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Songlines magazine #70 - Top of the World album review
This hypnotic masterpiece from the French label No Format is another fine example of the label's penchant for putting musicians from different musical backgrounds together in a studio and seeing what they come up with. Malian kora (harp-lute) player Ballake Sissoko and French cello player Vincent Segal got together in Salif Keita's studio Moffou in Bamako and made ten beautiful tracks for this release, which explores both the common ground shared by the two stringed instruments - as well their differences.
Most of the songs are pinned around traditional kora melodies and rhythms but Segal does well to make them his own. His cello has a husky tone that complements the clear notes of the kora, staking its claim to its own space even when the kora is setting the tune. On `Mako Mady' Segal leads the track boldly and darkly, while Sissoko follows with his characteristic lightness. On `Ma-Ma FC' the kora sets the racing melody while Segal peppers the chords with his unpredictable plucking and bowing. The deeply resonant title-track reminds us that the kora, as well as being an instrument to fill out dance bands like Salif Keita's lively ensemble or Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra, also stands on its own as an instrument that weaves a tale in its own right. Throughout the album, Sissoko creates a beautiful, calming space in which to enjoy the cello, and Segal adds texture. This is the kind of music that doesn't happen all that often. Don't miss out.
© Rose Skelton
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ballake Sissoko is a fantastic kora player who seems to delight in blending his music with other styles or instruments.
This music is very subtle. It's calm, complex and thoughtful. The cello of Vincent Segal fits wonderfully. It's never syrupy but often adds depth and tone not available to the kora.
The album is mainly just kora and cello weaving around one another. There is a smattering of n'goni, balafon and bolon on a few tracks. There is also one track with vocals 'Regret - A Kader Barry' with Awa Sangho. And what a voice! Wow I would really like to hear more. Awa doesn't just belt it out like some of the huge voiced singers of Mali, she uses her voice in a restrained and supple way to fit the complative music.
This is fusion at it's best!
This music is very subtle. It's calm, complex and thoughtful. The cello of Vincent Segal fits wonderfully. It's never syrupy but often adds depth and tone not available to the kora.
The album is mainly just kora and cello weaving around one another. There is a smattering of n'goni, balafon and bolon on a few tracks. There is also one track with vocals 'Regret - A Kader Barry' with Awa Sangho. And what a voice! Wow I would really like to hear more. Awa doesn't just belt it out like some of the huge voiced singers of Mali, she uses her voice in a restrained and supple way to fit the complative music.
This is fusion at it's best!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this c.d. having read a highly enthusiastic review in the Guardian. I was not disappointed ! It is superb beautifully intricate and relaxing, in error I managed to order two copies, but I was so impressed, rather than return one I kept it to give as a present to an appreciative friend.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It has been some nine years since Anouar Brahem's 'Astrakhan cafe' shook up the music industry and truly opened all our eyes to the possibilities of 'world music.' Since then there has been a whole raft of releases and while many have been good there has been a huge amount of overrated guff and few to touch Brahem's breathtaking beauty.
So it was with no little pleasure that I have stumbled across this underrated little beauty. Sissoko, (from Mali), plays what is called a kora, (no I'd never heard of one either so I looked it up), which is apparently a bottle gourd cut in half with a bridge and 21 strings no less. Sissoko can make this sound either like a harp or more plucked in a blues like staccato style. Segal, (from France), plays the double bass and he grounds the music slightly for European listeners with a classical touch and thus, presumably, the 'Chamber music' of the title.
The beauty here is the mixture of styles being offered to the listener. Many tracks have a Western edge with the kora sounding almost harplike with a shimmering beauty and crystalline fragility that on tracks like 'Oscarine' are just a delight. On tracks such as 'Histoire de Molly' & 'Mako Mady' the bass is forefront and a sombre downtempo feel leave the listener feeling reflective and not a little sad. Contrasts abound everywhere so that we are taken from uplifting to darker moods as well as the slightly potty with tracks like 'Ma Ma FC' which is great fun and sounds like Rolf Harris is playing the accompaniment.
The playing here is seamless and effortless. The two musicians weave around each other and compliment one another hugely. The recording quality is very high with each instrument well placed and a very high level of detail retrieved.
In all this is a great addition to any music lovers collection and not only represents a great opportunity for something different but also to hear two world class musicians combining their differing cultures to great effect.
Highly recommended.
So it was with no little pleasure that I have stumbled across this underrated little beauty. Sissoko, (from Mali), plays what is called a kora, (no I'd never heard of one either so I looked it up), which is apparently a bottle gourd cut in half with a bridge and 21 strings no less. Sissoko can make this sound either like a harp or more plucked in a blues like staccato style. Segal, (from France), plays the double bass and he grounds the music slightly for European listeners with a classical touch and thus, presumably, the 'Chamber music' of the title.
The beauty here is the mixture of styles being offered to the listener. Many tracks have a Western edge with the kora sounding almost harplike with a shimmering beauty and crystalline fragility that on tracks like 'Oscarine' are just a delight. On tracks such as 'Histoire de Molly' & 'Mako Mady' the bass is forefront and a sombre downtempo feel leave the listener feeling reflective and not a little sad. Contrasts abound everywhere so that we are taken from uplifting to darker moods as well as the slightly potty with tracks like 'Ma Ma FC' which is great fun and sounds like Rolf Harris is playing the accompaniment.
The playing here is seamless and effortless. The two musicians weave around each other and compliment one another hugely. The recording quality is very high with each instrument well placed and a very high level of detail retrieved.
In all this is a great addition to any music lovers collection and not only represents a great opportunity for something different but also to hear two world class musicians combining their differing cultures to great effect.
Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
music for meditation
The combination of instruments and musical traditions works surprisingly well. The two players complement each other beautifully and work harmoniously to create something... Read more
Published 11 months ago by David Chaney
Europe & Afrika meet
A very nice mix of an European & an African musician who both on their native instruments are playing together. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Peter
Excellent
We saw these artists perform at the Barbican and were totally engaged in the music they played. Hence the next day ordered the CD! Read more
Published 14 months ago by A. J. Ward
There are other kora players...
This is one for those who liked the Toumani Diabate and Ali Farka Toure discs.
It inhabits a similar world, but with the obvious difference of Segal being a cellist... Read more
It inhabits a similar world, but with the obvious difference of Segal being a cellist... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Basket Press
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