27. Burkina Faso — ‘Faso Denou’ by Farafina

According to Wikipedia, one of the most popular African bands ever. I had never heard of them. But they have played at Wembley. They have collaborated with The Rolling Stones and Ryuichi Sakamoto. They have toured around the US, Singapore, Germany, Canada, and many other countries.

They use instruments such as the djembe, kora, bara, or tama. They do have ‘that’ sound that ignorant listeners of African music (such as me) may classify as ‘typically African’, englobing hundreds of cultures and sounds into one adjective. I am trying to think why I could not really get into this. I have listened to other African albums whilst doing this project and yet this one just felt a bit repetitive and predictable. Yes, I am sure they are great live. But I felt all the songs were too similar. I’m sure it’s just me. I just wanted some more variety between songs, different rhythms, and structures. It is not bad, but I was a bit disappointed. I just was not surprised by it. Is that asking too much? Maybe.