Mamoutou Bembele - Djeliya (feat. Amkoullel)

Écoutez chez vous les artistes présents lors de la 28e édition...

Djustiça-Ernesto Dabo

Samba Touré: Gandadiko
Release date: January 30th, 2015
Glitterbeat Records
www.glitterbeat.com

His voice is resonant, the rhythms have a relentless groove and his guitar burns with the intensity of the desert sun. But above all, there’s a confidence and gravitas that reinforces the feeling that Samba is a man whose time has come.
**** Review of “Albala”/ Songlines (UK)

Samba Toure’s previous album Albala was recorded during the fear-laden atmosphere of 2012, when northern Mali (including his ancestral village of Diré) had succumbed to sharia law and radical Islamist control and Bamako, his adopted home, still reeled in the chaos of the recent military coup.

Albala received widespread acclaim and was rightfully recognized not only as the best album of Samba’s career but also as an undeniable musical statement about the human toll of war and political crisis. Samba had spent years honing his artistry (including stints playing with Malian blues master Ali Farka Touré and Kora genius Toumani Diabate) and Albala signposted a mature artist, full of sonic imagination and narrative fire.

Gandadiko, the title of Samba’s potent, diverse and ambitious new album, translates from his native language Songhai as: “Land of Drought” or “Burning Land.” The title seems to indicate a return to the dark textures that marked Albala but in fact Gandadiko is a more complex story than that. 

Philippe Sanmiguel, a record producer living in Bamako (Anansy Cissé, Mariam Koné) and Samba’s producer for both albums, provides the details:

“One thing I’m sure of is that we didn’t want to do a second ‘Albala’. For Samba that album was maybe a little too sad and he wanted something closer to who he really is: hopeful. So the challenge was to have something as strong as ‘Albala’, but with more variety in the rhythms and moods and colors. I think the album sounds musically less dark, it’s more danceable and up-tempo, but, sorry Samba, it’s not entirely a joyful album. Tension, troubles and danger are still there in many of the songs. 

The musical moods and textures found on Gandadiko often play against the moralistic, reflective and at times anguished tenor of the lyrics. For example, Touri Idjé Bibi (Black Fruits) breezes along with a straight-ahead, infectious dance groove, punctuated by soaring backing vocals. The hopeful sound that Samba had originally sought seems to have been found. But the final lines of the song are pointed and cautionary:

Oh earth, forgiveness, oh river forgiveness,
Everyday we offend you.

The songs on Gandadiko are framed by a restless eclecticism. 

Samba’s guitar playing has never been so anxious, exploratory and rock and roll and his voice has never been as smooth and relaxed. Samba wants to be many places at once and the accomplishment of Gandadiko is that by successfully navigating these sorts of “contradictions,” Samba’s artistry has reached an even higher level. 

Glitterbeat Records:
Homepage: www.glitterbeat.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Glitterbeat
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/glitterbeattv
Twitter: twitter.com/Glitterbeat_Rec

Samba Touré
Homepage: http://www.samba-toure.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SambaToureMusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samba.toure.official


Samba Touré - Touri Idjé Bibi

Cheikh Lo - Degg Gui

3-track edit taster: Balaké / Kambelé Ba / Fanta

Artist:Amadou Balaké
Title: In Conclusion
Label: Sterns Africa 
Album release: July 20th, 2015

After a career that spanned a half-century in which he became the most famous musician from Burkina Faso and a legend of African popular music, Amadou Balaké died last year at the age of 70. This album contains his final recordings.

Born Amadou Traoré in Burkina Faso when it was still the French West African colony of Upper Volta, he was given the name Balaké by Guinean fans who especially liked the way he sang the Mande classic of that title. By that time (the late 1960s) he had been performing as an itinerant singer, guitarist and percussionist all around West Africa. On returning to his homeland in 1970, Amadou Balaké sang with a succession of groups in the capital, Ouagadougou. Building on widely popular Afro-Cuban and funk styles as well as the Mande repertoire modernized by such bands as Guinea’s Bembeya Jazz and Mali’s Rail Band, he incorporated local warba dance rhythms into his music and sang primarily in the Mossi language of Burkina Faso, establishing a distinct Burkinabé sound.

It was a sound that traveled well as Balaké resumed his roving. He recorded his first album in Accra, Ghana, in 1976; his second in Lagos, Nigeria; the next two in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and then his classic salsa album, Amadou Balaké à New York, in that city with some of its top Latin sidemen in 1979. He was based in Paris for most of the ‘80s but eventually settled in Ouagadougou. In 2000 Ibrahima Sylla, the pre-eminent African record producer, invited Balaké to join the international salsa supergroup Africando — a match made in Spanish Harlem, one might say, considering that Balaké preceded Africando in working with Latin musicians in New York. With Africando Balaké recorded four albums and toured far and wide.

He was still giving weekly shows in Ouagadougou when the French music journalist Florent Mazzoleni met him there in 2013 and produced the recordings that would prove to be the old master’s last testament. Accompanied by young local musicians, he revisited some of his favorite songs, including his namesake, “Balaké”, which he had never previously recorded. Captured mostly in one take with few overdubs, these tracks present a performer seasoned by decades of experience and in full command of his art.

