The sound is a bit like a good soup … plenty of flavors and textures carefully selected to complement a very distinctive main ingredient. Kamele n’goni, call and response vocals, programmed percussion, rock guitar, funk, trance, an irrepressibly Malian traditional backdrop. It can mean one thing only: Issa Bagayogo’s new album has been released.

Issa Bagayogo has been in the Wassoulou camp of the “world music” scene for several years now, with two previous international releases to his credit. His style is at once entirely traditional and thoroughly modern in its cool programming and laid back grooves. And yet he manages to incorporate electronic effects with his hereditary music in a manner that seems completely natural. HE includes sound that could emanate from any corner of the globe, and still, somehow, the result is entirely Malian, and curiously unique. The key is a subtlety and innate understanding that combine to produce mellow, but thought provoking, introspective but joyous music.

Blessed with a deep, resonant tone with a strong nasal quality and the ability to fire long, commanding lines of spoken lyric, Bagayogo’s voice is the thread that bins the many strands to this collection. A small female chorus complements him, while an arsenal of instruments and beats fill out the sound. “Dya Bana” has a child-like piano hook over a pounding bass. “Dya” glides along in the most elegant of Malian swings, framed around a kamele n’goni melody with floating vocals. At the other end of the spectrum, “kanou” is just downright bluesy, while “Korot” has funk written all over. Whether it’s late night listening or road-trip music you’re seeking, you may just find it here.

-JB