BAABA MAAL

Nomad Soul (Palm Pictures)

Nomad Soul opens gently into a soothing refrain by Ireland’s own Screaming Orphans. “I will follow you everywhere you go,” they sing, a phrase whose comfort and reassurance echoes throughout ‘Souka Nayo’, forming the counterpoint to Baaba Maal’s ululating vocals, sung in the language of Senegal.

With its fusion of traditional African instruments, world music rhythms and Irish-influenced melodies, ‘Souka Nayo’ exemplifies the unusual mix of elements that make Baaba Maal’s latest album stand out from the crowd.

In ‘Mbolo’, excellent African traditional drums coalesce with a fast dance beat and harp strings, becoming an energetic, multi-layered call for people to recognise how much we have in common. ‘Cherie’ is a simple love song, piping and chiming, while ‘Koni’ – which features James McNally on the bodhran – gives back the sunny warmth that it absorbed while it was being recorded. Most interesting is a track called ‘Guelel’, a slow, atmospheric dance piece with trip-hop-style guitar, bass, reverb and backing vocals.

Some of the songs on Nomad Soul slip too far towards facile world pop for my personal taste. The final track, however, is a long-playing ambient piece called ‘Lam Lam’. Brilliantly produced by Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Howie B, it is haunting, deep and widely panoramic, making adventurous use of industrial samples and other programming surprises in among the traditional sounds. Thus, Baaba Maal’s latest outing closes on a successfully experimental note.

Adrienne Murphy