Djam Leelii

Nice motivating background music to work on first of the month reports to. Nothing really stood out to me though.

almost forgot to even listen to my album of the day cuz i was caught up playing ufo 50 HFJFHSJFS. but i pulled myself together to listen to this rly great record...endlessly lush, and so hypnotic that it makes me feel like the word "hypnotic" applies a little less to any other music ive applied it to. this rly is just trance-focused, with only a small amount of musical phrases and progressions looped endlessly per song,,,and the quality of them especially when paired with all the cool instruments theyre played on gives a record that scratches many of my itches nicely. also i usually take the album cover straight from the website when i upload these entries to social media, but i went out of my way to use the original, much better cover art for this one

Really chill Senegali music. I'd be happy to have this on in the background anywhere. But it's unlikely that I'll think to put it on very frequently.

I don’t appreciate music enough I guess to care about this.

good instrumentation and guitar work overall, i enjoyed this in the background as i was doing some work, pretty cool because i wouldn’t have heard this otherwise without this project

This was interesting. Not familiar at all with Senegalese music, so this was a nice introduction. Didn't care for the production, but good music for concentrating. 5/10

Pretty music which would've been much better as an instrumental album.

Yay! I recognized this artists from one of his newer songs

Beautifully enchanting and hypnotic. Stripped-back arrangement that drew me in. I found it very moving but at times felt that it could benefit from a touch more dynamism.

Very fun to be exposed to this music. Id never found it on my own. Hypnotic at times but ultimately not for me.

Cool album, interesting sound. I wouldn't say any tracks particularly stood out to me, and I'm not sure I would come back to it though. Broke open the seal for me on Senegalese music though, been listening to some other albums as a result.

Hey man you wanna get out of your funk of listening to the same stuff give this one a listen. I fucking loved it

truly vibes are the universal language of the human race

This is an artist whose biography surprised me greatly—I hadn’t heard of Baaba Maal before now, but he’s played an influential role in several things I am familiar with! I enjoy how the music becomes a backing, rhythmic track for Maal’s voice, while still having these little elements that stand out. They all have little moments of peeking through, whether it’s the electric burble of a guitar or a drum beat shift for a bar or two. A great discovery all around!

I understand the significance, but not for me. Too repetitive to the point of being grating and way too long.

Very pretty music, a lot of fantastic stuff comes out of West Africa

Not my style but I can tell why it's highly regarded

Not really my style, chill but a bit too... Druggy, 2.5/5

afrikaanse drone... mocht iets korter zijn

Always excellent to see a non-English album on the list. This one is very good, but the tracks are very difficult to distinguish to my primarily-English language hearing. This album doesn't move me quite as much as some other World music, but it is still great. Favorite track: probably either "Djam Leelii" or "Maacina Tooro"

Really cool album that I had never heard of before.

Nice- an enjoyable new to me album.

A dollop of lolloping Afro jangle please. Ooh, that’s a big dollop.

paas maal

interesting enough but probably wont listen again. songs tended to blend together.

Ethereal yet annealed by the accessible, spiritual yet wholly tempered by the objective and earthbound, Djam Leelii is almost frightfully gorgeous. It takes a special kind of artist to have a grip on 'peace,' especially when it's the primary affect the music offers, but for Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck, peace isn't sand that filters thru your fingers but something far sturdier, a hoisted dream bestowed on horizontal rather than vertical airwaves: this isn't music that comes from on high, but paradisal it still is. One is struck more by the vocals and guitar playing than anything percussive, but each track is as rhythmic as it is melodic. At seventy-two minutes, it's long, but only for those who undervalue bliss is it too long. An astonishing record.

Though the music was sometimes soothing and the instrumentation was beautiful and authentic sounding, it does feel a bit too repetitious and boring at times. The vocals were fine, but eventually wore me out and needed a break. A good listen, but in small doses, please.

3 // Senegalese artist, pretty relaxing. Yes, repetitive, but I didn't mind

I’m confused why this is on here…

Def gets credit for being culturally significant, but each song is a droning 6 mins. It would probably like it more if the songs were half the length, but I also understand that is the cultural aesthetic.

4/10 - It was alright. It does not sound like it was from America or Britain so it was interesting but not my favorite

Meh. Too long

Interesting, but not really my speed. Something that would play on my new age Aunt's car atero nonstop. And yet it's also good?

Interesting, if perhaps a little long for my tastes.

Solid instrumentation, but this album got so monotonous and repetitive quickly. If this album was half the time it currently is, it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable. As ambient music, this album would be great, but as something to be listened to, it was a struggle to find any sort of variation in the music. Tough listen.

Great musicianship, but this was a miss for me. Some of the guitar on this album is absolutely fantastic which is why I'm giving it a 2 star rating. Lots of cool layers and sounds in some areas, too. I don't always dislike repetitive music, but this didn't do it for me The songs are also too long for music that doesn't really go anywhere and that's my biggest gripe here. If another reviewer can say that this is the music you can listen to in the desert (with a Land Rover), I can say it's the music that belongs in the background of a National Geographic documentary, on the credits for some iteration of the Lion King or some other African cliche. Never would have listened to it if it weren't for the project which is cool but I'm happy to not hear this again.

Beautiful album. Understated but not simple. Would be better if I understood the language in Senegal. Really beautiful listening.

Relaxing background music.

I can get lost in these afro/latin rhythms.

Just kind of boring. I didn't find anything compelling.

An interesting album that, like other African ones we've had, show how much Caribbean music owes to its African roots. That isn't to say that this album is Caribbean music, it's just a reference point for me as something I'm more familiar with. The track "Salminanam" in particular sounds so much like the lyrics should be in Spanish. I like the tone of the guitars in this album a lot, they are clean and only slightly distorted with a rich middle range. The drums are complicated and use a lot of percussion that isn't really present in the more anglo-centric pop music we get for most of these albums. My biggest regret about this is that I have no idea what he's singing about, which I imagine takes a lot out of these songs given the song structure is pretty repetitive. The instrumentation is good though. It's hard to quantify this against the other stuff in this list. It's definitely listenable and I didn't angle to turn it off every song like I do for some of the more familiar stuff, but I didn't find it extraordinary or anything. It's a nice change of pace, but nothing I'll be clamoring to return to.

Soninho

A little repetitive but there’s a lot of gold in here. I’d like to explore more but it’s a little exhausting to listen to.

Interesting vibes, but too repetitive

-i think this may be the third Senegalese album i’ve gotten on here. always glad to hear some non-Anglosphere albums -this was decent, i had REALLY high expectations after the first song which i loved. i couldn’t get into every song here but it still made for a nice listen -Favorites are Lam Tooro and Muudo Hormo

Enjoyed aspects of this - especially the singing - but I don’t see myself putting this on regularly. 2/5

africa

A nice difference; some interesting melodies and great rhythms

Interesting listen and not something I would've found by myself. Enjoyed it but doubt I'd come back.

Great instrumentation and vocals. Not sure if it needs to be as long as it is. I was really floating in the river of the final track.

Cool listen and perfect for my day at work! Not sure if I’ll go back to it, but enjoyed it today.

Beautiful use of timing and rhythm. It's so precise, at first I thought YouTube was skipping. However, the songs are long and get kinda monotonous. I'ma have a sesh with Towlie and I'll bet this'll knock my socks off.

