March 14, 2012

Amadou & Mariam | Oh Amadou & Dougou Badia

ARTIST:  Amadou & Mariam
TITLE:  “Oh Amadou” / “Dougou Badia”
LABEL:  Because
Amadou & Mariam’s new album Folila will be released worldwide on April 2.  Here are the first two singles, courtesy of their European label Because and the invaluable French-language music promotion site Francophonie Diffusion. The album features a bunch of high-profile collaborators (TV On The Radio, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jake Shears of Scissors Sisters, Theophilus London), and the same is true of the singles.  Track 1, “Oh Amadou,” the first French single, features brilliant and controversial Noir Desir singer Bertrant Cantat on a slice of steaming Malian blues-rock in the manner of Dimanche A Bamako’s “Coulibaly.”  The USA single “Dougou Badia” is track 2 -- it features Mariam Doumbia’s lead vocals and a scintillating tom-tom-backed cameo by Santigold, reminiscent of her work on The Very Best’s “Get It Up.”  Two excellent tracks -- I’m looking forward to the whole album.

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