Bougouni Yaalali (Yaala Yaala Records 2007)

A collection of kamelan style music recorded in and around Bamako and Bougouni, Mali by Yaala Yaala founder Jack Carneal. House parties, soundtracks to checkers games, fêtes, in the shade of a mango tree while temperatures hovered around 115°. The music is primarily performed on ngonis (homemade spike lutes) and is often accompanied by someone scraping on an nkerinye (a tube of hollow metal). Featured artists are Lassinabe Diakite, Amadou Diakite, Le Vieux and Drissa Sangare.