[Amadou et Mariam - Sabali]

An outside contender for 2008's album of the year, which was sadly overlooked by many, is Amadou et Mariam's technicolour 8th album "Welcome to Mali". The couple who have been married since 1980 are both blind yet, like many blind musicians, they seem to have a wonderful abandon in their playing. This is an album full of really cheerful afro-bluesy rhythmns that have had my friends and I dancing about non-stop since discovering it. 'Sabali' features none other than Damon Albarn on production duties giving proceedings a little electronic flava which though a welcome addition is less prominent as the album goes on to cover slightly more traditional but no less entertaining ground.