Amadou & Mariam - World Music For People Who Hate World Music

Dimanche á Bamako still showcases the signature sounds of Amadou and Mariam-Amadou’s high, bluesy baritone and brittle, propulsive electric guitar with Mariam’s ardent, highly ornamented soprano-but Chao’s production adds the punch of dance-happy beats from around the globe.

The resulting international smorgasbord is accessible enough to be savored by even the most rock-centric ears, without sacrificing the music’s deep African roots. "The production and the mix may be more pop than we’ve done before," says Amadou, "but it’s not musically different from our other albums. We’ve worked with Syrian, French and African musicians before Manu Chao. Everyone brings different colors to the songs, but the root is always the music of Mali we grew up with."

You can find the full review here.