Album Review: Talé by Salif Keita

Salif Keita may have the finest, most soulful male voice in Africa, but one can never be sure how he is going to use it. He has always specialised in surprises, from his early days in Mali's Rail Band and his experimental, keyboard-backed breakthrough album Soro, through to dodgy jazz fusion and exquisite acoustic albums. Now comes a new experimental project, in which producer Philippe Cohen Solal, of the Paris-based Gotan Project, sets out to create a contemporary dance treatment of Keita's style, matching African instruments against drums, bass and keyboards.

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A loveable enough effort from the Malian star. Jon Lusk 2013 With Gotan Project’s Philippe Cohen Solal sitting comfortably in the producer’s seat, Talé is guaranteed to appeal to Salif Keita fans demanding dance grooves enough to get them out of theirs. Although it’s not a particularly bold or ambitious album, Talé is nevertheless a pleasant addition to the Malian artist’s sizeable discography, stretching back to the early 1980s.

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