![]() ![]() The ensemble is also quite small – that’s where the rootsy sound comes in: it’s just kamelengoni, guitar, bass and violin, and with a couple of backing singers. It’s a short one at just over half an hour and only six tracks long, but it’s all there needs to be to make a really well-crafted piece. ![]() The album sold over 200,000 copies and made Oumou a star it was this attention, together with a recommendation from Ali Farka Touré, that led to the album being released internationally by World Circuit Records. The album was recorded in Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire to put out as a tape for the local market in Mali. Oumou has revolutionised the style throughout her career, but on Moussolou (Women), her debut album, her sound was far rootiser. Oumou’s style is wassoulou (named after the Wasulu region of Mali – it’s a subeditor’s nightmare), a style based on the sacred music of the hunters that was turned into a pop music by the youth of the 60s, using the signature sound of the kamelengoni bridge-harp. My heart leaps every time I hear Oumou sing, and I’m not the only one – she’s one of the biggest names in Malian music, both at home and abroad. Hers is a voice with such an awesome power and utter majesty. Oumou Sangaré is known as ‘The Songbird of Wasulu,’ and for good reason.
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