Voices of Descendants of Goat Herders From Bamako

Wassoulou is a genre of West African popular music named for the Wassoulou cultural area. Wassoulou music is performed mostly by women. Some recurring themes in the lyrics are childbearing, fertility, and polygamy. Instrumentation includes soku (a traditional fiddle sometimes replaced with modern imported instruments), djembe drum, kamalen n'goni (a six-stringed harp), karinyan (metal tube percussion) and bolon (a four-stringed harp). The vocals are often passionate and emphatic, and delivered in a call-and-response pattern. Salif Keita, Oumo sangare, Rokia Traoré, Nahawa Doumbia, Adama Coulibaly, Aissata Kouyate, Yacoub, Majid Bekkas and Baaba Maal are the main voices in this exquisite mix, this fusion of Wassoulou Music and House, brings together the best of both worlds. Enjoy !!