Full guitar(?) sound

I'm not likely to return to it, but it was a chill time.

I’ll be honest this is the first album that I’ve struggled to listen to all the way through. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, just I didn’t enjoy it enough. Would I like to see it performed live, sure. Did it just become background noise and take me a few days to get through. Unfortunately also yes. I think musically it’s excellent, vocally I wasn’t really feeling it though. I’ve since gone and explored a bit of Mansour Seck and Baaba Maal’s other works and honestly I think their solo efforts are better but unfortunately I’m not sure that this was 100% it for me. I would’ve given it a 3 for the music itself but at times the vocals drowned out their mastery and maybe that’s a production thing, maybe I just didn’t like the singing on this one.

It's beautiful, and I am all for global albums being included on this list. Having said that, this music tends to wash over me in an undifferentiated manner.

Extra star for not being British

Alright

I liked the vibe. Really

Absolutely loved this! I think I was born on the wrong continent.

kinda neat but not my style

really not my style

Fine, but this circular, insistent guitar weave reminds me of fiercer records by Doueh, Bombino and Inerane. This feels muted into the background.

Hypnotic. Parts are a bit "Space Prophet Dogon" which is a big plus, obvs.

this is the kind of stuff my friend’s scary mom would have playing on NPR while she made buckwheat pancakes. very talented musician, not up my alley

Sounded unique since its not Western music. Not bad at all but not my taste.

Never heard of this artist, but I didn't hate it. Solid album.

Beautiful, meditative album of Senegalese folk and desert blues. I found it calming. But there’s a nice, steady rhythm to the music too.

Immediately upon listening to this I'm thinking about the modern singer songwriter that's given indie music fans a reason to be excited: Mk.Gee. I think it's mostly in the guitar tone; it sounds like "DI" or "Direct-in", where the guitar is recorded by being plugged in directly to an interface, and not amped and then having the amp mic'd. That's THE sound right now in indie rock music- because of Mk.Gee (and Dijon). This album of course came out decades before him, but it's funny to me because that sound has really been disliked for decades and just within the past year or two it's now ubiquitous. I don't mean for all of this to be about another artist however; this album is really enjoyable. Outside of the guitar tone, the compositions are very impressive. I particularly like how they seem to reach for classical music ideas, and add in a lot of worldly stuff elsewhere, like: "Lam Tooro" sounds like a medieval waltz on a harpsichord. "Muudo Hormo" sounds like what a flow state feels like, and when you get too much in the zone, the microtonal marimba calmly comes in and hits you with a beautiful melodic and rhythmic sequence. The more I listened to this song the more I really was captivated by it. I've always been attracted to modern classical minimalism- (like Steve Reich) with it's gorgeous repetitions that let you drone in and out and experience music in a way that feels so different from traditional American popular music, and this does an amazing job at that. I'd say that this is actually one of my favorite tracks that I've discovered from this list. It's incredible! I love the album cover. Even though it's from 1989 it looks ahead of it's time and definitely like something that would come out of the 90's.

This seems to be early desert rock, but is a bit slow for my liking. Good guitar running through it.

The production and guitar tones sound great and the vocals are strong. This is a listening experience I wouldn’t have had outside of the list and while I appreciated it I don’t think I’ll revisit. It was pleasing to the ear but not very dynamic. Didn’t engross me.

Lyssnade inte klart. Förmodligen värd ett högre betyg, men inte idag.

3.5/5

Interesting listen at least. I've really enjoyed world, especially the more African influenced albums, but this one just didn't connect for me.

I'll be upfront that for a good chunk of the album I . . . kinda didn't listen to it? Don't get me wrong: it was on and I **did** hear it playing! But at the same time I was readin' this book of 'Calvin And Hobbes' comics, and, well . . . yeeeaaaah. You get it. And don't me wrong, as a piece of background music I think it's totally fine. It sure made my listening experience less boring than if I wasn't listening to anything at all. Plus, after the last album I had to deal with from my backlog ('The Holy Bible' by Main Street Preachers) it was nice to have an album I could just kind of . . . chill to, y'know? And goodness knows I needed one after 'The Holy Bible', goodness. But don't fret! Near the end of the album I went and took a bit of a closer listen to this thing, and . . . y'know, I don't normally mean this as a negative, but I think this worked better as wallpaper. Like, my issue with this thing, simply put, is that it can be pretty repetitive. And of course, I don't have a problem with repetition as long as something's done with it. That's why I don't give, say, Daft Punk any shit for it. And I guess what's going on here isn't entirely unsimilar to what Daft Punk does — the songs build up over time. It's not like some albums where they're perfect content to have their songs spin their wheels for minutes on end. Although, it's not like this album doesn't indulge in that sometimes... And I gotta be real, even with the evolution, it kind of doesn't feel like these songs are going anywhere? Maybe it's just the style: I remember describing the last one with a "party feel," but this one is way more stripped back and acoustic. It don't click with me, exactly; there were quite a few moments where I couldn't tell the songs apart from each other. And it wasn't because I was reading, no; early on, when the first song ended and the second began, I legit hadn't noticed. All the same . . . eh, I can't bring myself to dislike it too much. Maybe if I wasn't listening to this at end of a long night, after listening to and reviewing two other albums in some attempt to cut my backlog down, I wouldn't be as "meh" on this thing as I am. And of course, I'm always happy to get some world music. But, pff, I'unno. It made for some fine wallpaper for reading, but I've got better options if I want that sort of thing.

Not much to say. Just some nice world music. Solid 4 Stars.

I’m at a 4. Just a better version of Lam Toro, really. My big issues with that album were that it was too long, and that the sense of progression got completely lost by track 7 and beyond, with each track hitting a stale point way too fast, making the whole thing feel like an exercise in enduring repetition. Good soundscapes, but not very compelling listens. This album remedies that to a nicer degree; even though each track here is about 6:02 long on average (if you’re only doing the original 8 tracks like I did), they don’t hit that stale point early enough for it to be a bigger deal. Yes, there’s still repetition abound in this thing, and mileage may ultimately vary on how much you can endure the first minute or two of each track, which sets up the foundation that gets layered upon every time, but for my tastes, it’s a less bothersome repetition than what was present on Lam Toro. It also helps that a lot more of these tracks have a better overall structure, cutting out some of (but not all) of the “fat” that got left in. There’s not as many moments of tracks looping at a specific point for 2-3 minutes at a time, and the vocals have a much more constant presence, giving each track a good sense of progression. Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot more, just because it’s paced much better. That said, I’m still only at a 4 because, for the most part, this album never quite evoked a bigger sense of imagery for me. On other primarily instrumental albums, I can feel the vibe a soundscape is going for, and get sort of whisked away by my brain, connecting to the music in a deeper fashion. This album only got there maybe two or three times, which isn’t bad for 8 tracks, but the other 5 or 6 times literally evoked nothing from me. They’re good listens, but they are basically just wallpaper to the brain. If this album did a little more with its sound design, perhaps I could’ve entered that state more, but the music speaks for itself well enough. It just didn’t quite speak to *me* like that. It’s a good one though, and it clicked nicely for me. Still just a 4, ending a streak of 5s for me, but a solid 4 regardless. I wouldn’t blame anyone if they went for a 3 or lower, though.

