News Archives

• 20-07-2024: Mali's master of the kora Toumani Diabaté died on 19 July after a short illness, no details were given by his family. Toumani inherited the family tradition of playing the 21 string instrument from his father Sidiki Diabaté. He started playing at the age of 5 years old, and in 1987, he recorded a first solo album « Kaira », taken during one afternoon. It is still seen as a classic. Toumani respected the traditions in music, but he was very open to working with artists of all horizons. He recorded with Taj Mahal, Roswell Rudd, the London Symphony Orchestra and many others. His recordings with Ali Farka Touré resulted in 2 Grammy Awards in 2006 and 2011. In 2014, he recorded an album with his son Sidiki Diabaté, who is a popular singer of his own. Mali lost an ambassador of the kora and Africa lost an ambassador of African music in general.

• 05-06-2024: Senegalese guitarist and singer Mansour Seck, a longlasted musical companion of Baaba Maal has died on 29 May in the Dakar-Fann hospital
Mansour Seck was part of the early days of Maal's band Daande Lenol, but already since their adolescent years, a companion and close friend of Baaba Maal. With subtle guitar, a second voice next to Baaba Maal, and recurrent "Wallaahi" yells, the band, Senegal, Africa and the world looses a exceptionally kind and humble man. Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck's album « Djam Leelii » is included in the publication "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Various Breaking News
+++ 27 December 2021: Congolese singer and band leader Defao died in Douala hospital Laquintinie after a Covid-19 infection +++ 25 June 2021: Cameroonian singer Wes died +++ 21 June 2021: Guinean djembé master Mamady Keita died of heart failure in Brussels, Belgium +++ 14 June 2021: Malian singer Tata Bambo Kouyaté died after period of illness+++

• 14-03-2021: Senegalese singer Thione Seck died in Dakar this morning
One of the biggest stars of modern Senegalese music, Thione Seck died after a short ilness. Thione Ballago Seck started his career in Orchestre Baobab, at the end of the 1980s, his solo career took off and he remained popular until our era, even if he was at age and less active in music over the last decade.

• 22-05-2020: Guinean 'electric griot' Mory Kanté died in Conakry this 22 May 2020
Mory Kanté was chronically ill since some time, and received periodic treatment in France, but due to the COVID-19 Corona crisis, he was not able to travel outside of his home country anymore.
Mory left Guinea for Mali in 1960, and in the early 1970s he joined the Rail Band, as lead singer. Originally balafon player, he also mastered the guitar and the kora. A first solo album was recorded in the USA early 1980s, and in 1987/88, he has a global hit with « Yé Ké Yé Ké », reaching high positions on the charts in many European countries. The song has been remixed countless times over the years. Mixing modern pop music and traditional West African music, he was a pioneer of popular African music. He remained active until very recently.

• 02-05-2020: Nigerian drummer Tony Allen (Afrobeat/Fela Kuti) suddenly died on 30 April 2020
Tony Oladipo Allen (born in Lagos 12 August 1940) started playing drum only when he was 18 years old, and learned it by himself, inspired by African music and American Jazz. When he teamed up with Fela Kuti, he developed the rhythmic basis of Afrobeat, from Highlife and Yoruba polyrhythmics. The 1960s and 1970s were the artistic highlights of Fela's Africa70, a band that would evolve into Egypt80. Tony Allen left the band during the 1980s, and left for London before settling in Paris, where he would live until his death. Although 79 years old, he was fit and still performing, but on 30 April he felt ill and was brought into hospital, and died the same evening of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

• 24-03-2020: Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango loses his battle against Corona virus (COVID-19)
Star saxophone player, band leader, composer Manu Dibango died today, as was announced on his official Twitter account, from complications due to COVID-19. Seemingly, his situation was improving last week, but in the end he lost the battle at the age of 86. Manu Dibango was born in 1933, and moved to France in 1949, where he discovered jazz music. He then spent some years in Brussels and Kinshasa before returning to Paris. He recorded more than 50 albums (including compilation albums), and was most famous for his signature song « Soul Makossa ».

