Mogoya
For her fifth album, Malian singer Oumou Sangaré took an experimental approach to her sound while maintaining her bold and outspoken storytelling. With production from French trio A.l.b.e.r.t., *Mogoya* sees Sangaré fuse traditional instruments with synth and electronica as she addresses issues affecting her people, from emigration to politics and mortality and loss. “My album *Mogoya* was a beautiful experience,” she tells Apple Music. “It was an opportunity for me to add some electronic elements to my Wassulu sound. It’s an album that opened up new roads, and you can hear the continuity of that in my newer music.”
Contemporary music from Mali hovers delicately (and creatively) between purist tradition and more or less successful attempts at making things more attractive to a younger and worldwide audience.