3MA is the union of three string instrument virtuosos: Malian kora player Ballake Sissoko, Moroccan oudist Driss El Maloumi, and Malagasy valiha harp player Rajery (the valiha harp is Madagascar’s national instrument and consists of a bamboo tube with 20 or so metal strings running its length). It’s a magical combination, one which sees the three instruments intertwining and subtly phasing in and out, taking it in turns to play the leading melody or provide the rhythmic backbone. Anarouz seamlessly moves between West African, Malagasy, and North African atmospheres, but often sits comfortably somewhere in between, in an ethereal symphony of plucked strings.

– Megan Iacobini de Fazio