If there was one place that I was fascinated with when I was younger it was Mali, in western Africa. I'm not sure why... My uncle once brought me back a medicine pouch and wooden box from this butterfly shaped country. Those two objects connected me to a place that I craved (and crave) to go. The history, the culture, the people, and the music were astonishing to me. I was introduced to Issa Bagayogo's music during one of my random music searches, oh let's say several years ago. His music combines electronic influences with the plucks and riffs of the ngoni, a three-stringed lute popular in western Africa and usually reserved for sacred contexts.

Bagayogo's musical success did not come easy -- he suffered the loss of his wife and unemployment, and succumbed to drug addiction for several years. However, Bagayogo would eventually be called to music, leading to international success and stardom on the continent and elsewhere. Bagayogo constructs a rich texture of opposing sounds with the ngoni and dance beats in his 2001 album Timbuktu to give us listeners something sacred for our ears.

Listen to Timbuktu here.