Mali’s Rokia Traoré has garnered plenty of acclaim for her first two albums, particularly 2000’s Wanita. Bowmboï may be her defining statement, as it truly stretches out. An excellent musician, having mastered acoustic guitar (mentored by the great Ali Farka Touré), ngoni (lute) and balafon (xylophone), not to mention her rapidly maturing vocals, Traoré adds the recording studio to her repertoire, shaping an overall more innovative sound. The most obvious departure is her collaboration on two tracks with avant-classical Kronos Quartet, who add an almost Asian lilt, evoking the feel of Yungchen Lhamo’s Coming Home. On “Mariama” she takes the legendary Malian singer Ousmane Sacko on a musical ride with elaborate instrumentation, and her unusually layered vocal choruses in “Manian” revel in detailed textures, isolating syllables like Laurie Anderson meets Sheila Chandra. Ignoring archaic boundaries of “authenticity,” Traoré has created a groundbreaking epochal statement that eclipses even Salif Keita’s Soro, a sweet victory when her country usually dismissed women songwriters. Revel in the shock of new.
September 17, 2025
Chameleons – Arctic Moon (Metropolis)
September 1, 2025
Lathe of Heaven – Aurora (Sacred Bones)