Tracklist: 
1. Kambélé Ba 
2. Bar Konon Mousso (Musicien c'est pas quelqu'un) 
3. Lamizana
4. Naaba 
5. Massa Kamba 
6. Kèlè Bila 
7. Fanta 
8. Wayi Queligi Yéllé 
9. Balaké 
10. Oyé Ka Bara Kignan
11. Yélle

Personnel:
Vocal: Amadou Balaké Guitar: Michel Diansoro 'Haute Tension' Ngoni, percussion: Boubacar Djiga 'Papa' Balafon, percussion: Sanou Dara Bass, bass ngoni: Luc Kyendrebeogo Drums: Jean Sorogo 'Bosco' Trumpet: Georges Théodore Vindou 'Alpha' Saxophone: Yizih Organ: Father Ben Backing vocals: Sanou Dara, Moustapha Maïga, Aïda
Produced by: Florent Mazzoleni

Buy iTunes

Amadou Balaké: In Conclusion (album release July 20th 2015): free download 3-track taster

Withered Worlds I was the first Album I made. It's not perfect by a long shot, I was just getting started with making music when I created it, but I'm still proud of how it turned out in all honesty.

BUY FROM BANDCAMP

the wind

Geometry II

A fourth track from our recording session with Ali Farka Touré in 1988, while he was still establishing himself on the world stage. He was en route to a tour of the Scottish Highlands, and had a day off while passing through Edinburgh. His road manager, a friend of mine, decided it would be a good idea to arrange a session and see if we could record it. So, last minute I called up some musician friends, and roped in the services of Claude Harper, ex-Abbey Road recording engineer who just happened to have a 24-track mobile. This along with the other tracks on here, is the result. Apparently, Ali was very happy with it and carried the tape around with him for many years! However, his record company was less enthusiastic and ordered us to destroy the master tapes.

 Some years later, this song appeared on the Grammy-winning Talking Timbuktu album with Ry Cooder. Here though, the line-up is, apart from Ali and his percussionist Roger Sisset, 100% Scottish. Me on 2nd guitar, Leading BBC composer David McNiven on keyboards, top Scottish jazz bassist Kenny Ellis on bass, World music afficionado Jim Sutherland on percussion, and former London session-player Mike Travis on drums.

Diaraby - Ali Farka Touré with Jim Condie & Friends, Scotland 1988

oumou sangare - iyo djeli - josecarlos edit

Maimouna

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba return with a new single, new album and live dates

Mali's ngoni ace returns. After his celebrated debut album Segu Blue and the Grammy nominated follow up I speak fula, hundreds of concerts all over the globe, an appearance headlining the AfroCubism project and, just a few months ago, stunning appearances at the latest Africa Express events performing with Sir Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn and many others, Bassekou Kouyate is back with his new album.

Jama ko means 'a big gathering of people'.  It is the first song to be released from the forthcoming album of the same title. It is a call for unity, peace and tolerance in a time of crisis: no matter who you are, let us come together and enjoy life, and celebrate the true spirit of Mali.

“Jama ko, c’est pour tout le monde”, says Bassekou Kouyate, the celebrated ngoni player, explaining the title of his third album, “There are over 90% Muslims in Mali, but our form of Islam here has nothing to do with a radical form of Sharia: that is not our culture. We have been singing praise songs for the Prophet for hundreds of years. If the Islamists stop people music making they will rip the heart out of Mali.”

The recording of Jama ko took place in March 2012 in Mali's capital Bamako. It was recorded with an entirely new line-up including Bassekou's two sons Madou and Moustafa Kouyate, ngoni ace Abou Sissoko and a number of other young talented musicians from Bamako. It became political by accident. In the afternoon of the first day in the studio the military overthrew the president Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT).  It was a shock for Bassekou as the former president was a great supporter of his music. Somewhere between power cuts, fuel shortages and the uncertainty of daily curfews the recording went on. Meanwhile the situation in the north of Mali was getting worse and worse by the day. In the studio a musical answer started taking shape: Instead of keeping quiet Bassekou plugged in his wah wah pedal, cranked up his amp and let loose: Ne me fatigue pas: don't wear me out. You can hear the heartbeat of Malian music pulsing in this music.

Kasse Mady Diabate is featured on the Latin-flavoured Sinaly singing about Sinaly Diarra, a Bamana king famous for resisting forced Islamisation in the 19th century. Kele Magni is a duet between Amy Sacko and Khaira Arby from Timbuktu, calling for peace in Mali. Zoumana Tereta praises the cotton farmers of Mali in Mali Koori with a voice that takes you back into the time of the great Bambara warriors. Jama ko also features an incredible duet between Bassekou and Taj Mahal (vocals / electric guitar) and ends with the touching song Moustafa by Bassekou’s son Moustafa dedicated to his parents thanking them for all they have done for him.

Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Hotel 2 Tango) recorded the album in Mali and ended up mixing and co-producing most of it back home in Montreal. Andrew Barr (Barr Brothers) and Max Weissenfeldt (Poets of Rhythm) added drums. Mocky Salole (Feist, Jamie Lidell) contributed to the production and played organ and drums.

Jama ko digital single out now 19 November 2012
Jama ko album out in the UK on 28 January 2013
Live in the UK: 26 January 2013 - Barbican, London + 27 January - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections (Sahara Soul triple bill with Tamikrest and Sidi Touré)


Watch preview video:
http://youtu.be/lfU4rxQL4Dw


Jama Ko
SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/outhererecords/bassekou-kouyate-ngoni-ba-jama
YouTube: http://youtu.be/lfU4rxQL4Dw

Bassekou Kouyate online:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bassekoukouyate
Twitter: @Bassekou http://twitter.com/Bassekou
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bassekoukouyate

Out Here Records online:
http://www.outhere.de
http://www.outhere.de/jamako

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Jama ko (Single - Song for Peace)

Does not so much fill a void as it opens a breach.

Maimouna

NØ FØRMAT!