Djam Leelii - Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck Sounds like music from the Middle East a part of the world that I have no interest in ever visiting except via albums like this one. I liked the music, peaceful, interesting, enigmatic yet familiar. This album seemed to last forever but it did not bore me, however I did find myself drifting to never never land a couple times and towards the end the music just became part of the background. It's closer to a 4 than a 3 so I'll give it a 4. I would buy this album if given a chance as I would like to play it at bedtime and just drift into the music. I bet I would have pretty interesting dreams.

lungo

I really liked the vibe of this. Very spacey and meditative

This album honestly kinda slaps. The instruments through this is very uplifting.

Very nice album and discovery.

Senegalese musicians collaborating. reminds me of Ali zfsrka Touré

Repetitive in a way that I could only handle as background music

Better than the other one we got, but still not up to my taste.

Each song feels 20bpm too slow and 2 minutes too long. The album is 20 minutes too long, also. While it doesn't sound bad, there's no pleasure to have here.

Absolutely not anything that i would’ve found myself or chose to listen to outside of a project like this. However, it really holds its own as a unique sound. The guitar on here is what spoke to me the most, as i couldn’t relate much to the lyrics here - but was able to surmise something from the beautifully haunting progressions.

Jeg er glad for, at jeg hørte albummet, da det 100% ikke er noget, jeg ellers havde hørt. Det er det gode ved dette projekt, men jeg har svært ved at tage musikken seriøs, når jeg ikke kender til den slags. Jeg kan sagtens anerkende det musikalske talent, der ligger bag, men det er for monotont og samtidig overhovedet ikke. Sangene er det samme, så man glemmer lidt hvad man hører 4/10

A fantastic record to puff a j-bird to. Just sit back and melt into it. Bliss.

Well, I listened to this as I ran through Central Park, which was a huge treat for me. So I was pleasantly distracted from this music. Life was good for those five miles. I listened to the rest in my hotel room, and it was not so pleasant. Perspective and environment changes everything. But I’m going to be real and not let an external factor sway my vote.

Ugh... some of the world music on the list has been interesting. This one I was kinda sick of by the third track, and there was still 40 mins of the same exact thing coming up. Not a fan

It was inoffensive, I enjoyed the guitar tones but nothing particular stood out to me.

Too slow, too long, too meandering. Nothing grabbed my interest on this album the way that it did on Youssou N’Dour’s, other than a few nice moments of sweet guitar work. Otherwise utterly forgettable. Lam Tooro (2/10) Loodo (3/10) Muudo Hormo (3/10) Salminanam (4/10) Maacina Tooro (3/10) Djam Leelii (3/10) Bibbe Leydy (3/10) Sehilam (3/10) 3/10

This is chill.

Nice laid-back vibes here, but nothing really exciting about any of it.

Pleasant enough but it all felt a bit background music for me. I suspect my engagement may have been increased if i understood the lyrics, which alas i dont.

I’m really not sure what to say about this one - just like my last foray into what I suppose is termed “world music”, this was effectively an hour’s worth of background music.

About 2 minutes into track one I was thinking the rhythm was really pretty and atmospheric. By minute 4 I was losing patience. By minute 6 it had completely lost me. And that's basically how the rest of the album went. I assume that the repetitive melody patterns are a traditional Senegalese music thing, but it's just not for me. Or rather I'd have been able to appreciate it more had each song been half the length. It's also no fault of the artist obviously, but I'm finding I generally appreciate albums more if I understand the lyrics (my attempts to find English translations on the internet failed). I certainly didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. 2/5

I would give this a 3.5, as I think it is too repetitive and lacks variation, for my tastes. However, I could see how, for someone that just really loves the music and mood, that would not be an issue. I do really like a lot of the guitar work, and I personally like the vocal style, and I would listen to this again, though I'd put it on in the background while doing housework or something like that.

Really not my vibe, I do like a lot of the guitar work, but I can’t see myself listening to this anytime again. Just a little bit too much for me to deal with, one star.

Glad to have experienced something I wouldn't have found otherwise. Nice instrumentation but the vocals are draining to me after a while

Genuinely brilliant and hypnotic. The record shuns conventional musical storytelling in favor of a kind of unintrusive, enchantingly repetitive lolling almost strays into ambience, but the characterful vocals defy even that label. It is almost like the more sophisticated original video game music in how it's constructed - something like a West African take on Neir Automata's background music. I'm hesitant to give this a 5 considering I have no idea what this gentleman is singing about - but I think even if it turned out to be a call to genocide I'd be able to vibe out. I'll trust my gut that this about love and peace though, 5*.

Oh boy, what to say about this one. It’s certainly nice to see some exposure to works from other cultures on the list. There’s a real emphasis on rhythm over conventional structure here that gets the head bopping, however, this music left little impact on me besides the occasional trance I would slip into. Perhaps my western ear isn’t accustomed enough to these sounds to fully appreciate what’s on offer. But I’ve heard enough to know I shan’t be revisiting this one.

i enjoyed this a lot while cooking dinner.

That's cool or whatever man. You do you.

Cool, lays down some hypnotic grooves, doesn't really sound like much else I've heard, that said it does sound like itself a lot.

There's so many great "world music" albums out there missed off this list while another, mid tempo boring album gets added. Perfect for eating in a restaurant background music. Don't listen to this - go and listen to the Japanese band Number Girl and their album 'Suppekei' instead - key figures of the Japanese alt-rock movement. Best Tracks: Lam Tooro; Muudo Hormo; Maacina Tooro

NO.

Great music from Senegal.

Looks like something I'd usuallybe into, but the length sort of worries me. Shouldn't be a problem as long as it's good however. As I don't understand the language he's speaking I fear a lot of meaning will be lost to me. Will be limiting the tracks to those present at the original release. Lam Tooro Pleasant guitars. A slow track with a lazy, bluesy atmosphere. Kinda repetitive, but also quite soothing. Decent. 3.5/5 Loodo Great atmosphere. I like how his vocals sort of clash against the very reptive rhythm. Fine. 3/5 Muudo Hormo I like how the wooden sounding precussive instrument adds a slight bit of variation to the sound. Feels a lot lighter than previous tracks. Fine. 3/5 Salminanam A bit unremarkable, but has some cute guitar moments. I like the intensity of the shaking instrument. Fine. 3/5 Maacina Tooro Has some very melodic vocals. Fine. 3/5 Djam Leelii Great instrumenta intro. Extremely bluesy with a lot of emotion behind it. The deeper tones work well against the background chimes and the subtle drums. I really like the addition of the background vocals. Feels very spiritual. Good. 4/5 Bibbe Leydy Unremarkable, doesn't exactly do anything different from previous tracks. I guess the percussion is slightly more involved, which is nice. Average. 2.5/5 Sehilam Has a decent tempo to it. Really like the guitar on here, feels almost celibratory in the way it's being played. Positive atmosphere. He has a lot of movement and dynamism to his voice. Decent. 3.5/5 As for African blues this is an alright if not a bit repetitive experience. It's vocally pretty consistent with a performance that feels emotional and passionate against the background track. Has solid guitar performances that are arranged to compliment the emotions shown in the vocals. You'll always feel the warm atmosphere that comes with the instrumentals here. Love the supportive percussive elements that occasionally show up giving some complexity to an otherwise sparse sound. There is however a lot of similarities between many of these tracks, which at times make them sound too much alike. Perhaps it's a quirk of the genre, but it does make you drift off as it becomes kinda stale after a bit. And while some tracks break the structural monotony with added instrumentation or a different tempo, it isn't quite enough to keep it from dragging a bit. Overall this album excels in it's atmosphere and feeling. While perhaps not the greatest thing for a focused listen it sure has a soothing aura around it which makes it easy to drift off to. 3/5

Tranquil is the word that comes to mine. Pleasantly relaxed. A little monotonous at times but I dig the vibe. I feel like the only thing separating these guys from The Spacemen Three is where they're from. And maybe where they're coming from, too, in that I suspect these guys don't necessarily think of themselves as psychedelic explorers. but that's how I am hearing it. This also sounds like what you might hear at daytime rehearsal during the (occasionally considerable) interval between when we've tuned up and when our drummer arrives. But our weed was never good enough to sing in this language. Excelsior!

