Afel Bocoum - Alasidi

Alasidi from Afel Bocoum's album 'Alkibar'.
Available on Amazon or iTunes.
Visit World Circuit Records or Afel's Facebook for more info.

"A major addition to the exalted list of great Malian musicians. Liquid elastic riffs to marvel at, instant trance...the overall effect is homespun, authentic, thoughtful, dreamlike"
Folk Roots

“This cd is a pristinely recorded example of contemporary West African roots music at its finest.”
Songlines

Malian guitarist Afel Bocoum's Alkibar was recorded in the same magical sessions as "Niafunké" by Ali Farka Toure, who has been Afel's mentor for some years. This elegantly recorded album was taped in a deserted former agricultural school in the depths of rural Mali, and is full of the melancholy and deceptive simplicity of Malian "Wassoulou" blues, with its mesmeric, repeating guitar lines, calabash and surprising vocal chorus lines. Afel and Toure's acoustic guitar lines are so well judged that this is, at first hearing, very simple music. The swing recalls the American blues--the repeating instrumental figures sink in with no effort at all and the vocal lines are extremely satisfying. However listen again and you'll discover new harmonies and rhythms creating a vivid, multi-layered whole. --Neil Bennun