Damon Albarn/Blur, Day 2

In 2002, Damon Albarn released Mali Music (Honest Jons Records), an album he recorded with Malian musicians while visting the country. The album is billed as a release by Albarn, Afel Bocoum, Tolimani Diabate and Friends. The music is dynamic, awakening and a real interesting blend of western and world music. Besides the tracking of multiple artists their are lots of sounds on Mali Music, derived from a variety of intstruments. Albarn, no stranger to Augustus Pablo and his brand of dub reggae, brought along a melodica, a child like instrument capable of churning out some attractive sounds. There are also things called kalimbas, koras, monochords and a trez. But don't get worried because drums, guitars, bass and xylophone's also appear as well as vocals, lots of cool sounds emitting out from these humans.

The pictures (their are a bunch) accompanying the disc, show Albarn in as many different settings as their are pages. He is frequently playing his melodica joined by those he recorded with. I'm not sure if Albarn would classify the music made on his trip as field recordings but they certainly do come off as recorded "live." Apparently, the album was recorded at various venues, clubs and bars where Albarn could set up shop. Though Albarn later, in a studio, added instruments and other sounds.

Before moving on to the music, I want to point out that this album is surely not a descendant of Paul Simon's Graceland (not that that would be a bad thing). Albarn stays pretty faithful to the Malian/World sound, not really incorporating it into pop music. Rather he performed a reverse operation, incorporating elements of pop music into what by and large is world-ish composition, perhaps not strictly Malian but borrowing from Jamaica and other distant locales.

Finally, this post would not have been made without the recommendation of this album right after it came out, by my friend NB who had so graciously opened his Mass. home up to me for the night. Before a game of pool he put this on and I do believe without wasting any time I told him to turn it off. "Who would play pool to this?" I thought. Well, he is a better man than me because we would all be better pool players if we listened to some Mali Music while playing a little 8 ball.

Mali Music - Spoons
Mali Music - The Djembe
Mali Music - Niber

Buy Mali Music at Amazon.

Just in case you needed a brit-pop fix:
Cast - Fine Time