Doumbia, Nahawa – “La Grande Cantatrice Malienne V.3″ – [Awesome Tapes From Africa]

Na Hawa Doumbia’s sound reflects the??Wassoulou??style, quite different than the “Desert Blues” we often associate with Mali. This is mostly upbeat music with her soaring vocals floating over relentless percussive plucking on the??kamale ngoni (“youth harp”) accompanied by electric guitar, bass and percussion. A nice combination of Western instruments well integrated with traditional African sounds; there is no attempt to sound commercially relevant. Doumbia is still active, with many LPs in her back catalog (KFJC has one of them on vinyl). This is a reissue of 1982 LP, out on new “Awesome Tapes from Africa” label. ( crimes )