Sya

Issa Bagayogo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 2000)
• Label: Cobalt Music France
• ASIN: B00000K04L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #910,605 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sya

2. Gnangran

3. Kanadianfan

4. Diarabi

5. Lanaya

6. Kouloun

7. Dijnew Nakan

8. Madomba

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent african/techno title, January 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sya (Audio CD)

When I first heard a couple tracks from Sya on the radio, I was immediately hooked. This CD has a great sound, mixing traditional African music with rythmic techo samples. I enjoy both forms of music, and this album is accessible to fans of either genre. The artist, Issa, is a self made musician from Mali who came from very poor family. There is an interesting story in the liner notes. Highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Techno meets the Wasulu beat, March 12, 2003

By 

rudiger (Hoople, ND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sya (Audio CD)

"SYA" may be the first recording to pair the kamalengoni, the signature harp used in Malian Wasulu music, with electronic dance rhythms. It's a magical combination, and the trance-like repetitive riffs that characterize the Wasulu sound lend themselves well to techno stylings. Not bad, considering that it's coming from a guy who was driving a Bamako minibus when this album came out.

The title track has one of the best hooks you'll hear in recent Malian pop music--just four unforgettable beats. In a radical break from typical Malian pop, Bagayogo's French producer/arranger puts all kinds of ambient sounds (birds chirping, a woman sighing) in the mix. It's languid, lovely, and hard to get out of your head, which is a very good thing.

My only criticism of "SYA" is that it's just a little uneven. There are some memorable tracks like the title cut, and then there are others that are ho-hum. But overall I think this album merits a listen, whether you are an aficianado of Malian music or a techno-phile searching for new offshoots of the genre (and perhaps disappointed with Six Degrees' "Frikyiwa" discs). Wherever you are, Mr. Bagayogo, I hope you've quit your day job and moved into making this kind of music full-time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still his best, May 15, 2007

By 

John B. (Wichita, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sya (Audio CD)

Sya remains a magical listening experience for me, even five years (and several purchases of it for friends and children) later. Its spare fusion of hip-hop with traditional Malian song structures means the listener really can hear everything; neither tradition overwhelms the other but you get the feeling that these musics have more in common than you might initially think. Even better: it's danceable without resorting to thump-thumpiness, as Bagayogo's lute's percussive qualities are easily audible and so add to the record's rhythmic complexity and sonic textures--one of those textures being space. There's enormous room in this album, which allows instruments and vocalists room for us to hear them--something that can't be said about the other albums.

I also own Timbuktu and Tassoumakan (in fact, I'm listening to Timbuktu as I write this review), but it's Sya that I take with me on road-trips. Even as the car takes me where I need to go, this marvelous album takes my mind to still another place.