Search - Alpha Yaya Diallo :: Djama

With Djama, his fifth full-length recording, Alpha Yaya Diallo takes a quick over-the-shoulder glance and, in the process, presents his most mature and natural material to date. Using a pair of guitars, electric bass, occasional flute and an array of traditional African percussion instruments he manages to weave an inspired tapestry of sounds and structures. The ten songs unfold like chapters in a novel, each an involved and complex piece of the story, shifting from one mood to the next. There are four stunning instrumentals on this recording, each one sitting comfortably within a specific West African landscape. With these songs, there is the sense of a musician who has balanced himself, almost magically, both inside of and outside of his traditional music. The world we live in today demands much of its people. Alpha speaks directly to this human condition, meditating on our shared sense of longing and, more importantly, on the actual realities we all face in this day and age. The songs contain messages of hope, words of caution, signs of encouragement, images of despair. And then there is that ever-present rhythmic pulse of Alpha's restless musicality. Djama: People. For all of us.