Wanita [Import]

Rokia Traore | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 11, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Indigo France
• ASIN: B00004SPOL
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,276 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #83 in Music > World Music > Africa > Mali

Track Listings

1. Kanan Neni

2. Mouso Niyalen

3. Souba

4. Yere Uolo

5. N'Gotolen

6. Wanita

7. Chateau De Sable

8. Yaafa N'Ma

9. Sako Be Ke

10. Mancipera

11. Tchwa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Completely Different, July 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wanita (Audio CD)

So-called Afro-pop has needed an overhaul for a decade, something to take it past the post-Hendrix, post-Fela, post-Marley esthetic. This is so unusual, so sensitive and plainly spoken, it feels like secrets everyone needs to hear. My friends and I can't stop talking about or listening to this album, which we just got in France, and everybody says seeing her in concert is even better. Her voice is like pure angelic electricity, with a strong heart beating under it. This is smart, emotional world music with a world of difference to it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Voice in Malian Music, July 11, 2000

By 

D. A Reichley "Daveming" (Jamaica, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanita (Audio CD)

Thank you Rokia Traore for delivering something really fresh - the musical territory is familiar (to those who listen to Malian music), yet it shows a maturity which belies her relatively young age (she's in her early 20's). It exudes the kind of clarity and vision that usually comes from a veteran, but it also has something else, call it youthful "spunk" - and without the cheesy, pop-driven attributes that undermine other music, Malian or otherwise. Her vocal sound is a bit different from other women singers from Mali, yet you can hear the influence of those great ones who have come on before her (Ami Koita, Nahawa Doumbia). And I don't know if the backing ensemble is her "band", but they sure play like one - it doesn't sound like a recording with players brought in just for the session. This record has a SOUND. This is some music from someone who knows what she wants - check it out!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFUL MUSIC -- REFRESHINGLY UNADORNED, June 26, 2001

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanita (Audio CD)

Rokia Traore is an impressively talented young vocalist and songwriter from Mali. From the sound of this disc, she has her feet firmly rooted in the traditional music of her homeland, but the other subtle influences heard here indicate that she is not afraid to gently expand her musical horizons.

There is a delicate beauty at work here -- the arrangements are uncluttered (acoustic guitar, balafon, bass, kora and assorted percussives) and unadorned, leaving the vocals clear and unburied. The songs all have vital rhythmic cores, but without the over-produced power-pounding of commercial dance-oriented music.

The kora (an indigenous African harp-like instrument) is allowed to dominate many of the arrangements -- and its delicate sound is a good choice to complement Traore's expressive and unpretentious voice. It is the unforced, compelling emotion in her voice that demands our attention. The recording is first-rate and clear as a bell -- every little nuance of Traore and the other singers is there for us to appreciate.

Released under the Indigo imprint from Label Bleu out of France, the package is exceptionally attracive as well -- a quality-printed, oversixed booklet fits nicely inside the cardstock slipcase along with the cd jewelbox, filled with beautiful photographs, a bio of the artist and lyrics in original and translated forms.

There is an airy quality to this music, but it is powerful at the same time -- proving that louder isn't always better. The talent and production values brought together here make for a musical excursion of exceptional quality, taste and strength. I'll definitely keep my eyes -- and ears -- open for more from this gifted artist.