In review--Oh yeah, this is the life!
World Debademba Souleymane World Village Some of the first world music I heard was from West Africa. I started out with Senegalese music then discovered Malian music and West African music found a place in my life. With so many musical styles hailing from West Africa, sometimes bands come along that mix and match while causes us to dance our feet off. Debademba (led by guitarist Abdoulaye Traoré of Ghana and Malian griot vocalist Mohamed Diaby) performs High Life (Ghana), mbalax (Senegal), Afro-Beat (Nigeria) and griot blues (Mali) on their second album, Souleymane . These musicians supply us with ample infectious rhythms played on calabashes and other percussion, shimmering kora, acoustic guitar, soaring vocals, as well as, violin, cello, flute, piano and chorus (women and men vocals). I dare you not to dance. Okay, so it’s not all fast grooves and primal beats. Djiki snakes along to Arabic modes with vocals so s...