Lionel Loueke turns it down a notch or two on this subtle and gentle album. Instead of his normal working trio of Massimo Biolacati/b and Frenec Nemeth (who only appear in cameo roles), he does much of the material in a solo mode, sometimes adding a guest or two here and there for added drapery and mood. With Pino Palladino/b, Cyro baptista/perc, John Ellis/ss, Robert Sadin/key, Christi Joza Orisha/perc, Etienne Charles/tp, Dramane Dembele/fl, Mark Feldman/vi Loueke mixes and matches dreamy and impressionistic landscapes with his guitar in rich sounds and his voice in exotic and percussive effect.
There’s lots of folksy and dreamy West African moods, as Loueke sings with his guitar doing subtle but almost Hendrixy things with his strings on “Molika,” “Gbedetemin” and the funky “Dark Lightning.” Charles’ gentle horn adds to the acoustic “Gbe” as Loueke weaves a story, while flute and elephantine yelps drive forward on “Mande” and Middle Eastern moods float as Loueke chants on “Kaba.” Loueke makes his guitar pedals create church like organ ruminations on “Reflections on Vi Gnia” to create a meditative mood, leading to a haunting a cappella closer, “The Healing.” Loueke takes you to the Sahel desert, with sparkling nighttime stories told by the caravan fire.