Africa Express Presents... Terry Riley's In C Mali

Africa Express Presents... Terry Riley's In C Mali is a studio album released by Africa Express, a UK-based non-profit organisation. The album is a recording of Terry Riley's minimalist composition In C, with playing from Malian and Western musicians. It was released through Transgressive Records on 24 November 2014.

Africa Express Presents... Terry Riley's In C Mali
Studio album by Africa Express
Released	24 November 2014
Recorded	2013 (Bamako, Mali)
Genre	Minimalism
Label	Transgressive

Background and music

In C is a classical piece in the style of minimalism, composed by Terry Riley in 1964.^[1] It was inspired by modal jazz and the repetition found in African music.^[2] The piece begins with a droning pulse played on the note C.^[3] Then, an unspecified amount of performers select from one of 53 melodic segments, which they repeat for as long as they choose.^[3] This causes the phrases to interfere aleatorically, creating complex harmony and rhythms.^[1]

There have been many recordings of In C since the first in 1968, but In C Mali is the first African one.^[4] In C Mali was first initiated by the German conductor André de Ridder.^[5] It was recorded in Bamako, Mali, in 2013.^[5] The album was released in 2014, the fiftieth anniversary of In C's composition.^[6] It was released physically via Transgressive Records in 2015.^[7] Africa Express' rendition runs for 41 minutes.^[3] It keeps the same key elements of the original, but adds extra details, for example, flutes, strings, and a spoken word soliloquy (during which, the pulse stops).^[8] 17 musicians play on the album, consisting of both Malian and Western musicians (including Damon Albarn, Nick Zinner, and Brian Eno).^[9] The pulse is played on the balafon.^[10] Ridder served as the conductor.^[3]

Reception

Paul Mardles of The Guardian gave the album four out of five stars, and praised the "new details" that give the recording its charm.^[11] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork rated the album 8.1 out of 10 points, praising its distinction from other In C recordings, and the ensemble's "dynamic interplay".^[3] The album received three-and-a-half out of five stars from Andy Beta of Rolling Stone.^[2] Mark Kidel of The Arts Desk gave the recording a perfect score, and wrote it may be the most "exciting version" of In C.^[10]

Personnel

Adapted from Tangari 2015.

• Adama Koita – kamel n’goni
• Alou Coulibaly – percussion
• Andi Toma – percussion
• André de Ridder – multi-instrumentalist, conductor
• Badou Mbaye – percussion
• Bijou – vocals
• Brian Eno – vocals
• Cheick Diallo – flute
• Damon Albarn – melodica
• Defily Sako – kora
• Guindo Sala – imzad
• Jeff Wootton – guitar
• Kalifa Koné – balafon
• Modibo Diawara – kora
• Mémé Koné – balafon
• Nick Zinner – guitar
• Olugbenga – vocals