I knew we'd eventually get another Baaba Maal album, so it's good to get that done with. And much like the other album ("Lam Toro"), I don't really feel well informed enough to really judge either this album or Baaba Mal's music (or Mansour Seck for that matter). I *did* appreciate it that this album has a more grounded feeling than "Lam Toro" and doesn't sound as much like it's trying to be a world-music album--I'm guessing that could be in part because this album was earlier than his later collaboration with Simon Booth (who went on to form Afro Celt Sound System), and so there's fewer generic (and largely electronic) world music samples interspersed. (The "1001 Albums" entry was also helpful in noting that Mansour Seck was a blind griot that mentored Baaba Mal, and the two of them produced this album during Mal's period in France studying music, focusing on simple and traditional music and lyrics.) Much like "Lam Toro", I didn't understand any of the lyrics, so my appreciation is limited to the sounds; my favorites on the album were the opening track "Lam Tooro", "Muudo Hormo" and the apparently very poignant tale of forced migration in "Maacina Tooro".

got off to a good start but didn't seem to build much--felt a little like background music--enjoyable though

Bit too long maybe but it was enjoyable. Great instrumentation, the vocals were nice but sounded weirdly Middle Eastern for a Senegalese album, there was definitely still some more traditional west African inspired vocals in parts though. The xylophone like percussion was a nice feature, sometimes the Melodie’s were a little repetitive but the way they developed across the songs was a nice way to freshen it up a bit, the actual mood of these Melodie’s themselves though are rather laid back, obviously I have no idea if this relates to the themes in the lyrics but I’m mostly judging it based of sound. Favourites: salminanam and Kobe wine mayo(9 minutes long but had such a cool acoustic guitar motif carried along the song which developed really nicely. Overall, 6.5/10, was gonna give it a 7 but the last song brought it down a little for me, the vocals pierced my ears.

Unique and cool, groovy vibes.

Very interesting , enjoyed it, especially the music itself

Sounds pretty but I wont replay it tbh

Enjoyed the atmospheric guitars / percussion - but struggled with the singing - which for me fell on the wrong side of wailing and were a little annoying. Really wanted to enjoy it - but cannot see me returning.

Djam Leelii I’ve heard of Baaba Maal, but have never heard any of his music, and I’d not heard of Mansour Seck at all. It’s hard to describe this other than just a lovely series of hypnotic, beautifully woven acoustic and electric guitar lines and vocals, seemingly simple percussion and the occasional embellishment of kora and balafon (I’ve just learned they’re called that) Those excellent, circular, fantastic-sounding guitars wash over brilliantly, evoking sunsets and sunrises, and lonely nights in the desert (with a Land Rover). Obviously I have no idea what Baaba Maal is singing/chanting/crooning, but his vocal and melodic style add to the enchanting feel of it. It’s less muscular and overtly bluesy than the similarly West African Songhoy Blues we had, and without some of the more middle eastern/North African influences we had with Ali Farka Toure, but it is no lesser an album for it’s apparently more simplistic approach and arrangements The songs broadly follow the same template and do sound quite similar, but I didn’t find that a bad thing at all, the sound is so expressive and the feeling they elicit so lovely I could (and did) listen on repeat all day, especially the final 4 songs in Maacina Tooro, Djam Leelii, Bibbe Leyde and Sehilam. Similar to Songhoy Blues and Ali Farka Toure, it's a 4, another great album I’m looking forward to coming back to, and another artist to find out some more about. 🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳 Playlist submission: Bibbe Leydy

I found this calm, melodic, and very easy to warm to. Great guitar tones are a feature, crisp and resonant. Criticism, need it be had, may lie in the album length, the lack of variety, and the a couple of instances where the warm vocals tip into more of a tinny timbre - such as on 'Ko Won Mayo' (_Who won the mayonaisse_). In fact the final run of three or so songs sounds more antiquated and loses a bit of warmth - the acoustic guitar replaced by the harsher sounding hoddu (first thing I learned in first grade music class). But in today's world of noise and overproduction (chill Gramps!), this is offers some meditative respite. An enjoyable journey across the Senagalese plains.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ça se laisse ecouter

Bonnes vibes 🤙

Not my cup of tea.

i loved the instrumental parts but unfortunately i wasn’t a huge fan of his voice. but the music itself was so compelling to me that i really forced myself to concentrate on it over the vocals.

This was soooo good. The guitar was so beautiful and I love the melismas in their vocal melodies. Fav tracks: Lam Tooro, Maacina Tooro

This is really interesting. Not necessarily really good, but really interesting. None of the songs really particularly stand out. I think that if you like one of them, you like them all, maybe to slightly varying degrees, but they're all pretty same-ish with having enough differences that it doesn't feel like listening to the same song through the whole album. I start losing interest on the last few songs of the album. Which is tough, because this was an album that never really that took a hold and didn't let go of your attention. That, and the fact that nothing in particular really makes it stand out just kind of puts the album in a good but not great area. The guitar (or what I'm assuming is a guitar?) playing is really excellent. They're clearly very talented. Favorite Song(s): Maacina Tooro

Quite meditative

Repetition Repetition Repetition. 'We have Repetition in our music and we will never gonna lose it' MES. This has some intricate guitar playing repeated over and over and over in each song. This is combined with Lion king style vocals, but it works so well.im waffling.

Not bad at all but no really my jam. High 2s.

Bi so albe esch ergendwie emmer s risiko dass es halt e chline ongwonti musig esch ond mer sech zerscht ned dra gwönnt hed, s met de ziit aber huere guet werd. Ech versuechs jetzt trozdem mol noch es paar mol lose ond es paar täg ziit: Wie halt vel afrikanischi musig esches Rhytmisch extrem starch. Au söscht fiiri de Vibe ond wie ganz vel of einisch abgod was im Albom au tüüfi ged ond mer ohni problem lang cha aktiv zuelose. De einzig kritikponkt esch e chli dass dä gsang ned so mine esch. Das cha sech aber jo no ändere...

Djam Leelii is the debut studio album from Senegalese musicians Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck. Maal is a guitarist, percussionist, and vocalist, who sings primarily in Pulaar, a Senegalese language. Seck is a vocalist and instrumentalist, whose career was boosted by his collaborations with Maal. This album is an interesting collection of songs from a distinct, non-western tradition. Maal was one of the early beneficiaries of an interest in "world music," and became internationally famous as a result.

Super pleasant and chill.

