Paul Mardles 

Africa Express Presents… Terry Riley’s In C Mali review – conceptual masterpiece gets a charming update

Terry Riley’s 50-year-old piece gets an update thanks to a group of Malian musicians, Damon Albarn and Brian Eno, writes Paul Mardles
  
  

africa express
Africa Express's Cheick Diallo and André de Ridder, working together in Bamako, Mali. Photograph: PR

It is 50 years since Terry Riley composed his conceptual masterpiece In C, whose insistent, kaleidoscopic rhythms fed into both classical and rock. This update, the first African version of the piece, unites a group of Malian musicians with Brian Eno and Damon Albarn. Wisely, they don’t ape the original, choosing instead to retain its core components while adding snatches of flutes and strings. It is these new details that give the set its charm, whether it’s the winding solos, the glorious interplay or the ravishing spoken interlude that emphasises music’s universal power.

 

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