Sofrito goes Malian Afro-disco... with Caribou?

Dan Snaith, aka Caribou has been exploring bold new sounds and fashion accessory options under his Daphni alias.

The latest in Sofrito's superb Super Series 12" EPs is Kognokoura – a bangin' bit of afro disco from the legendary Malian griot Niama Makalou with a non-throwaway remix on the flip by Dundas mixmaster Dan Snaith using his "Daphni" handle presumably to keep Caribou and Manitoba fans guessing.

Descended from a family of traditional Malian praise singers, Makalou – not Dan – moved to France in the 70s where she cut this, her first and last vinyl release. At the time Paris was swept up in disco fever, so along with a pick-up group of fellow West African ex-pat musicians dubbed the African Soul Band du Mali, Niama cut a dancefloor destroyer with a distinct Mandé roots flava.

The resulting mixture of off-kilter handclaps, raw string arrangements, balafon battering combine with a heavy disco groove and Makalou's shouted Bamanankan exhortations to produce a one-off piece of cross-cultural magic. Have a listen below.

Originally released in 1980 as a 12" maxi 45 tours on the Ledoux Records label, copies like the one depicted on the right currently change hands for 200 Euros and up. So even though the generic sleeved Sofrito reissue regrettably doesn't reproduce the snazzy art and leaves off the B-side track Drissa Coulibaly, you're saving at least $250 and you get a Dan Snaith remix thrown in gratis!

For his part, our kid Caribou – who has apparently been listening to the late 70s recordings of Nigerian lo-fi funkateer William Onyeabor on the sly, really! – strips the vocals off the original with a dubwise imperitive which may appeal to the less adventurous club crowd who care not for the riotous Afro-disco bang-sha-lang of decades past.  As for myself, I'll be rocking the A-side but it's still good to see Snaith expanding his horizons.

Sofrito Super Singles 005 - Niama Makalou et African Soul Band / Daphni Edit