Baaba Maal - The Traveller

Baaba Maal
The Traveller
2016
Spotify

At 62 you usually don't expect musicians to be on the vanguard of anything. Perhaps a big tour and some whispers of retirement, but it is never new, exciting and rich. The same cannot be said of Baaba Maal. The Senegalese singer has been making afro-centric music for over 30 years and is beloved in his home country, but his ability to make African rhythms palatable to the world at large is spectacular. You would not have the bands currently taking on traditions and long held standards for music in Africa if it wasn't for Baaba Maal. This record however feels a bit different, and the operative word is feel, there is a much more ambient ethereal sense on The Traveller. The idea of seeing the world and exploring is front and center, but there is also a longing for home, and the simplicity of that place. His voice though a touch aged soars from the first moment. "One Day" and "Gili Men" both float in this really pretty way, but they also keep this beat that you can hold on to so the music never ventures into the full on ambient. Throughout his career he has gone from the intimate acoustic track to things much bigger and bolder but The Traveller sits somewhere in the middle, quiet enough to be extremely intimate but forceful enough to make sure you recon with it.

The entire album is in sung in Maal's native language, but even though you don't know what he is saying the feeling comes right through. The title track is the one song that is really evident of this and even on a song like "Jam Jam" which feels much more big room dancey than the others still maintains that a song should move your soul as well as your butt. When the electronic elements come in to the record, they are used with such a light touch that they seems effortless. Nothing on The Traveller seems forced everything just kind of organically spills from him. "War" is perhaps the one misstep on the record. It is a complex protest record based in some kind of dystonia future. English is spoken rather than sung on the song as African drums build in the background, but it almost ends up being a cheap Talking Heads imitation than anything else. The spirit is in the right place but it is not subtle, and the subversion never really lands. "War" sort of stumbles into the next track "Peace" which tries to bring the movement back around with some soft strings, but it just feels cluttered and rushed. Despite this The Traveller is an absolutely fantastic record and perhaps the best that Baaba Maal has ever made. If you've never heard him before now is your chance, and you've come at just the right time.

8.6 out of 10