Total spannend, auch mal in Weltmusik reinzuhören :)

Totally not my thing, but somehow not too bad.

Me parece muy tribal, y no se le entiende na

Demasiado étnico para mí y no entiendo nada

Aww, I liked this. Good background music for work or a walk but probably will choose something else. 3/5

I really wanted to like this and the first track was promising but then it became quite samey and boring, sorry to say. And over an hour was way too long 2.5

What I love about album a day is how may great albums I’ve never heard of like this one that show up. Never heard of this at all and I’m really digging it. “Salminanam” is just wonderful. I love the sounds here. This album is great. I really like the way the different instruments come together with the vocals.

- ebenfalls moody und meist entspannt, einige Momente war es aber auch etwas anstrengend - etwas unter dem von gestern 2

I actually listened to this twice, and we’ve covered similar albums on this list before that I enjoyed. I just wish the guitars were more prominent or that it was entirely instrumental. Maybe that’s just me being an ignorant, English speaking American!

I could listen to the music all day but those vocals go right to my nervous system like glass shards and needles.

I don't have any reference for this music. Maybe this is the best example of this genre. I just didn't like it. All the songs felt the same and I was happy when it was over.

I liked some of the guitar work, but I didn't connect with it at all. I didn't look for the skip button so that has to count for something, I guess.

Nope

Definitely an interesting listen and exposure to a genre/style I'm not familiar with.

Always enjoyable, somewhat monotonous at times, upbeat.

Different from what I normally listen to. Not sure if anything stands out enough to remember names but it was enjoyable change of pace

Bedre end den sidste, som jeg egentlig også syntes var ret god. Første og sidste numre er fantastiske. Noget af det lyder som Ali Farka Touré

Kunne meget bedre lide den her end den anden Baaba Maal vi havde. Meget dreamy.

This was pretty hard to rate. I liked the intricate guitar work that seemed very easy and relaxed. I still can't get into the genre or sound as a whole.

De Baaba Mal supimos a través de Real World con Passion (1989) y Call to prayer. Luego en Black Hawk derribado. Nomad Soul, fue el álbum más popular, pero de igual calidad que este que además fue una refrescante sorpresa por aquel entonces. Es toda una experiencia escuchar la música de Baaba, como la de Youssou N'Dour (más allá de 7 seconds, que no representa su música, por muy buena que sea la canción). Totalmente recomendable. Son canciones largas, más allá de los 5 minutos, con desarrollos repetitivos y la voz reconocible y mágica de Mal. Lam Tooro o Loodo ya exponen lo que será el disco, raíces de flok-blues americano le llaman algunos. Yo creo que es mucho más. No por diferente sino porque suena orgánico, no sobreproducido, te lleva directamente a otro nivel. Sehilam es una maravilla pero es difícil elegir alguna. Otros discos de una cosecha realmente estupenda, la del 89: Stone Roses de Stone Roses, Playing with Fire de Spacemen 3,New York de Lou Reed, Doolitle de Pixies, On Fire de Galaxie 500, Disintegration de The Cure, Paul´s Boutique de los Beastie Boys, Technique de New Order, Freedom de Neil Young, Let Love Rule de Lenny Kravitz, The Seeds of Love de Tears for Fears, Automatic de Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets de Love and Rockets, Dum-Dum de las Vaselines, Spike de Elvis Costello, Rhythm Nation de Janet Jackson, Mind Bomb de The The, Mothers Milk de los Red Hot Chili Peppers, Full Moon Fever de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Ojalá Que Llueva Café de Juan Luis Guerra, Shahen-Shah Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Raw and the Cooked de los Fine Young Cannibals, Primal Scream de Primal Scream, The Whitey Album de Ciccone Youth, Lōc-ed After Dark de Tone Lōc, 3 Feet High and Rising de De La Soul, 101 de Depeche Mode, Like a Prayer de Madonna, Nick of Time de Bonnie Raitt, No More Mr. Nice Guy de Gang Starr, Raw Like Sushi de Neneh Cherry, The Real Thing de Faith No More, Liquidizer de Jesus Jones, Heart Shaped World de Chris Isaak, Bleach de Nirvana, Velveteen de Transvision Vamp, Pump de Aerosmith, The Healer de John Lee Hooker, Crossroads de Tracy Chapman, Hats de The Blue Nile, All Hail the Queen de Queen Latifah, Done by the Forces of Nature de los Jungle Brothers, Back on the Block de Quincy jones, Me and a Monkey on the Moon de Felt, Ninety de 808 State, Hallelujah EP de los Happy Mondays o Pump Up the Jam de Technotronic, If I Should Fall From Grace With God de The Pogues, Soul II Soul- Club Classics Vol. One, Nick of time de Bonnie Raitt… Y como placeres culpables: Cuts Both Ways de Gloria Stefan, Foreign Affair de Tina Turner, ...But Seriously de Phil Collins y Neither Fish Nor Flesh de Terence Trent D'Arby

This one is slightly better than the other Baaba Maal album I listened to, but I still don't like the guys music.

The music isn't bad, although it is extremely repetetive. If it was just instrumental it would be fine background music, but that nasally voice over everything takes away my enjoyment.

I get nothing from this collection of tracks. Simple modal explorations on shitty late-80s sounding guitars. Overall it isn’t unpleasant. But I have no clue why I needed to hear it.

At least he second one from this dude. I’ll listen but likely won’t pay much attention. There is no connection to this at all really. All talented people and all that. Just can’t relate at all.

Didn't think I'd enjoy it, but did. Good music to have on in the background

Inget konkret som sticker ut men levererar en allmänt härlig västafrikansk vibe

Nu har det varit många i rad jag tyckt varit tråkiga. Det är inget DRAG!

Chill

I’ve never heard of Baaba Maal before, but I tend to enjoy African music, so I have high hopes that I’ll enjoy this album. I think my most recent African album that I reviewed was by Koffi Olomide, and I didn’t care for that at all, so here’s hoping that Baaba Maal will wash that from my memory! I thought Djam Leelii was a great album. The first track, “Lam Tooro” was fantastic, and its hypnotic guitar melody really hooked me in. “Loodo” was really good too, but I really loved the percussion elements on “Muudo Hormo.” There was something that sounded like a xylophone on “Bibbe Leydy” that I really enjoyed as well. Even though only half of the songs stood out to me, I thought this whole album had a fantastic sound that I really enjoyed. The melodies were a bit repetitive, but I didn’t mind, because they were all incredibly beautiful. The only thing about this album that I didn’t really care for was the vocals, but they weren’t enough to detract from the music. I do wish I had gotten something from the lyrics on this album as well, but that’s the drawback from not speaking Senegalese I suppose. All in all, this was a great album with a really unique and refreshing sound.

Fine in the falafel store I guess.

The opening track "Lam Tooro" reminded me of English Electric Folk, while the title track, "Djam Leelii", is pure Blues. Even though I didn't understand a single word, I loved this album.

This was a refreshing change. Never heard of this album, nor would I have considered it, but will listen again and explore similar work.

Nice to listen to

I don't really get it

Baaba Maal, we meet again. And so soon. Better than the other album, but I still cannot enjoy his nasal voice.

Didn't understand a word, but was pretty cool.

