Friday, March 26, 2010

CD Review: Kandjha Kora's "La guinee"


Kandjha Kora is kora player, singer, and guitarist, Kandia Kouyate. The 2009 album is rightly titled from his homeland of Guinea, Africa. The compositions and vocals are high quality and very enjoyable. This is largely a contemporary recording of Afro-pop. Though, there are plenty of rich sounds and textures to digest with ease. The electronic programming adds a level of polishing that never interferes with the traditional instrumentation. In fact, the few instruments that are utilized are never over-bearing or misused. The music never really goes into rap, rock or spoken word directions. However, the music tends to skirt ever so closely to the creative edges of the aforementioned genres. Still, La guinee is a favorite and popular release of Guinean and African music. ~ Matthew Forss


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