Taximen

Taximen is a beautifully varied record that brings together Amadou Balakè’s various influences, from the syncopated percussion and Dioula sounds of his native Burkina Faso, to the son and salsa sounds of Cuba. With French lyrics over a soukous-tinged guitar riff, the opening title track tells the amusing story of Balakè’s unfortunate encounter with a Abidjan taxidriver, while tracks like “Mingoussia” and  “Kanan N’Djanfa”, with their Spanish lyrics and La-Bamba style guitars, wouldn’t be out of place in a Havana nightclub.