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Photo: Philip Ryalls
Photo: Judith Burrows
Jackie Oates Bassekou Kouyate
JACKIE OATES
Tackling Birthday with a welter of string There’s a denser feel to the production
and lavish backing vocals is heroic if not on I Speak Fula, with added depth to the
Hyperboreans Unearthed/ One Little Indian
entirely successful, the disquieting oddity of bass end. And Amy Sacko’s vocals are even
TPLP1034CD
the lyric never quite sitting easily with the more sumptuously framed than before. But
purity of her delivery but it’s a fascinating that live energy has been captured well,
My how she’s
diversion, while there’s plenty elsewhere to with Ngoni Ba really kicking up sparks as
grown… It seems
underline the freshness she brings to tradi- Bassekou’s longer, beefier solos are taken
only five minutes
tional song. There’s a pained but gorgeous closer, but not too close, to the brink of
since Jackie Oates
version of The Isle Of France, made famous by indulgence. Add in some plugged-in wah-
left Northumberland
Nic Jones; and spritely treatments of Locks wah moments, a shock of electric blues from
in a hurry after sacking herself from Rachel
And Bolts, The Sheffield Grinder and Young Vieux Farka Toure here and there, and a
Unthank & The Winterset, returning to
Leonard. It closes with Dave Wood’s anthemic sprinkling of more reflective tracks (plus two
Devon to fret about what the hell she was
song of parting, May The Kindness, but the minutes of thrillingly raw mpolon harp
going to do next. With this third solo album
temptation to grandstand and send it out all- music by Dramane Ze Konate to round it all
she’s blossomed into an accomplished artist
guns-blazing is wisely resisted and, given a off) and the result is a confident step for-
with awards and everything, confident
tastefully understated piano-fiddle arrange- ward for the band.
enough to tackle material as disparate as
ment, the track has far more impact.
Alasdair Roberts’ weird and wonderful title
There are welcome repeat-guest
song and Birthday, the track that first made
Avoiding the obvious and paying close appearances from Zoumana Tereta and
Björk a star with the Sugarcubes in 1987.
attention to detail is one of its primary fea- Kasse Mady Diabate, and Bassekou’s broth-
tures, marking the full graduation of Jackie er Andra gets to wrap his deep, atmospheric
Her brother Jim Moray is at the controls,
Oates as a front-line talent. tones around another Bamana blues. But
adding the odd slightly eccentric touch to a
sharp production that suggests one day he
www.jackieoates.co.uk
it’s the core line-up that holds sway, testa-
ment to months of on-road intra-band
could be as important behind the mic as he is
Colin Irwin
refinement. From the fast-paced title track
in front of it and, apart from writing the
(complete with shades of the opening bar
wonderfully oddball Hyperboreans about a
mythical tribe living somewhere near the Arc-
BASSEKOU KOUYATE
of Pinball Wizard!) to the galloping Musow
tic Circle, Roberts also sings and plays on a
and onward to live favourite Ladon, the
quietly brooding treatment of the murder
& NGONI BA
intricate rhythmic interplay is tightly woven
ballad The Butcher’s Boy.
and anchored by the deep throb of bass
I Speak Fula Out Here OH013
ngoni and calabash with Bassekou spilling
In technique and ambition it takes her to
another plane, gently pushing the barriers,
Ever since Malian
out supercharged licks between Amy’s con-
but it’s not in any respect self-indulgent. Even
ngoni master Bassek-
trolled, soulful singing (still supported by
the drum beats introduced at strategic points
ou Kouyate brought
double-track and the band’s prompts but
– notably on the lively opening track The
his instrument to the
also out on its cool, assured own more often
Miller And His Three Sons – aren’t intrusive
forefront of our
than before).
and the reassuring presence of Saul Rose’s
thoughts with a debut album that romped
Each turn of the CD reveals a new
dancing melodeon and her old compadre
the fRoots album of the year poll, the arc of
favourite, and over time the more traditional,
James Dumbleton’s intricate guitar ensure
acclamation for his band has risen ever
dipped-in-blues songs gain prominence. Torin
core values are maintained. Their version of
upward, backed by universally fêted power-
Torin splits the difference to perfection – a
the Copper Family’s Pleasant Month Of May,
house live performances.
gorgeous inter-marriage of rolling rhythm,
Amy’s honey tones and Bassekou’s extended
with Jim playing banjo, is sublime. Jackie plays No pressure for the second album, then.
firecracker riffs. Confirmation, if it were
a variety of fiddle, viola, cello and – yes, shruti In fact, a chink of room for improvement
needed, that despite setting the bar very high
on the affectingly mournful Past Caring, a emerged during the evolution of those con-
from the off, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba
seemingly simple lament from her shows with cert appearances. Segu Blue’s considered
are more than capable of filling what room
Martyn Wyndham-Read in Down The Lawson approach was beguiling enough, but left a
for improvement remains.
Track, but it’s made extraordinary by the sin- challenge for its follow-up to emulate its sub-
cerity of her vocal and the ever-so-subtle pulse tle impact but also inject some of the energy
www.outhere.de, UK distribution: Proper.
Moray introduces low in the mix behind her. from those exhilarating concert performances. Con Murphy
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