Not my style of music,

Not my sort of thing

Never heard of this before, but I think it's great! Absolutely lovely guitar playing, and some very interesting percussion. It's a great recording as well, sounds very lively. Obviously I don't have a clue what any of the songs are about, but the singing is very emotive. Will definitely be listening to this again.

a beautiful album, well matched with reading the Desert Oracle. and the next step would be to find a translation for the lyrics, as I’m sure it would tie it all together all the more

Surprised I enjoy this. It kinda reminds me of Panda bear

3/5 strange but catchy

His voice is very nasal and the music is a little too repetitive for me but it had some very nice moments.

3.5/5

This album is kinda hypnotic considering I don't know what the man is singing. The entire listen is relaxed and low key. It's not bad in any sense, it reminds me of the time when world music was all over for some reason. That was before the weird time when gregorian chants were a thing. I enjoyed my time with this album but I doubt it will get much replay from me.

It was okay.

Not something that I would seek out to listen to but I enjoy the vibe of the album.

Different, I wouldn't have picked it out for myself, but I was vibin'! Nice background music

Not for me

Chill, enjoyable

Loved this shit

It’s different

This is probably the first album to come up where I just had no idea what to expect. I was surprised by the electric instrumentation from the jump though. The tracks are droney and repetitive, and I don't speak the language so this wants to fall into the background of my attention. Good vibes though, with some really pretty instrumentation in spots. This is probably going into the "Background music that isn't too distracting while I'm at work" rotation. It's cool that it made the list

Has a really nice tone to the guitar and percussion. Find the vocals a bit grating after a while and struggle to get through the full album. 2.5

Listening to this was a really neat experience. I've not listened to music outside the western/developed world much, and this was a very well crafted album. The guitar work on this stands out in particular. Really appreciate this album appearing on the list.

Music is a solid 4. But the vocals just kill any vibe. Curse my western ears for that I guess but it just doesn't sound good.

I enjoyed this album. I’ve become more receptive to all types of music as I’ve become older as long as it’s not (c)rap Hippetty hoppity sh*t. So this passes this test. Would buy this album without hesitation if found cheap in charity shop but not certain if full price. But I’m from Yorkshire. 3/5 26/4/25

Back in the 1980s their was a craze for "world" music which I never really got into. I believe much of it was not very good, but a lot of trendy westerners listened to it because it was "niche" I listened to this album fully expecting not to like it, but was very pleasantly surprised. The intricate and mesmerising guitar work seems to interweave amazingly with the vocals. This is an album I would definitely listen to again. An easy 5 stars.

One of those albums you really want to root for, but does nothing for you in reality. He has a great voice, but nothing really made it stand out or drew me to return to it. I’m glad a Senegalese artist was able to gain popularity though

I took a while to warm to it but then I really did. Its the sort of exotic obscure stuff that impresses people at sophisticated dinner parties.

1. Lam Tooro - 5.5/10 2. Loodo - 4.5/10 3. Muudo Hormo - 5/10 4. Salminanam - 4.5/10 5. Maacina Tooro - 4.5/10 6. Djam Leelii - 7/10 7. Bibbe Leydy - 5/10 8. Sehilam - 6/10 9. Kettodee - 4.5/10 10. Ko Wone Mayo - 4/10 11. Daande Lenol - 4/10 12. Taara - 4/10 4.5/10

Album 747 of 1001 Baaba Maal - Djam Leelii (1989) Rating : 2 / 5 Djam Leelii is a Senegalese musician. While interesting, it wasn't really enjoyable to me.

That was an album.

AGAIN. NOT MY VIBE.

2.5

Listening to this on an overcast Autumn Monday morning, and it just kind of feels like the right album to soundtrack the day. It’s a pensive, slow burn and the joy is in the repetition. The vocals give this an otherworldly feel. Letting it wash over you and envelop you is the best way to enjoy this.

interesting sound, relaxing

Wandering around the English countryside in springtime with this playing,I realised how few ference points to it I had. Language, tone and structure all coming from places I just couldn't relate to. Did that make the music less appealing less enchanting or wonderful? No. On this album journey of great rock and roll and soul and hip hop and what not (still no Jazz mind you) this was a something of a zesty palate cleanser.

I wasn't a huge fan at first but this grew on me. Despite not understanding the lyrics I did enjoy the repetitive drum beats. It ended up being soothing. This is not something I am going to probably ever listen to again but I am glad I did.

The music is pretty fun. The vocals I can do without, but what are you gonna do?

This album is awesome. It sounds like it comes from an alien planet but not in like a silly cartoony way, it’s more like there’s nothing to compare it to so it may as well be alien. The magic of this album is it is made by a traditional African musician who recorded this album in Paris with electronic music weaved in. Honestly it’s so pleasant and atmospheric. I obviously can’t comment on the lyrics cause I can’t understand them obviously but the instrumentation is what makes this album really special. It’s not a no skip album and some of the vocals can be grating and uncomfortable. However I still really enjoyed this album and I’m already recommending this album to people I know who have a very open mind musically.

I had a very hard time with this the first two times I listened to it, and I still find the style of singing, or the tone the singer uses, grating, but by the third time through I started to get the hypnotic aspects of the album that other reviewers have mentioned. The vocals make it something I don’t plan for return to but all in all it was not an unpleasant listening experience.

I didn’t mind this one, some nice vibes to it. Went on a bit long and therefore got a bit repetitive but not a bad album.

Good to have something different, but I found this one a tough listen. It went on far too long and was very repetitive.

really do enjoy the African albums we’ve had on this list. Such a nice change from the predominantly white boy rock. The star here is the guitar playing, which is kind of bluesy in places. I’m a fan of the repetitive style of west African music, really gets in a groove. The vocals are the kind of marmite element here, took a while to get used to the style. There were a couple of songs where they were more dominant, but mostly balanced nicely with the music. Nice.

Звучит, но воспринимается с большим трудом в силу того, насколько это другая музыка. Пока что желания вникать нет. Лучшая песня - Muudo Hormo.

Am too dumb to appreciate the artistry, but good vibing

Ik heb Baaba Maal al een keer gehad en ik zat klaar om dit te gaan haten, maar die eerste track is (op de koptelefoon) nog best wel lekker eigenlijk. Dik en gelaagd. Een beetje bezwerend. Daarna ben ik er dan wel een beetje klaar mee hoor. Het is zo'n album waarbij je gerust 20 minuutjes kunt weglopen zonder echt iets te missen. Al moet ik zeggen dat het wel jammer zou zijn als je track 3 (ik typte hier 'die met die marimba', maar het is een 'balofon' aldus wikipedia) zou missen. Ik hou het bij de 8 originele tracks. Ik wil niet de VPRO-vrije-geluiden-tatta uithangen, maar ik vind tracks 1, 3, 6 en 7 best wel relaxed en daarom ga ik een 2,5 afgerond naar 3 geven. Als we zo doorgaan krijg ik straks nog gepersonaliseerde advertenties voor Oerol o.i.d.

First album here where listening to it felt like homework. I'm not opposed to West African guitar music, I really like the music of Ali Farka Toure, but this was very boring and the singing was very high-pitched and fatiguing. I'm just over half-way through and I might have to bail...

Great vibes, mix of India, China, Jamaica. Percussion off-beat here and there, which I found a bit annoying. 6/10

point1.

Very hypnotic, the repetition serves to add to whole vibe rather than detract from it.

Hypnotic and beautiful.

