The material here was culled from K7 and vinyl recordings released in 1999, 1981 and 1984. As a result of these songs having been recorded under different conditions and maybe, even in different studios, there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the sound, giving the collection an uneven feeling. Nevertheless, just one listen assures that both the singer and the ceedee are worthy of the title, for among n'garaw the consensus is that Kandia is the embodiment of n'garaya, her knowledge and improvisational verbal skill being equal to the best.
The collection opens appropriately with "Kandia Dièli Nana". Acoustic guitar, bala, kora and ngoni develop a steady circular melody upon which constructs a tower of words, sung with great passion and authority. On "Sora", the stacatto motifs of Koïta Moriba's ngoni make for a dignified and austere melody.
Cissoko Ballake improvises around this structure with bright notes on the kora. Kandia's voice soars to the steeples and dramatically holds notes in praise of Malian millionaire; Cissoko Babani dit Sora. This is peerless dièliya! But wait! There's more! "Bouka" [a version of "Taara" unfamiliar to me] follows, and this louange to the Toucouleur warrior; El Hadj Omar Tall, finds Kandia at the height of her art, soaring over a pentatonic melody created by Moriba the brilliant.
On "Douwawou", it appears to my ears that Kandia is tackling a song in the Bamana style. The voice is not as intense, but dark, matching the minor note melody of the music. An uncredited, reedy saxophone?, clarinet?, opens "Sarama" and pops in and out between the vocal pauses. It's not that incongruous. "Yo lélé" closes the collection.
The recording itself sounds bizarre; the kora seems more in the forefront of the mix than Kandia's voice. It does not sound as bright and clean as the rest of the tracks, and this distracts. A bad way to close a great collection of songs that is an object lesson on dièliya and n'garaya.
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