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When you're young and you join a group, it's normal to say that you get along well together and that you'll never part ways. But as time goes on, things can change, and that youthful enthusiasm can fade or transform into something else. This was the case for Damon Albarn, who, after producing the best of Blur, ventured into the "solo" adventure with the cartoon group Gorillaz.
In 2002, while waiting for the three-person album with Blur, Damon produced an extraordinary masterpiece, the result of hours and hours of "sessions" with musicians from Mali, led by Toumani Diabaté and Afel Bocoum. The masterpiece is called "Mali Music."
It all began with a trip on behalf of "Oxfam", a national non-profit organization (which brings together most of the English solidarity organizations), to this nation in the north-central of Africa. Damon immersed himself entirely in the culture of this country, and once back home, he worked on the remarkable amount of material he produced, delivering it as a completely perfect project.
Standing out in a work that blends African rhythms and sounds with Western music (a clear example is "Makelekele") is "Sunset Coming On", the only track sung by Albarn, introduced by the Deza violin (used by the women of that place to cheer up their men) played by Bocoum, and the melodica used by Albarn for the rest of the song.
But talking about the other tracks seems superfluous, because this work is a jewel, also of humanity. It exudes the artist's sense of kindness, who has always tried to free himself from celebrity for its own sake and to renew himself completely (although even geniuses sometimes make mistakes).
"Mali Music" will in a certain sense pave the way for "Think Tank," the latest work by Blur to date: indeed, you can find the mix of Albarn's previous two experiences (this album and that of the Gorillaz), although Africa will be a bit further north, in Morocco. Buy it.
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