There was some really cool sounding guitar and percussion work, it's a shame there was too much focus on the inferior vocals

Completely different from anything I've heard before, very relaxing.

My ear isn't nuanced enough to really differentiate many of these tracks. "Salminanam" felt like a desperado cowboy western track.

Outside my wheelhouse and good to hear! Don't know if i'll be going back but fun listen, he did a collab with mumford and sons lol

Funky! This felt a little too NPR-coded for my taste.

Crap

I really like the inclusion of the world music on this list. However it can be really hit or miss for me. This one wasn't quite my thing even though I can recognize the beauty/talent in it. There were some parts that felt too drivingly repetitive.

Schön gespielte Gitarrenmusik mit afrikanischer Prägung, die mich im Stil an Ali Farka Touré erinnert hat, oft repetitiv gespielt. Hat mir sehr gefallen, bis der Sänger mit seiner wirklich unangenehmen Stimme losgelegt hat. Passt zwar irgendwie auch dazu, aber die Stimme ist echt nicht schön. Alles in allem war mir das Album auch zu lang, die Songs auch oft, aber das hat nicht mal so gestört, wenn man sich drauf einlassen kann, da das ganze eine fast hypnotische Wirkung hat. Einen Favoriten habe ich nicht bzw. fällt mir kein Song ein, der da besonders herausstach.

Very nice. Excellent background music. Goes great for yoga time!

👎

I'm struggling to decide where to settle on this album. On the one hand, I think it's unlikely I will ever revisit it. But on the other hand it really is a good listen. The vibes are chill and the instrumentation is one of a kind. The high pitched singing style does get annoying at times. I wish I knew what the lyrics were saying and maybe I could get a better grip on this project. Although sometimes I even have that issue with songs that are sung in English. Listening to this album is akin to going to a foreign restaurant and ordering a dish that you've never had before. Even if it's not your favorite thing in the world, it broadens your pallet. And for that alone, it's worth trying.

Look, I want to be a worldly person and keep my mind open to all types of music. I know and accept the fact that I have western culture bias. The language barrier further mystifies the appeal of this type of recording. But when it comes right down to it, the sound that is entering my ears just...annoys me. I like some of the guitar phrasings, but then they proceed to just repeat for 5+ with no changes or resolution.

This is pretty cool musically, even if I can't tell what's happening lyrically.

The collaboration between Mansour Seck and Baaba Maal on this album is astounding. Seck’s guitar playing is incredibly beautiful and Maal’s singing evokes such a wide range of emotions, even though I have no idea what he’s saying. It proves that music is a lot about feeling rather than understanding. Even if we don’t speak the same language, we are all connected by a soulful thread. Favorites: the three song run of Salminanam, Maacina Tooro, and Djam Leeli is excellent.

1,5

Decent. We enjoyed it especially at the start, and it's cool to hear more work from someone so instrumental to the fantastic soundscape of Wakanda.

Couldn’t do it

There is little world music on this list, but most of it is good and this is no exception. However, it does get repetitive and the whole package is a little too long.

das ganze album ist eine grosse WELT von MUSIK .. klanglich tolle gitarren, monotoner repetitiver gesang. weniger meins.

World Music, immer wieder schön zu hören wie vielseitig Musik sein kann.

Instrumentation tends to be an afterthought in a lot of folk music, and as someone who doesn't enjoy vocals, that puts most of the genre outside of my interests. But seeing a folk album that puts great emphasis on the instruments, and that are not the western-style ones I'm used to and don't particularly enjoy, feels great. Sure, it's repetitive, but when the repeating part sounds this good, it doesn't really matter. Also, hats off to the production team. Both the instruments and vocals sound extremely clean, and the noise floor that frequently sours the experience of chill folk records is almost nonexistent (apart from the first half of track 6, for some reason). I know nothing of the culture this comes from and don't understand the language, but the vibes here are immaculate. It's lush and dreamy and pleasant to the ear. This is a relaxing, feel-good record done extremely well. This kind of style is not exactly for me (I enjoy louder, more layered sound), but although I wasn't blown away, I can't say I wasn't surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

Chilled

When one hears in the right mood and circumstances, this has a major impact. It's lovely and lilting, expressive of deep and urgent yearnings (that's what one hears anyway) and then moves on. One only wishes one spoke griot so one could dig even more deeply.

Talented but not my style

Loved the music. Took awhile to get used to the voice

No thanks. Too slow.

This is just really good. I bet you didn’t expect that from me.

I mean, I'm always a fan of West African music and this is right up there with the best of them. Not a surprise, but a damn good listen

A really good listen. Super pleasant and full sound, with Baaba's voice not too much in the forefront (which was my qualm with the other record I had by him). He lets th guitar and drums interplay and do most of the work, nice! 7/10

Outstanding.

Tykkäsin toki

Bit too funky for my tastes, but interesting.

Pretty fun, dreamy, arabic, but for how same-y and long it is, it ends up overstaying its welcome.

Some good island music

Loved this - very beautiful, and wish I knew a bit more about it.

some really great ideas and melodies, but too long me thinks

Music that makes you smile.

There is some great guitar work recorded here and some of the other instrumentation is very nice, but the wailing vocal does not speak to me.

I did quite like some songs (Muudo Hormo, Djam Leelii, Kettodee) but can't rate it highly as I was just waiting for it to end in the second half. Giving it a 2 as I didn't completely hate it but I won't be going back to it

I don't think I'd choose to listen to it again but it was alright

There were some good songs in this but it mostly just dragged on and on for me. Not one i will be revisiting

Really really not for me

Pure and powerful, satisfyingly melodic, and, one senses, deep-rooted, to the point that one wishes one spoke the language to receieve the wisdom of the griot. Puts a lot of our manufactured pop dreck to shame. One has no ideas’ what’s being sung but it sounds prett soulful, ringing authentic and meaningful. The lilting and contemplative "Maacina Tooro" might be best cut but the whole thing works well, with a richly melancholic feel across many cuts. Is it wrong (or just embarrassing or jejeune) to say that a lot of West African music sounds alike?

This is a lovely album to listen to. But as a monoglot anglophone, I've no idea what the songs are about!

Prob a 3. Which for me is a good rating. I have been trying to listen to more world music and this album generator is a means to that. It’s my second Baaba Maal lp and I’d say it’s fairly consistent but this one sounds a little more traditional as it’s not overloaded with 80’s sounding keyboards

Straight fire. Not sth I'd usually listen to, but fire none the less!

Another not good, not bad. Most of the songs sound the same. Another 2.5

Yeah it’s alright just not my thing

No track was skippable I felt it in my solar plexus is now on my go to chill out

This has to be the best of his 475 albums, right? Right? I have no idea. I couldn't even find the album on a music streaming service anywhere. I had to "watch" it on YouTube. It's a tough one to judge.

Kinda cool but not my thing. Its sounds repetitive to my uneducated ears, and I’m sure it has a devoted audience.

Kuulostaa hyvältä, kauniilta. Kritisoin vain albumin pituutta: tässä muodossa biisien samankaltaisuus kääntyy itseään vastaan ja meditatiivisesta tulee pitkää. Pidän yhteislaulusta ja eri soittimista.