• 28-05-2018: Much respected griot from Mali, Kasse Mady Diabaté died
Malian singer Kasse Mady Diabaté died in the night of 24 May 2018 in Bamako, after a period of illness. He was born in 1949 in Kela, a village 8 km of Kangaba, a small town which is seen as the centre of wisdom of the griots, and where everything seems to breath spirituality and history. As a small child, he had to work in the fields, and was singing during the hard work. Very soon, people noticed the resemblance to the voice of his great grandfather Bintoufana Diabaté, nicknamed himself Kasse Mady. His voice didn't remain unnoticed and he was soon asked to lead the newly created Orchestre de Kangaba, and as of 1973, he was one of the singers in Las Maravillas du Mali, a band set up by musicians who enrolled in conservatory in Cuba. Since 1976, he continued with remaining band members under the new name National Badema.

• 24-04-2016: Congolese singer and fashion icon Papa Wemba dead during concert
Congolese singer, bandleader, afro-pop and rumba icon Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba aka Papa Wemba died this morning at the age of 66 during what turned out to be his last concert on the Festival des musiques urbaines d'Anoumabo (FEMUA) in Côte d'Ivoire. He collapsed during the third song, and He died shortly after. Papa Wemba was among the greatest of all Congolese vocalists and bandleaders, he has been had a leading role in important bands such as Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi Lokole, Yoka Lokole and founded himself Viva la Musica, and also Nouvelle Ecriture / Nouvelle Ecrita, Nouvelle Tendance and Village Molokai.

• 25-10-2015: new clip of Darré by Moh! Kouyaté featuring Mariama
Moh!'s first album « Loundo (Un jour) » was released in early 2015. The album comes with refreshing songs, showing influences of Mandingo music, afro-beat, mixed with funky elements on the song « Yéllé ». There are featurings by Vincent Ségal and Piers Faccini on « Gassata », and by singer Mariama (from Sierra Leone) on « Darré ». Of this song, the video clip has been released.

• 11-10-2015: Senegambian icon Moussa Ngom died
Gambian singer Moussa Ngom died 11 October 2015 in the Aristide Le Dantec Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. He was buried the next day in the religious town of Touba, also in Senegal. This shows that he was at home as well in Senegal as in his home country the Gambia. In music, he was famous as singer of Guelewar de Banjul, spent a few years (until 1988) in Super Diamono, after that he started a solo career. Moussa Ngom was respected for his honesty and simplicity, he was seen as a follower of Panafricanism, and he has always advocated a Senegambian entente.

• 07-07-2015: Untimely death of Bako Dagnon
Sometimes referred to as Mali's best guarded secret, songstress Bako Dagnon died in the early morning of 7 July at the Hospital Point G in Bamako. She has had a 40-years career in music, for 10 years she was part of the Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali along with several stars. Respected among fellow Malians, and also by prominent artists, she received more (international) fame in the 21th Century, after her recordings with Mandekalou, followed by two much acclaimed international solo albums.

• 29-07-2014: Drama on the beach, 33 dead after rap concert on Conakry beach.
A rap concert organised at the end of Ramadan season turned into a drama. After performances by Banlieuz'art and Instinct Killers, a massive crowd tried to find its way out of the Rogbane beach area while others still tried to get in. Among the dead there were many young people, mainly teenagers, some were apparently even as young as 12 years old. Guinean President Alpha Condé declared one week of national mourning and measures were announced to prevent this in future. The organisers, Malick Kébé and Ablaye M'Baye are held in custody. A similar event occurred at another beach in Guinea's capital Conakry, Lambanyi beach on the 1st of January 2014. Several people died when a small bridge collapsed under the weight of a crowd during a New Year's eve party.

• 19-04-2014: Record Store Day 2014
Exclusive limited edition releases at this year's Record Store Day, such as Amadou Balake's « Bar Konon Moussou Bar ». This years, about 250 exclusive releases mainly on vinyl are released at the occasion of the Record Store Day, which started in the US in 2007. In the following years, record stores in many countries started to participate in order to promote sales of records. Other African releases:
Bombino: « Agamgam 2004 »;
Fela Ransome Kuti & His Koola: « Se E Tun De/Waka Waka » (7'');
V/A: « Rough Guide to Mali » (2nd Edition).

Record Store Day

• 13-02-2014: The King of Congolese pop has died
King Kester Emeneya, born 1956 as Jean Emeneya Mubiala Kwamambu, died in a Paris hospital in the early morning of 13 February 2014. Emeneya started his career with Papa Wemba's Viva la Musica, before establishing his own orchestra Victoria Eleison. He had many hits, innovative songs and memorable concerts and tours, in Congo as well as in the US, Japan, Switzerland and France (Zénith, Olympia). Emeneya was having health problems since he was shocked to hear about the death of Tabu Ley 30 November of last year.

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