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| Straight outta Bamako, Mali's fully-amped Super Djata Band explored a wide range of grooves from the Fula & Mandingo traditions. Check it out below. |
Connecting Wasulu hunter music, griot praises, Senufo pastoral dances, Fula and Mandingo traditions with Western psychedelia, blues and Afrobeat, Super Djata Band forged one of the most distinctive sounds to emerge from post-independence West Africa.
Led by the visionary guitarist Zani Diabaté, the sprawling Bamako-based orchestra channelled centuries of musical heritage through the electricity of the modern age.
Across their remarkable recordings, the band moved effortlessly between hypnotic traditional rhythms, intricate Manding guitar work, relentless funk and psychedelic guitar excursions. Diabaté’s playing was deeply rooted in the phrasing and spirit of traditional West African music, yet fearless in its exploration of distortion, wah-wah and the possibilities of the electric guitar.
Alongside Mali’s great musical institutions, Super Djata Band, A 14-piece powerhouse with a sound as culturally grounded as it was forward-looking, captured a particularly electric moment in Malian musical history. Despite their immense influence and remarkable body of work, much of the band’s recorded legacy remained out of circulation and largely inaccessible for decades.
This series is our ongoing effort to restore and remaster the work of Zani Diabaté and Super Djata Band available to listeners around the world.
Four records into the journey, and the sorcery remains undiminished.
Get the first two volumes of Super Djata Band reissues directly from Numero Group here & here (with 15% off your first order!) or via Bandcamp right here.
