Senemali In Amsterdam

Memory Lane..

I found this excerpt from a Senemali concert the other day, it was a gift that I was not expecting ever to see. The band, with lead singer Mola Sylla, was created in Senegal, but was later based in the Netherlands. They made two great albums, and Senemali was at the time referred to as a super band, but unfortunately the dream didn't last. 

Enjoy the video!
  

MOH! KOUYATÉ feat. MARIAMA - "Darré" [official video]

Elie Kamano feat. Les Espoirs de Coronthie: Dounya

Today I want to show you a clip of a great song from Guinea. It is a song by Elie Kamano, a rapper/ hip hop and reggae star from this West African country, featuring a prominent band of a musical genre which has become very popular in the last years, a genre that could be called « musique tradi-moderne ». The song is called Dounya and is about the fact that life is not smiling to everyone. For me, it is a song I can listen to several time after each other, with this intriguing rhythm led by the gongoma thumb piano, and with these great vocals. Just give it a few listens:



direct URL http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=0s0xZhqskrg&feature=related

On the above picture you see Elie Kamano (or Eli) in the center next to two singers from Les Espoirs de Coronthie.

I will tell you more about both Kamano and Les Espoirs soon.

Bako Dagnon

A great « cantatrice » from Mali released a first international CD album after 30 years of career. This gorgeous album « Titati » I can very much recommend.

Along with great female singers such as Mokontafe Sacko, Sarafing Kouyaté, Wandé Kouyaté and Nantenedié Kamissoko, she helped developing and promoting traditional Malian music within the Ensemble Instrumental du Mali for 10 years (from 1974).


When Ibrahima Sylla of Syllart Productions asked her to join in the recording of the second volume of the « Mandekalou » project, the road was finally open to recording an album of her own. « Titati » was mainly recorded in the Bogolan Studio in Bamako, and arranged in Paris by François Bréant (Salif Keita's « Soro », Bambino's « Sinikan »).

The Musiques d'Afrique web site now features a page about Bako here.

Here is a promotional video on Youtube:

Habib Koité, Afriki Tour 2007

After a few years Habib Koité returned to the RASA venue in Utrecht, the Netherlands, where he had performed in 1998, 2001 and 2003.

After Aly Keita's first part (see previous blog entry), Habib came on stage, followed by Bamada musicians and started to play, rather timidly I must say. It was as if they were afraid to make a mistake. In between the songs, though, Habib added short notes about the songs and he was, even though he spoke in English only, rather ''at ease'', so to speak. He was in Holland, and in some way it showed (sic!). Anyway, the show improved and in the two or three songs he brought on stage during the ''encore'', they were unleashed and they played in the way I had seen them at previous occasions. It is a joy to see them, the music can be intimate at times, danceable at other times, there are no bad songs, and Habib is a very nice bloke and funny at times.

I can only recommend to see him at one the planned concerts this autumn. The agenda:

09-26-2007 Antwerpen, Belgium De Roma
09-27-2007 Arlon, Belgium Maison de la Culture
09-28-2007 Brussels, Belgium Flagey
09-29-2007 Utrecht, The Netherlands Rasa
09-30-2007 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg
10-05-2007 Bern Muehle Hunziken
10-06-2007 Dornbirn (A), Spielboden
10-07-2007 Paris, France l'Européen
10-08-2007 Paris, France l'Européen
10-10-2007 Zurich, Moods
10-11-2007 Lucern (CH) Boa-Halle
10-12-2007 Basel (CH), Volkhaus
10-13-2007 Innsbruck, Austria Treibhaus
10-14-2007 Wein, Austria Wuk
10-19-2007 San Giovanni Valdarno (Firenze), Cinema Teatro Bucci
10-20-2007 Milano, Italy, Teatro del Verde
10-31-2007 Gotheborg, Sweden, TBA
11-01-2007 Malmö, Sweden, TBA
11-02-2007 Stockholm, Sweden, Festival Selam
11-05-2007 Groningen, Netherlands, De Oosterpoort
11-09-2007 Deventer, Netherlands, Burgerweeshuis
11-13-2007 Thionville, France, Théatre
11-14-2007 Veldhoven, Netherlands, De Schalm
11-15-2007 Liege, Belgium, Cinéma Le Parc
11-16-2007 Nismes, Belgium, Centre culturel Action Sud

(Please check on http://www.habibkoite.com/index2.php?page=concerts or http://www.cumbancha.com/welcome.php?_pg=albums/afriki for confirmed dates)