African classics: Souleymane Traoré (aka "Neba Solo")
Reviews of classic recordings from Africa
Hommage à Lamissa Bangaly
Souleymane Traoré is a balafon player and singer who performs
under the name of Neba Solo. In 1996 he was named "Malian artist
of the year" (Oumou Sangaré had been the previous winner) and
his success represented a new direction in Malian popular music.
Traoré plays the balamba, the largest instrument in the balafon
family, and his musical style owes much to the traditional forms
of balafon instrumental music. His style has been proudly
labelled as "farm music", and it represents a bold move away
from the high-tech Paris-based recordings of some of the bigger
Malian stars. Traoré's music is firmly based in the roots of the
region of Sikasso. Percussionists would love the dense
polyrhythmic textures of balafons and traditional drums. It's a
potent mix, capped off by Traoré's vocals treated with a
generous amount of reverb. It's a great recording.
Souleymane Traore has at least four
recordings available - "Confirmation", "Hommage
à Lamissa Bangaly",
"Kénédougou Foly", and "Kene Balafons".