Afel Bocoum – Alkibar
https://amf.didiermary.fr/afel-bocoum-alkibar/
From the 1999 album “Alkibar” by Malian artist Afel Bocoum. He was a member of Ali Farka Toure‘s band for 30 years. Alkibar is also the name of his own band.
Balimaya Project – For Aziz Feat. Afronaut Zu
https://amf.didiermary.fr/balimaya-project-aziz-afronaut-zu/
The first track from album “When The Dust Settles”, “For Aziz” features Afronaut Zu with Balimaya Project.
See also “Seasons of Baraka” the promo single released a few weeks before.
If Balimaya Project’s debut album emphasised tradition & culture in a collective sense, their second album “When The Dust Settles” addresses the emotional and […]
Tinariwen – Lulla
https://amf.didiermary.fr/tinariwen-lulla/
Lulla is a song about the conflicts in Mali, on Tinariwen‘s album “Imidiwan: Companions” released in June 2009. It’s the fourth studio album by the Tuareg band.
Djelimady Tounkara – Fanta Bourama
https://amf.didiermary.fr/djelimady-tounkara-fanta-bourama/
One of Africa’s most admired guitarists, the virtuosic Tounkara was the longtime lead player in the Rail Band (a.k.a. Super Rail Band), a popular Malian group that was born out of Africa’s midcentury craze for Latin music. On “Fanta Bourama,” a sparkling acoustic track, Tounkara plays a romantic, flamenco-style lead, showing off his chops for […]
Mo DJ – Amadou & Mariam remixed (2008)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/mo-dj-amadou-mariam-welcome-mali-remixed/
“Amadou & Mariam remixed” is an “old gift” in 2008 by my friend Mo DJ (Morike Keita).
He sent me this 1+ hour mix of old tracks, for the release of Amadou & Mariam‘s Welcome to Mali. […]
Rail Band – Kibaru (feat. Salif Keita)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/rail-band-kibaru-salif-keita/
From album “Dioba (Belle époque, Vol. 3)” with tracks by Rail Band recorded between 1970-1983.
The first incarnation of the Rail Band was founded in 1970, sponsored by the Ministry of Information and the railway administration. The Malian government had, since the ’60s, been sponsoring cultural events and groups to promote national traditions.
Tinariwen – Tenere Den
https://amf.didiermary.fr/tinariwen-tenere-den/
From the “Amatssou” album (May 2023) by Tinariwen, this new single “Tenere Den” connects Desert Blues and Country Music. A press release explains that the song “pays homage to the Tuareg revolution in the Kel Adagh region of Mali.” Some people have commented that Tinariwen have always been a country band, albeit a North African […]
Adama Yalomba – Live
https://amf.didiermary.fr/adama-yalomba-live-2007/
Adama Yalomba is a singer, composer, and instrumentalist (guitar, n’goni, dan).
He learnt to play the dan (or n’dan) from his father. Adama Yalomba was hailed as the next great Malian superstar after his impressive contribution to the 2003 Festival in the Desert album and his third solo album is fully geared to making those […]
Les Amazones d’Afrique – Queens Feat. Rokia Koné
https://amf.didiermary.fr/amazones-afrique-queens-rokia-kone/
Queens Feat. Rokia Koné is a song from Amazones Power, the second studio album by West-African female musical collective Les Amazones d’Afrique, on which familiar voices like Mamani Keïta and Rokia Koné appear alongside a younger generation of singers who represent the exciting new sound of modern Africa.
Oumou Sangare – Kamelemba
https://amf.didiermary.fr/oumou-sangare-kamelemba/
Kamelemba is the second single, and probably the most interesting track, from Sangare’s 5th album, Mogoya, in 2017. (See also the remixed versions)
Music from Saharan Cellphones
https://amf.didiermary.fr/music-saharan-cellphones/
Music from Saharan cellphones is a compilation, released in 2011, of music collected from memory cards and cellular phones in the Saharan desert. In much of West Africa, cellphones are used as all purpose multimedia devices. In lieu of personal computers and high speed internet, the knockoff cellphones house portable music collections, [...]
#Compilation #DesertBlues #Mali #Morocco #Niger #Rock #Tuareg #Global
Lobi Traore – Bwati Kono
https://amf.didiermary.fr/lobi-traore-bwati-kono/
Lobi Traore was first known from one of the many dimly lit grimy night clubs of Bamako, with his overdriven amp and ungrounded fuzzbox pedal.
Bwati Kono was recorded live in two separate sessions and released in 2011.
Xhalix – Mali Te Affoo
https://amf.didiermary.fr/xhalix-mali-te-affoo/
Xhalix is a Malian artist, born in Bamako in 1988. With her band Affoo, meaning “unity” in Songhai, she released her first album “Mali Te Affoo” (Mali is one) in 2013.
Bazoumana, the Djeli and his N’goni
https://amf.didiermary.fr/bazoumana-djeli-ngoni/
Bazoumana, or Banzumana, Sissoko (1890-1987) – aka the « old lion » – was a n’goni player, a Malian national treasure as well as a djeli (jeli) or griot.
"The quintessential n’goni player was the late Banzumana Sissoko, perhaps the most revered and beloved Malian griot of the century. Until his death in 1987, he […]
Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux – Mandjou (TV)
https://amf.didiermary.fr/les-ambassadeurs-internationaux-mandjou-tv/
Avec Salif Keita au chant et le guitariste Manfila Kanté, le titre “Mandjou”, extrait de l’album éponyme sorti en Côte d’Ivoire en 1978, est un hommage au Président guinéen Ahmed Sekou Touré. C’est ce titre qui va révéler Salif Keita et propulser le chanteur au rang d’idole.
Le contenu de cette chanson est à rapprocher […]
Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako – Mali Denou
https://amf.didiermary.fr/ambassadeurs-motel-bamako-mali-denou/
The original version of Mali Denou, by Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako.
In 1969, an ambitious army lieutenant, a key member of the new junta which had seized power only the previous year, decided that a band was needed to entertain customers at the Motel De Bamako, […]
Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou
https://amf.didiermary.fr/mystere-jazz-tombouctou/
The Orchestre Regional de Tombouctou, also known as “Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou”, did not release a recording until 1977.
During the era of Mali’s first President, Modibo Keita (1960-1968), the government created regional orchestras and arts troupes in each of the nation’s seven regions. These groups were state-sponsored and from 1962 they competed in […]
Ausecuma Beats
https://amf.didiermary.fr/meet-ausecuma-beats/
Ausecuma Beats are more than just a band, they are a philosophy. Led by master djembe player, Boubacar Gaye, the nine-strong ensemble, demonstrate artists coming together based on an idea – the idea of place, of transplanting cultural heritage into a contemporary city.
Ausecuma Beats is people from all corners of the world finding themselves […]
Praktika – Fôli Folle Feat. Ko Saba
https://amf.didiermary.fr/praktika-foli-folle-ko-saba/
Ko Saba est une formation malienne de 6 musiciens de différentes couches sociales, fédérée par Barou Diassana, qui propose de la musique tradi-moderne métissée.
“Fôli” veut dire “musique” en Bambara. Aïda, jeune femme malienne amoureuse de danse contemporaine se retrouve embarquée dans une course effrénée dans les rues de Bamako. [...]
