Despite the title, Electro Bamako (EmArcy) doesn't have a hi-tech or even an electronic feel to it. In fact when you first hear a couple of tracks you might find it hard to tell its origin - it is a merging of wailing vocals that are decidedly non-western in sound and inflection with a relaxed, reggae- and jazz-influenced rhythm section. As you listen closer, you become aware of some repetitive and stop-start gestures that may come from tape-splicing, some tasty acoustic piano fills and even the occasional squall of free-jazz horn bombast, which keeps listeners alert on the gentle track Nani. Who might it be? Heiner Goebbels? John Zorn? A kid with a copy of Acid and some out-of-the way loops?

It turns out to be a producer-led project: Marc Minelli has been working with Malian singer Mamani Keita for several years, adding idiosyncratic, jazzy accompaniment to her mesmerising vocal performances. At first her voice almost sounds bland, but once you delve into the nuances of her sound you get hooked. With only a little of the sampled, collaged feel of Booster or Marc Moulin, the "electro" of the title is a misnomer - the sound picture is overwhelmingly acoustic in colour, with sax solos (Daniel Paboeuf) and balofon (Lassina Konate) poking effectively out of the mix, and a fabulously dirty plunger mute trumpet for Laydou.

The samples, which often come from movies (is that Bette Davies?) give it a contemporary slant. On the debit side, the obvious grainy electro samples are sometimes overused: its the more "acoustic" loops that grab the mind and body on dynamite pieces such as the skanking N'Ka Willy and the coolly hustling Abdoulayi Djodo.