Amadou & Mariam

Following the global breakthrough of Manu Chao collaboration album, Dimanche à Bamako (2005), Mali's Amadou & Mariam have raised the bar for husband-and-wife pop, opening up a deep well of interest in African music, attracting creative partnerships with Damon Albarn (who co-wrote and produced the magical "Sabali") and Somali-Canadian poet/rapper K'naan (on the joyous "Africa'), and exploring hitherto unknown musical avenues. Rooted in their own brand of Afro-rock (check out debut CD track "A Radio Mogo" with its chunky Cuban brass) the pair's sound took on a wealth of fresh hues and tones as the '00s unfolded and delivered long-deserved recognition.

Follow the couple's evolution from simple early-'90s songs to rich, multi-layered 21st-century tracks, in Next Steps.

The foundations of Amadou & Mariam are evident here on "Kelen le seben", an early track that overlays Amadou's stripped-back and sidewinding guitar lines with Miriam's warm, clear vocal, and it's on such a cornerstone that the pair's incredible musical canopy rests. SABO's disco edit of "Artistiya" flags up the kind of groove that took them on tour with the Scissor Sisters, "Batoma" from 2008's Welcome to Mali enters a funky dance-rock space from which it's impossible to escape, and that same album's hook-up with French funkateer Juan Rozoff, "Je te kiffe", shows they can kick back with confidence when the mood demands.

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia met at Mali's Bamako Institute for the Young Blind in the mid-70s, and after marrying at the start of the '80s the couple began a lengthy musical journey that took them to Ivory Coast (where they put out a series of cassettes), and Paris, where they were able to get a foothold in the recording industry. It was around the turn of the millennium, though, that the world at large began to get word of their extraordinary and beguiling talents, as the pair transitioned from foundations in African blues-rock/funk to African-pop crossover compositions, and celebrated collaborations with Manu Chao and Damon Albarn. These Essentials span the early '90s work captured on 1990-1995: Le meilleur des années maliennes, official World Cup anthem "Celebrate the Day" (a collaboration with Herbert Gronemeyer), and standout performance recordings from the Paris Bamako (Live) release.