Nearing its one-year anniversary, Maison des Jeunes — the multi-toned album that stemmed from Damon Abarn's Africa Expressproject and joined Western musical luminaries like Brian Eno, Nick Zinner, and Ghostpoet with burgeoning Malian talents such as Songhoy Blues, Adama Koita, Bijou, and Gambari — has let go of three exclusive bonus tracks from the record. "Malioria," "Loop" (Mali Guitare)," and "N taara," each different in mood & style, add to the varied sonic richness of the album. "N taara," produced by London-based Two Inch Punch, has a playful nature with a through-line of light drums that sounds like children at play. Despite a few downcast electronic effects, those drums and a chorus of soft voices make it the kind of song that's infectiously joyful upon first listen and deeply felt upon subsequent ones. The Lil Silva-produced "Maliora" is dark at its core with an atmospheric trip-hop beat thudding throughout. And "Loop (Mali Guitare)," produced by Gorillaz lead guitarist Jeff Wootton, features some intensely fast guitar-work. Similar to "Tennessee Hotel" from Albarn's 2002 album Mali Music, "Loop (Mali Guitare)" is the type of guitar-driven song that transcends its acoustic body. Taken together, these three bonus tracks from Maison des Jeunes are a capsule of the album as a whole, displaying the larger work's achievement of refreshing originality and moving intensity. Listen on below via Transgressive Records.
