RELEASED ON 7.2.2025 ON MR BONGO VIA PROPER
CATALOGUE NUMBER MRBCD278
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