Koïma / Koima

On 2011’s Sahel Folk, Malian singer/songwriter and guitarist Sidi Toure played a series of duets with several different guests. Koima finds this fine Songhai Blues artist working with a quintet that includes guitar, calabash, sokou (a traditional single-string violin), and a female backup singer. Listening to the earlier album was like eavesdropping on intimate musical conversations. By contrast, the larger group on Koima (which means “go hear” and also refers to a sand dune in Gao that has spiritual significance) brings the music to you. (Sahel Folk was recorded in Toure’s sister’s house in Gao, while Koima was cut in a studio in Bamako.) The opener, “Ni see ay ga done (It Is to You That I Sing),” finds male/female vocals sounding out over chattering percussion and interlocking guitars. “Maimouna” is enriched by sokou interjections that add scraping textures to the song. “Koima (The Pink Dune of Koima)” finds the singers intoning speedy vocal lines as the band creates an appealingly off-kilter groove. The hypnotic, bluesy “Kalaa ay makoiy (I Must Go)” and the closer, “Euzo,” are spare wonders: lean in and listen.