MANDÉ SILA (MALI, SENEGAL, IVORY COAST)
A JOURNEY INTO THE MUSICAL REALM OF THE WEST AFRICAN MANDINKA
HABIB KOITÉ, LAMINE CISSOKHIO, MAMA KONÉ & ALY KEITA
Guitarist Habib Koité, kora player Lamine Cissokho, percussionist Mama Koné, and balafon virtuoso Aly Keïta all belong to the griot caste — professional musicians and oral historians entrusted since the 13th century with passing down the history of the multi-ethnic Mandinka people from generation to generation.
Though the members of this super group come from different countries, speak different languages, and each play in their own distinctive musical style, their project Mandé Sila pays tribute to their shared Mandinka heritage — a culture that left an indelible mark on the history of West Africa.
And if we consider that during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, the Mandinka made up a large majority of those taken to the Americas, it becomes clear that their legacy also shaped the musical history of humanity itself.
Photo:Michel De Bock
