2023 Charity Shop Purchases #79 - Kassé Mady Diabaté - Manden Djeli Kan
My extremely meagre African music section is beginning to fill slowly. This is primarily down to artists from Mali given that three CDs have been added in as many months. Following hard on the heels of Tinariwen and Songhoy Blues my latest acquisition is Manden Djeli Kan an album by Kassé Mady Diabaté from 2008 on the French label Universal
Whereas I had vaguely heard of the other two acts this one was a total punt for a pound in the British Heart Foundation shop in Fort William. I am pleased to report that it was a pound well spent.
He was a Malian singer, musician and griot who died aged 68 or 69 in 2018. Again I had heard the word griot before but was unsure as to its meaning. Wiki tells me that it is a word for a West African historian, story teller, praise singer, poet and/or musican. I suspect that Kassé ticked all those boxes. It seems that he released 6 albums between 1989 and 2014 with this one being the 4th.
The album was reviewed in the Guardian who gave it 3/5. RateyourMusic gives it 3.5 with AllMusic giving it 7.3/10. I'm with AllMusic on the marking side of things.
I'm putting this one down as a find.
The first track will definitely be on Downloads vol 209. Not sure about the 2nd
ReplyDeleteOoh we've not had an official Charity Chic "find' in a while. I'm going to take a listen and see if I agree.
ReplyDeleteSwc.
Ditto George - why waste words?
ReplyDelete