Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba's fourth album 'Ba Power' (and his first for Glitterbeat Records) is a striking, career defining record marked by mesmerizing songs, razor-sharp riffs and full-throttle emotions. Following two years of worldwide touring for the much heralded 'Jama Ko' album, Bassekou's band, Ngoni Ba, has turned up the volume and dynamics significantly and Bassekou's masterful ngoni playing has achieved a new level of intensity that can only be called: afro-rock. Distortion and wah wah and propulsive rhythms are now the defining backbone of his songs and the heat lightning vocals of his wife Amy Sacko, more than ever serve as the passionate and perfect foil. This is not the same Ngoni Ba. This is indeed: Ba Power.
The album was was produced in Mali by Chris Eckman (Tamikrest, Aziza Brahim) and it features a number of guests: from Mali Samba Touré, Zoumana Tereta and Adama Yalomba, from the US seminal trumpet player Jon Hassell (Brian Eno, The Talking Heads, Björk and Peter Gabriel) and rock guitaristChris Brokaw (Lemonheads, Come, the Thurston Moore Band etc.), and from the UK acclaimed drummer Dave Smith (Robert Plant's Sensational Space Shifters, Fofoulah, JuJu).
'Ba Power' contains all the swagger, precision and wide-eyed excitement that the title implies. It is the album where Bassekou's music engages with the world in ways he could have only imagined 10 years before. It is the album where he confirms his status amongst the 21st century's most relevant musical artists.
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