I absolutely appreciate the sound and feel of this whole album. A quote for Baaba Maal sums up my listening experience pretty well, although with a very Western experience I bet I’m missing a ton when I listen with my own ears…maybe not in some ways? “The spirit of the kora and the ngoni are different from the talking drum and the balafon, or the sabar and the djembe. The kora and ngoni are closer to human beings, because they are made from things that had life. The talking drum, the balafon, and the sabar are made from wood, and when you listen to them your mind goes out into the forest. When you make music and write songs, you have to know about the messages. From the messages, you know what the instruments are and how to put them together underneath the lyrics."