Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali

It's been quite awhile since I last listened to any 'world music', but the latest release by Amadou and Mariam, "Welcome to Mali" definitely lives up to the hype surrounding it.

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia are a husband and wife team who have been working hard at it for the past 17 years, superstars in their own country and recently breaking through to the mainstream with 2005's "Dimanche a Bamako" a massive commercial success.

The album starts of with a Damon Albarn co-written/performed 'Sabali' the most pointedly electronic track of the record. Keyboards and bass riffs fill in the background while Mariam casually sings in a falsetto, the track strangely reminiscent of retro French ballads. Other tracks range from ballads to garage rock tunes with some hip hop/electronica thrown in the mix.

While "Mali" may be labeled as world music, there is nothing esoteric or irrelevant about it. Regular rock melodies are as par for the course as a hip hop and well crafted pop music. With a gamut of European guest stars. Amadou and Mariam are steadily edging their way into global mainstream pop. "Welcome to Mali" is well produced and quite suitable for any occasion.