (a small six-stringed lute-like instrument) playing as he goes from low earthy notes that are fuzzy to high clear ones that have the delicacy of acoustic guitar. Perhaps it was the initial rush of this first collaboration, but Sya is an even more compelling, and more subtle, listen than the still very good Timbuktu. --Tad Hendrickson, Amazon.com

Label: Unknown
Studio: Six Degrees
Released: 2003-12-08
Format: Audio CD