The Mandé Variations
Toumani Diabaté
Open iTunes to preview, buy and download music.
| Name | Artist | Time | Price | ||
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1 |
Si Naani | Toumani Diabaté | 10:31 | Album Only | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Elyne Road | Toumani Diabaté | 8:50 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Ali Farka Toure | Toumani Diabaté | 6:20 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Kaounding Cissoko | Toumani Diabaté | 6:27 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Ismael Drame | Toumani Diabaté | 5:45 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Djourou Kara Nany | Toumani Diabaté | 6:53 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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7 |
El Nabiyouna | Toumani Diabaté | 6:03 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Cantelowes | Toumani Diabaté | 6:57 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 8 Songs |
Customer Reviews
beautiful music
I have never heard anything quite so beautiful as this latest CD from Toumani Diabate. I've been interested in Toumani since seeing him perform with Bjork last year at Glastonbury and have been really looking forward to this release! Luckily I have not been disappointed - this is really good stuff.
Not only world music but world-class music!
Toumani Diabaté is today for the kora (harp-lute) what Ravi Shankar was for the sitar 40 years ago – not just the outstanding virtuoso of his generation but a musician with the visionary genius to exert a profound influence far beyond world music. Just as Shankar influenced George Harrison and others, Toumani has already made an impact on the music of Björk, Damon Albarn and those at the more adventurous end of the rock spectrum. If the album title was chosen to echo Bach’s Goldberg Variations, it’s a good analogy, for there’s a courtly grace and elegance to these eight long, solo instrumental pieces. The effect is meditative – this is music for the head. And yet there is rhythm, too, of an astonishingly subtle complexity, although you’d have trouble dancing to it. Some have found the music’s intricate, dignified counterpoint too austere to maintain concentration. Repeated listening pays dividends however – there’s a voluptuousness in Toumani’s endlessly varying contours of interdependent melody, harmony and rhythm that is quite engrossing. How a solo instrument recorded without overdubs can sound so lush and layered is remarkable – once again, Shankar comes to mind. Nor has the general seriousness of purpose dimmed Toumani’s sense of fun – I am indebted to fellow music critic John Mulvey for pointing out that the opening phrases of ‘Cantelowes’ are a playful quotation from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, a little riff Toumani picked up from Bassekou Kouyaté while recording his Djelika album back in 1995. This is a heroic record in every sense. © Nigel Williamson for Songlines magazine, April/May issue 2008
Beautifully simple
The sound of the kora is mesmerising. Toumani Diabate is the acknowledged West African master. Added together the result is spell-binding. Quiet yet intense music. The only words are a short prayer in arabic. Perfectly appropriate for such spirit-enhancing stuff. Certainly recommended.
Biography
Born: 1965 in Bamako, Mali
Genre: World
Years Active: '90s, '00s
Top Albums and Songs By Toumani Diabaté
| Name | Album | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 |
Kaira | In The Heart Of The Moon | 6:24 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Elyne Road | The Mandé Variations | 8:50 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Cantelowes | The Mandé Variations | 6:57 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Ruby | Ali & Toumani (Special Edition) | 5:55 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Jarabi | Kaira | 5:05 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Debe | In The Heart Of The Moon | 4:55 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Soumbou Ya Ya | In The Heart Of The Moon | 3:30 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Kala | In The Heart Of The Moon | 5:06 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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9 |
Ali Farka Toure | The Mandé Variations | 6:20 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
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10 |
Kadi Kadi | In The Heart Of The Moon | 3:21 | £0.79 | View In iTunes |
