Nicknamed Balafon Mania, Balla Kouyate is considered to be among the greatest bala (balaphone or balafon) players in the world today. A virtuoso, he plays…
Artist Profiles: Balla Kouyate
Tag: Malian music
Maggie the Pony Helps Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na
Malian blues act Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na ran into problems last week during their American tour when the one string of their…
Artist Profiles: Fatoumata Diawara
Fatoumata Diawara (a.k.a. Fatou) was born of Malian parents in the Ivory Coast in 1982. As a child she became a member of her father’s…
Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na Begin 2016 USA Tour
One of Mali’s greatest guitarists, Mamadou Kelly, will be touring North America in July and August with his band Ban Kai Na. A guitar prodigy…
Artist Profiles: Adama Yalomba
Malian musician Adama Yalomba was born in Bamako in 1970. He plays guitar, ngoni and dan. He became known to western audiences in 2003 thanks…
World Circuit Reissues ‘Moussolou’ by Oumou Sangaré
World Circuit Records has released the classic album ‘Moussolou‘ by Malian world music star Oumou Sangaré. Originally released by World Circuit in 1991 the critically…
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate’s Pleasurable Ride
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Monistic Theory (Cumbancha, 2016) It struck me at the time of their first recording Faya (2014) that you couldn’t…
Blazing a New Path for Mali’s Musical Landscape
Oumar Konate – Maya Maya (Clermont Music, 2016) Following up on his 2014 release of Addoh, Malian guitarist and vocalist Oumar Konate has hit the…
Drawing the African Line
Call me a traditionalist, call me a purist, call me a snob, call me a journalistic hack. (Okay, that last one is kind of beside…
Artist Profiles: Abdoulaye Diabate
Abdoulaye Diabate comes from the Segu region of Mali. He was born in 1952, son of Baba Diabate, traditional chief of the Diabate jelis of…