Ota mikä tahansa biisi, kuuntele minuutti, skippaa eteenpäin kolmisen minuuttia ja testaa, onko mikään muttunut. Levyllä on muutama kiinnostava riffi (esim. Maacina Tooro), mutta sen "moody" tunnelma ei täysin uppoa itselleni. 1,5

Walking down the street in one of my shirts while wearing this felt dangerously close to cultural appropriation. The dance I was doing probably didn’t help. This is really cool though, great tavern music because we’ve got a lute & a harp in the back, I think. So glad it’s here. Nothing added to my playlist, 2 added to the 1001 playlist

Popping guitars, and some excellent tunes early on, but is overlong and begins to grate. A lot of the tracks seem to lack progression and the whole thing begins to blend together. Not a fan of the Adhan-ic vocals which begin appearing in the middle stretch. The music has a distinctive sound and I'm glad for having listened to it. Having fairly enjoyed the album, I checked out Baaba Maal's discography. An EP with Mumford & Sons was not the expected find. Wonder if that'll be on the next update to the 1001...

Was great to listen to music from a different culture.

Is there a better cultural ambassador for Senegal (and possibly the African continent) than Baaba Maal? He's long been sought after by Western collaborators from Brian Eno to Mumford and Sons, and was a integral voice and partner for the Black Panther soundtrack and its sequel. Throughout it all, he has remained true to his roots. The music travels the world but never leaves the traditions of the banks of the Senegal River. "Djam Leelii" is his unofficial debut, as the first release to be widely distributed. Along with blind guitarist Mansour Seck, Maal crafts images of traditional life and musical traditions. The music is fit for dancing, travelling or just marveling at nature. I've always found the concept of "World Music" to be troubling, as it attempts to reduce thousands of unique styles into a single genre. Regardless, Maal is a deserving star within that category.

Album was better than expected but it did drag. Instrumental stuff was good but the singing gets a bit repetitive. Overall a fun new experience but probably not one I’ll listen to again.

I will only focus on the eight tracks of the original release for this review. This looks to be another one of those world-view-enriching experiences for the list. In this case, Djam Leelii is the first collaborative album between Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck, two Senegal-based singer-songwriters and guitarists. These two studied the musical traditions of the West African regions of Mauritania and Mali, and the two formed a band known as Dande Lenol which translates to "The People's Voice", and would play for the Senegalese immigrant communities of Paris. Their hard work bore fruit in the form of this album with its title translating to "The Adventurers". Sonically, this is a delightful indulgence of two men with their acoustic guitars singing wonderfully. Baaba and Mansour showed such wonderful chemistry for each other, aided by the light percussion from Papa Dieye, and the incorporation of more common Malian ensemble instruments such as the kora which is a lute-harp, and the balafon which is a slat xylophone with small gourd resonators. One of the best examples of this unison of instruments is on "Muudo Hormo" where the balafon acts as a sonic anchor for the group to follow suit in a melodic sway. As much as I enjoy Djam Leeli from a pure audible standpoint, it is unfortunate that there have been no posted lyrics for this album. Baaba Maal primarily wrote the lyrics in the native Palaar language, and it would be nice to translate them and have some insight into what they wrote about outside of speculation. Even without the context behind these songs, Djam Leelii is still a pleasant listen and worth the inclusion on this list.

Lovely little guitar/sitar background music, can't say it was unpleasant at all but also not particularly standout to me. Solid 3.

I don't remember

I realise this is entirely the fault of my rigid white western understanding of music. I blame myself, not the artists. But this sounded like a disparate series of repeating instrumental patterns that didn't really turn into a cohesive melody at any point. I can appreciate the overall vibes and the rhythm of it, but I wouldn't choose to come back and play it again.

The guitar work on this was awesome. No idea the language, but it was a pleasant listen.

Fantastic album

It was a ride with some great instrumentals, but just not my flavour

Beautiful Album, Saved it, need to revisit it soon. All sounded like a mish mash of the same vocals and instruments the entire album. Thought it would be a good album to play my wife to chill her out.

Maso

This was.... weird. Musically there are some catchy bits. But vocally it was not my jam.

Not my style

That was freaking amazing! My girlfriend also thinks it's freaking amazing we've listened to it three times and decided that we're going to go to Senegal to check out the music scene

Not my thing really but that didn’t mean it was bad.

This album is quite relaxing to listen to. Not a huge fan of the singing style but it's well played and enjoyable none the less. 3-3.5

It's hard to rank something like this considering that it's rather a new sound to me. I guess my criticisms would be that the album was a touch long and that some of the tracks were also a bit long. That said, I enjoyed it. It was a cool vibe.

More enjoyable to listen to for me than other African albums that have popped up here so far

Sure. That’s cool I guess.

Not sure why this is on the list. The only reason would be that the remainder contains folk/traditional music from all over the world and that this is just the start. Nothing wrong with the album, it's just that the folk music is more about the culture and the customs of the groups which made it, rather than about musical virtuosity and the art of making music itself. The music is monotonous and repetitive, but does reflext the culture and the emotions of the people who made it.

Always glad to hear some world music on the list and was enjoying at first, but it did drag on too long. Some really nice parts throughout, would have liked some of the later tracks cut but overall pretty good. Never would have found this outside the 1001 project, 3.5/5 rating up as I feel the global average is too low

Pittig, deels door culture switch, deels door de lengte. En vooral de combinatie van. De eerste helft van het album voelt heel West Afrikaans, het tweede deel bevat meer Westerse blues invloeden, zoals we dat wel vaker terug horen in werk van muzikanten uit die hoek van Afrika. Het deed me dan op dat tweede deel vaak denken aan het album van Ali Farka Touré en Ry Cooder, wat echt een pareltje is als je wat meer van soortgelijke muziek wil horen. Maar aan het eind van de rit overheerst vooral de blijdschap dat we hem weer doorstaan hebben, in plaats van dat ik echt terugkijk op een hele prettige reis. Er waren momenten waar je je echt onderdompelt in een waanzinnig organische sound, maar het is soms ook een blok aan je been in plaats van écht meeslepend. 6/10 Highlights: Maacina Tooro Kettodee

Dat is toch bijzonder aan dit 1001 albums project. Niet alleen the usual suspects uit de westerse cultuur, maar ook gewoon een Senegalese zanger uit de jaren 80. En ik moet zeggen dat ik het best aardig vond. Mooie volle arrangementen met gitaar en percussie. De melodieën en ritmes herhalen elkaar de hele dag, waardoor je toch in een soort flow komt. De type zang is taaier, dat merk je vaker bij muziek uit onbekende culturen. Daar gaan lekker op andere type stemklanken. Dat is voor de Hollandse kaaskop dan toch even strijden om doorheen te komen soms. Maar leuk dat we weer zo zijn verrijkt. Hopelijk komt Baaba Maal langs in de popquiz, dan zijn wij spekkoper. 6/10

This is inscrutable to me. Is it good? Bad? I am neither qualified nor culturally versed to answer this.

Nope

Quality instrumental arrangements with vocals that was exotic on the first half of the album, but began to grate by the second half of the album. Despite this, I am glad to have discovered this album through this project. These were the type of albums I had hoped would be recommended.

Definitely a new artist/project to me. A little long winded, but I began to appreciate the sounds and things I’m hearing here the more I listened. When I’m typically inundated by US and UK artists, it’s refreshing to try new things out even if it isn’t my favorite

This was enjoyable but not my thing