BAMBA WASSOULOU GROOVE

Malian
Bamaki, Maki

Bamba Wassoulou Groove combines two of Mali’s most celebrated musical styles—the traditional songs of the Wassoulou region and modern, electrified Malian guitar music—into a potent new sound. The group was founded in 2013 by percussionist and bandleader Bamba Dembélé in Bamako, Mali’s capital city. But the sextet’s origins reach further back in Dembélé’s musical journey, who performed with two of Mali’s iconic groups, the Super Djata Band and Super Rail Band. Rooted in the original sounds and visions of these two bands, Bamba Wassoulou Groove continues to bring these joyous and unrelenting rhythms to the dance floor.

Super Djata Band was co-founded in 1969 by Dembélé and guitar prodigy Zani Diabaté. The 12-piece ensemble pioneered the integration of traditional Malian instruments—mainly balafon, a predecessor of the vibraphone and xylophone, and percussion—with guitar-forward rock and funk, punctuated by swirling, psychedelic keyboards. Inspired by contemporary recordings of Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and Guinea’s legendary Bembeya Jazz, Diabaté replaced the sedate sound of the kora (a long-necked, 21-string harp with a calabash gourd resonator) with the raw power of electric guitars. The result was irresistible, and Super Djata Band’s influence on modern Malian music is unmatched by few.

In the 1990s, Dembélé was tapped to play in Super Rail Band, another powerhouse Malian ensemble that had launched the careers of such superstars as Salif Keita and Mory Kanté. Founded in the 1970s, Rail Band was created as the house band for the hotel restaurant next to the Bamako train station. Bandleader and trumpet player Tidiani Koné capitalized on the craze for Afro Cuban music, combining Latin sounds with traditional Malian music, especially the songs of Mande griot praise singers, for a new electric sound.

After Zani Diabaté’s death in 2011, Dembélé was inspired to honor his former bandleader and revisit their music. He brought three of his Rail Band colleagues with him, guitarists Moussa Diabaté and Mamadou Diabaté and drummer Maguet Diop. Singer Ousmane Diaketé, bassist Ibrahim “Papis” Diombana, and balafon-player Mory Kouyaté rounded out the original incarnation of Bamba Wassoulou Groove.

If Super Djata Band and Super Rail Band set the template, Bamba Wassoulou Groove took the music further, distilling the sound to its essence by jettisoning the keyboards and much of the percussion into a tight guitars-and-drums focused sextet. Their 2015 debut album, Farima, featured new versions of Super Djata Band classics alongside new original compositions. Sadly, Dembélé passed away in 2018, and Moussa Diabaté took the reins as bandleader. Today Bamba Wassoulou Groove continues to tour and record, releasing the album Dankélé in 2020, and carrying forward the musical legacy of two Malian giants.

Artist website and social media:

facebook.com/bambawassoulougroove
YouTube Channel

Videos: