Filifin

The most interesting producer, mixer and sonic manipulator in the world of African music today is Frederic Galliano, a Frenchman who uses his knowledge and taste as a collaborative partner to enhance the flow of the musician’s performance, rather than disrupting its flow or breaking it down into easily digestible sound-bytes. His mobile Frikwiya studio recorded “Siran” by Filifin in Mali in January 2002. Filifin is a powerful singer who plays kamele n’goni (the granddaddy of the guitar) and carignan (a percussion instrument).
The style is Malian desert blues and Frederic leaves the performances intact, projecting Filifin’s voice without scrubbing the warm overtones, adding a contemporary touch by homing in close on the individual sounds, contrasting Filifin’s superlative n’goni playing with the acoustic guitar of the only other musician present, N’Gou Bagayoko, whose subtle responsive rippling helps channel the hypnotic flow of the 7 pieces on the CD. The attractive foldout cover does indicate that the singer rides a motorbike, but apart from that no other information. It’s a pity because Filifin is certainly in the forefront of modern Malian singers with each song a declamatory performance that extends itself in deep emotional conversation with the sparse instrumentation. RJ