I'm quite sad to learn that Toumani Diabate passed away today. I would have very much looked forward to his future output over the next few decades— I feel like he was entering an exciting new phase in his career. His 2021 release with the LSO is one of my favourite albums of the decade so far (albeit recorded in the 00s), and his recent collaboration with Kayhan Kalhor is a beautiful record. It's a loss for the kora... one of its proudest players. Please listen to his work if you haven't. While I'm glad he's represented on BEA, his solo albums fly far further under the radar on here than what they deserve.
Toumani could genuinely be the greatest musicians of all time. Like you said Hayden, his last album The Sky is the Same Colour Everywhere, a collab with Kayhan Kalhor, was one of the best and most overlooked albums last year imo. Dude had been making bangers his entire life. A huge loss, RIP. _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
I'm quite sad to learn that Toumani Diabate passed away today. I would have very much looked forward to his future output over the next few decades— I feel like he was entering an exciting new phase in his career. His 2021 release with the LSO is one of my favourite albums of the decade so far (albeit recorded in the 00s), and his recent collaboration with Kayhan Kalhor is a beautiful record. It's a loss for the kora... one of its proudest players. Please listen to his work if you haven't. While I'm glad he's represented on BEA, his solo albums fly far further under the radar on here than what they deserve.
Mande Variations is a solo record by him— and by solo, I mean solo. He's the only musician, and kora is the only instrument. It's quite something to compare something so raw and stripped back to the heavy orchestration of his LSO collab (recorded around the same time nonetheless). There's no intrusions here. It's just so clean and refreshing, and done masterfully. It's almost like watching a painter. Or a writer. Sculpter. Just doing their craft. Mesmerizing, meditative, flawless, timeless, refined— has this purism to it. It's a beautiful showcase of the instrument.
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In The Heart of The Moon is a modern masterpiece of Malian music. The fact we got a collaboration between a late-career veteran like Ali Farka Toure and Diabate is something worth treasuring, especially at the quality it's at, and just what it is. It's the traditional Songhai songbook, done in a way that seamlessly blurred the lines between two aspects of modern Malian music (Toure's always been toureg blues, while Diabate stuck more traditional griot). It's a fuller album that Mande Variations, which makes sense— Toure on guitar and Diabate on kora, with Ry Cooder (on piano) and BVSC's Cachaíto on bass— and they just winged it. That's how good they were —
alternatively,
LedZep wrote:
Toumani could genuinely be the greatest musicians of all time. Like you said Hayden, his last album The Sky is the Same Colour Everywhere, a collab with Kayhan Kalhor, was one of the best and most overlooked albums last year imo. Dude had been making bangers his entire life. A huge loss, RIP.
His release last year flew way under the radar— really rich record, excellent produced. Sound-wise it's a little more polished around the edges than his earlier work (almost... dreamlike?), but the musicianship is still at the top of his game.
It's relaxing music. Unhurried. Pleasant. Yet also quite mature and sophisticated. I hope these recordings are listened to for decades to come. They'll hopefully end up being considered important.
EDIT: And, of course, listen to that LSO collaboration. But only afterwards. I don't think it's the right starting point. _________________ Submit Your List for BEA's 2023 Film Poll!
Wow! Three of the four members of The Nelons have been killed in a plane crash. Jason Clark, his wife Kelly Nelon Clark and their daughter Amber were killed along with Amber's husband and their assistant. The only surviving member of The Nelons is Autumn Nelon Streetman, Jason & Kelly's daugher & Amber's sister. So sad. They were on their way to join the Gaither Homecoming cruise to Alaska. They have a new album coming out August 30 that I have really been looking forward to. This is the first single and I picked it last week as my favorite new track of that week. RIP, Jason, Kelly, & Amber along with Amber's husband and their assistant.
I missed the funeral for the three members of The Nelons but it's going to be archived on the church's website. So glad I'll be able to catch it later.
Here's How You Can Watch The Nelons’ Celebration Of Life
For some reason almost no one on YouTube can get The Nelons last name right. It's pronounced "The Neelons", not "The Nailons". If people are going to put up tributes to them for a tragedy like this, they could at least get their name right.
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