Africa Express presents Maison des Jeunes

"From concerts in Lagos and Kinshasa to that remarkable train trip round Britain last summer, Africa Express has set out both to promote co-operation between African and western musicians and to constantly surprise. This new album was recorded in just one week in October in a youth club in Bamako, where young Malian musicians worked with celebrity producers. The result is a fresh, varied set that mixes ancient and modern. Moussa Traoré contributes a stately, charming blend of kora and French rap, produced by Damon Albarn; there's a fine, soulful reworking of Salif Keita's Yamore by 21-year-old Kankou Kouyaté; an insistent, exhilarating workout from the Yacouba Sissoko Band produced by Brian Eno; and exuberant guitar rock and desert blues from Songhoy Blues, a band from Timbuktu".

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"A remarkable set of music that mixes Western and African, ancient and modern with a sensitivity often missing in pan-continental collaborations. Adama Koite's intricate guitar and vocals, for example, are underpinned perfectly by Two Inch Punch's languid bass electronics on Fantainfalla Toyi Bolo, while Kankou Kouyaté (niece of ngoni maestro Bassekou) provides a simple, elegant and highly effective version of Salif Kaita's Yamore, produced by Albarn. Pertinently, the album's lead single, Soubour, is by Timbuktu residents Songhoy Blues, a band formed in reaction to the recent jihadist ban on music. Teaming up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner for an inspired and rollicking piece of desert rock, it's both a powerful riposte to would-be oppressors and a sign that Mali's musical future looks bright".