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Guinea's Maciré Sylla
is a singer and dancer who infuses her hard,
contemporary Afropop with the traditional Soussou
sounds of her people. This was a big risk in
a country where music has customarily been dominated
by Malenke-speaking male griots; but when her
1997 debut, Mariama, yielded the hit "L'Amour
Est Sorcier," fans in her hometown of Conakry
and beyond took her to heart and made her a
star. Now, she returns with the polished, confident
Maya Irafama -- an album that's sure to solidify
her status at home while introducing her to
a whole new audience abroad.
Maciré's sound is straightforward Afropop
-- funky drums, bouncy bass, sparkling guitars,
lush keyboards, and horns that stray between
dirty exuberance and smooth elegance -- and
it's not very different from most of the glossy
Francophone African pop churned out in Paris
these days. Granted,
the production here is better than most -- the
gloss never overpowers the music -- and there's
a distinctly hard edge to some of the tracks
here (check the Clyde Stubblefield-style drumming
on the opening track, "Darirono").
But what makes Maya Irafama stand out is Maciré's
commanding
vocal performance.
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