Ne So

Internationally known Malian singer, songwriter, guitarist who grew up partly in France and has recorded with the Kronos Quartet. Varied and accomplished set of songs; interesting and strong on percussion, a little hypnotic; airy and captivating; sings in her native Bamana, French, and English

NO FCC's DETECTED; Favorite tracks: 1, 6, 10

*1—4:04 – “You Fly (from Every Hurt)” – in French – minimal accompaniment at first– alluring voice

2--4:27 – “Thus it is that nothing pleasurable hurts” – uptempo with chorus – sung in Bamana

3—5:17 – sung in Bamana – “Success always has a reason,” call and response with harmonies

4--3:06 – “Amour” – French--Malian hymn to the delights of love – alluring Francophone

5- 5:35 – “Good May Bring Forth Good” – Bamana, subtle accompaniment; more vocal tremolo

*6- 3:54 - “You There” --Bamana – non-violent rebuttal to verbal abuse – Nice harmony interspersed with solo

*7 – 3:26 – “Niele” – name for first girl in Bamana – charming exhortation to young girls to endure and believe in themselves, layered vocals

8—4:06- describes in Bamana how important singer thinks Malian heritage is to her identity

9 – 3:40—“Strange Fruit” with long intro – in English- electric guitar featured

*10- 3:53-- title song about 5,500,000 refugees in 2014 – begins in spoken French with beautiful string backup, segues to Bamana, then another male voice comes in with English; layered languages, voices, instruments

11-- 4:07-- in English – spoken word with instruments underneath; need for respect in the world