THE ORIGINAL SOUND OF MALI 2 2-LP

THE ORIGINAL SOUND OF MALI 2 2-LP

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RELEASED ON 7.2.2025 ON MR BONGO VIA PROPER

CATALOGUE NUMBER MRBLP278

    Restoring, reissuing and contextualising iconic tracks from Ousmane Kouyate &

    Ambassadeurs Internationaux, Rail Band, Les Messagers du Mali, Mystere Jazz de

    Tombouctou and many more, the second compilation in this series dives ever further

    into the richness of post-independence music emanating out of Mali. One in which

    traditional foundations and instrumentation, blended with modern musical advances

    and influence.

    Following Mali's independence, after ten years of maturation, the 1970s saw modern

    Malian culture revealed to the world through musical anthologies and overviews of

    national and regional productions. It was a remarkably fertile period of the country's

    musical history, with state- sponsored bands and orchestras now able to be

    documented and recorded by sound engineers. Mali has always had a diverse

    storytelling tradition through music, with each province and ethnic group having its

    own unique character and nuances. As influences and sounds from the West drifted

    over the Atlantic, Malian musicians began hearing artists like John Lee Hooker, Wilson

    Pickett, Johnny Pacheco and Celia Cruz. Elements and ideas from blues, soul, rock

    and funk led to bands covering artists they'd heard from these genres. The Tjiwara

    Band de Kati's raw cover version of Pickett's soul / R&B classic 'In The Midnight Hour'

    and the James Brown funk-channelling cut 'Get Up James' from Les Ambassadeurs

    du Motel de Bamako, are two such examples featured on this compilation.

    Most bands also relied on playing in hotels in Mali's capital, Bamako, which naturally

    became where they honed their sound. With guests wanting to hear the influence of

    foreign styles and modern instrumentation becoming more available, this fusion of

    Western ideas with traditional Malian rhythms and organic instruments led to a one

    of-a-kind musical excellence.


    Tracks:

    1. Ousmane Kouyate & Ambassadeurs Internationaux - Kefimba

    2. Bouba et Sokona Sacko - Mamaniya

    3. Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako - Get Up James

    4. Allata Broulaye - Moussokeleyato

    5. Tentemba Jazz du Mali - Yayoroba

    6. Tjiwara Band de Kati -- Kogola

    7. Rail Band - Massare Mousso

    8. Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako - Matou Kagni

    9. Mystere Jazz de Tombouctou - Sidi Yahia

    10. Allata Broulaye - Yayoroba

    11. Les Messagers du Mali - Diamana Diarra

    12. Tjiwara Band de Kati - Midnight Hour