Boubacar Traoré - Bougoudani (Bill Withers)
From the album Mbalimaou (2014)
Label: Lusafrica
Appears on: DALI CD Vol. 4

Boubacar Traoré is a universally respected musician, one of the last great performers to have begun his career in the early days of Malian independence. His blues-flavoured folk, unique, emotion-filled timbre and inimitable guitar style and the poetry that pervades his songs, have all matured over the years. Now in his seventies, Boubacar Traoré has successfully preserved and enriched all the key elements of his individual style and musical culture: great elegance, delightful simplicity and the serenity and soberness that are the hallmarks of a great artist.

With each new recording, he adds new touches to his music without losing sight of the basics that make up his supremely distinctive style.

Traoré weaves gloriously simple patterns of guitar and inimitable vocals into these new songs, written whenever he could spare a moment between labouring in the fields and touring internationally.

Bougoudani is living proof that music and musicians from Mali have been a great influence on many music genres and bands worldwide. However, not many bands can boast of being as well recorded as most of the music from Mali, and this track is an example of how good and simple a recording can sound. The track covers everything you need from a great demo track and your hi-fi system will be tested in every aspect. We fell in love with the music of Boubacar Traoré the first time we heard it and we strongly recommend that you discover more music from this accomplished artist and others from Mali and Africa.