Anansy Cissé - Mali Overdrive (2014)

Anansy Cissé's souped-up guitar distortions re-work the West African Desert Blues genre with a new, agitated attitude. Featuring the soku fiddle playing of Zoumana Tereta and accompanied by ngoni, bass and calabash, Cissé's sound harnesses musical traditions and spits it out anew, taking us into 'Mali Overdrive'.

The story begins in late 2012, when Cissé was forced to dismantle the recording studio he ran in Diré following the invasion of Mali's northern regions by militant Islamists, many of whom are opposed to secular music-making. Forced to relocate further south, Anansy headed to the beating heart of Mali's capital city and is now resident blues bad-boy in Bamako.

In Bamako, Cissé met Philippe Sanmiguel who became his percussionist and manager. Cissé called on a few friends to add to the musical pot: esteemed ngoni player Djimé Sissoko laid down some riffs, Abdramane Touré took to the bass and Mahalmadane Traoré found time to slap and smack his calabash. This album also features the mesmerizing soku fiddle playing of Zoumana Tereta, who has worked as producer, band leader and a sideman contributing his sound to many of Mali's most famous artists including Bassekou Kouyaté, Nahawa Doumbia, Oumou Sangare, and Toumani Diabate.