Mamadou Kelly - DJAMILA

Mamadou Kelly steps onto the international stage as soloist and band leader. His band members are old friends: Alpha “Hama” Sankare, revered genius on calabash and longtime collaborator; Brehima “Youro” Cisse, master of the monochord djourkel; and Baba Traore, gifted, young bassist.

For DJAMILA, Kelly wanted to expand his sound and invited western musicians to contribute to the groove. Recorded near Woodstock NY, record producer, Chris Nolan, brought in some local studio aces to contribute their ideas. Also on hand during the sessions was Leila Gobi, prominent Malian vocalist from Menaka, who provides backup vocal on three of the tracks.

Kelly’s smooth voice and deceptively effortless guitar playing quickly charm listeners.  Steeped in the rich historical background of Malian music, Kelly’s style combined with Ban Kai Na’s expert musicianship make this album a Top of the World selection by Songlines Magazine. While Mamadou makes it sound so easy, at the time of recording, they all had just witnessed political chaos and social violence at home. A strong presence during the sessions, you can hear it, the real source of the blues.

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