For 3MA, Moroccan oud player Driss El Maloumi, Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko, and Malagasy valiha master Rajery master joined forces. The focus and strength of this album lies in the at times magical interplay of the musicians' three instruments, the one-time solo, the other in dialogue with one another. Up-tempo title track '3MA' is perhaps the best example immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. Only in the nearly nine-minute long 'Awal' and hidden track 'Boum Tchak' Boum, a live recording reminding us somewhat of the early work of Zap Mama, the trio makes an exception, as in those songs the voices of the three protagonists can also be heard. The number of spoken African languages and dialects is estimated somewhere between 1250 and 2100, but with '3MA' Driss, Ballaké and Rajery prove music is the only universal form of communication spanning the whole continent.