Search - Issa Bagayogo :: Sya

Techno meets the Wasulu beat

rudiger | Hoople, ND | 03/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""SYA" may be the first recording to pair the kamalengoni, the signature harp used in Malian Wasulu music, with electronic dance rhythms. It's a magical combination, and the trance-like repetitive riffs that characterize the Wasulu sound lend themselves well to techno stylings. Not bad, considering that it's coming from a guy who was driving a Bamako minibus when this album came out.The title track has one of the best hooks you'll hear in recent Malian pop music--just four unforgettable beats. In a radical break from typical Malian pop, Bagayogo's French producer/arranger puts all kinds of ambient sounds (birds chirping, a woman sighing) in the mix. It's languid, lovely, and hard to get out of your head, which is a very good thing.My only criticism of "SYA" is that it's just a little uneven. There are some memorable tracks like the title cut, and then there are others that are ho-hum. But overall I think this album merits a listen, whether you are an aficianado of Malian music or a techno-phile searching for new offshoots of the genre (and perhaps disappointed with Six Degrees' "Frikyiwa" discs). Wherever you are, Mr. Bagayogo, I hope you've quit your day job and moved into making this kind of music full-time."

Still his best

John B. | Wichita, KS USA | 05/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sya remains a magical listening experience for me, even five years (and several purchases of it for friends and children) later. Its spare fusion of hip-hop with traditional Malian song structures means the listener really can hear everything; neither tradition overwhelms the other but you get the feeling that these musics have more in common than you might initially think. Even better: it's danceable without resorting to thump-thumpiness, as Bagayogo's lute's percussive qualities are easily audible and so add to the record's rhythmic complexity and sonic textures--one of those textures being space. There's enormous room in this album, which allows instruments and vocalists room for us to hear them--something that can't be said about the other albums.



I also own Timbuktu and Tassoumakan (in fact, I'm listening to Timbuktu as I write this review), but it's Sya that I take with me on road-trips. Even as the car takes me where I need to go, this marvelous album takes my mind to still another place."

The best

boston_student | Washington, DC | 01/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I lived in West Africa for three years and this is the best album I found. A Peace Corps volunteer played if for me on Christmas Day in Mali. It is intense and moving and absolute dynamite to listen to."