Mah Damba’s Taabolo Koura has reached No. 1 on the World Music Charts Europe for July 2026. The Malian singer, born in 1965 into a leading Bamako griot family. Her father, Djeli Baba Sissoko, was chief of the jalis of the Bamako region, while her aunt, Fanta Damba, remains one of Mali’s best-known jalimusso.
Damba has lived in France since 1983, when she settled there with her late husband, ngoni player Mamaye Kouyaté. Over four decades, she has recorded seven albums and worked with Mory Kanté, Kasse Mady Diabaté, Damon Albarn, and Matthieu Chedid. Her 2019 album Hakili Kélé reached No. 9 on the Transglobal World Music Chart.
Taabolo Koura continues her collaboration with guitarist and arranger Thierry Fournel, who also produced the album. The record features guitar, jali ngoni, accordion, calabash, guembri, balafon, congas, and violin, with Jean Lamoot handling the mix.
The songs are deeply grounded in Manding and Bambara epics, proverbs, and social themes. “Simbo” and “Bakary Djan” refer to heroic traditions linked to Sundiata Keita and Ségou. “Anga Bara” addresses young people in the Sahel, while “Lemounou” and “Soninko” are sung in Soninké.
The album also includes several family members. Badje Tounkara plays jali ngoni, Guimba Kouyaté contributes guitar, and Damba’s daughters and granddaughters appear on backing vocals. Guests include violinist Clément Janinet, balafonist Bakary Diarra, and percussionist Sebastian Quezada.
July 2026 Chart
- Mah Damba (Mali) – Taabolo Koura – One World Records
- Tamikrest (Mali) – Assikel – Glitterbeat
- Gaoussou Sobra Kouyaté (Mali) – Sobra Dance – One World Records
- Slavyk (Serbia/Poland) – 11 Songs Of Love & Suffering – CPL-Music
- Paolo Angeli & Tenore de Murales Orgosolo (Italy) – Vinti E Maju – AnMa
- Fatoumata Diawara (Mali) – Massa – No Format
- Yiddish Glory (Canada) – The Silenced Songs – Six Degrees
- Antti Paalanen (Finland) – Haitarimarinadi – Rockadillo
- The Klezmatics (USA) – We Were Made For These Times – Asphalt Tango Records
- Sonetos del Amor Oscuro (Belgium) – Volume II: Secretos De Melancolia – Zephyrus
- Kareyce Fotso (Cameroon) – Gwa – Contre-jour
- Divka (Canada) – Folk Fatale – Self Released
- Spok (Brazil) – Raízes – YB Music
- BCUC (South Africa) – The Road Is Never Easy – Outhere Records
- Souad Massi (Algeria) – Zagate – Backing Track
- Naked & Mónika Lakatos (Serbia/Hungary) – Neked – Adriatica Records
- Vilma Jää (Finland) – Loitsui Ja Taikoi – Jäähile Records
- Cocanha (France) – Flame Folclore – Bongo Joe
- Dorea (Brazil) – O Que Mais Voce Quer Saber De Mim? – Ajabu!
- Katalena (Slovenia) – Meja – ZARŠ
More about the World Music Charts Europe: wmce.de
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central