AFEL BOCOUM
NEW SINGLE ‘PENDA DJIGA’ OUT NOW
NEW ALBUM ‘LINDÉ’ VIA WORLD CIRCUIT ON 4TH SEPTEMBER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DAMON ALBARN AND NICK GOLD
In celebration of Malian songwriter and guitarist Afel Bocoum’s forthcoming studio album Lindé – due on 4th September via World Circuit Records and executive produced by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and Nick Gold (Buena Vista Social Club, Ali Farka Touré) – Bocoum is premiering his new single ‘Penda Djiga’.
The video for the track is a collage-style animation which features Bocoum travelling around surreal Malian landscapes, pursued by a dark presence.
“I promised this song to my friend’s daughter, Penda,” explains Afel. “In the song, I explain that I was in Koulikoro, out in one of the regions of Mali, and I was determined to go to Penda’s engagement party. But on the way there, I was stopped by some police and had an altercation with them, to the extent that they started to attack me, physically. Despite everything, I was able to continue as far as Kabala, and see her at the airport just before she left for Michigan in the USA.”
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘PENDA DJIGA’ HERE
STREAM 'PENDA DJIGA' HERE
‘Penda Djiga’ is the third track to be taken from Lindé, joining previous singles, ‘Avion’ (a playful and optimistic tribute to air travel, and ‘Dakamana’, a plea to Bocoum’s fellow Malians to come together at a time of turmoil and violence.
Named after the wild expanse near Bocoum’s hometown of Niafunké, ‘Lindé’ is a remarkable blend of deep tradition and audacious innovation. The album was recorded in Mali’s capital Bamako, and stitches together the age-old music of the Niger bend with styles from across the globe, boasting performances from a number of eminent Malian musicians including Madou Kouyaté, the late ‘Hama’ Sankaré and Madou Sidiki Diabaté, along with the drums of recently-departed Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, the trombone of Vin Gordon (Bob Marley / Skatalites) and the violin of Joan as Police Woman.
Traditional instruments like the ngoni, njurkele, kora and calabash blend with guitars, percussion and call-and-response vocals. The result is a gently undulating flow that emanates from a source hidden deep in the historical and mystical traditions of Bocoum’s native land, enriched along its way by musical tributaries and cross-currents. It’s music that rolls rather than rocks, graceful, unforced and minimal by design.
‘Lindé’ is also an album with a message – in the face of an uncertain and turbulent world, and a homeland struggling with jihad, poverty and violence, Afel Bocoum urges hope, solidarity and unity. “We have to meet each other, talk to each other, look each other in the eye and tell the truth,” Afel says. “If we’re not united, I can see no solution. Our social security is music. That’s all we’ve got left. People love music, so we have to make use of that fact.”
Afel Bocoum is among the last of a breakthrough generation of African musicians who cross-pollinated their own traditional music with the new sounds that arrived from all over the world throughout the 20th century. Hailing from Niafunké in Mali, an area that straddles the cultural riches and political tensions between the northern and southern areas of the country, Bocoum spent decades touring and recording with desert blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré. His debut album ‘Alkibar’ (1999, World Circuit) propelled him to international recognition, leading him to work with Damon Albarn & Toumani Diabaté on 2002’s Mali Music, as well as contributing regularly to the famed Africa Express projects, and collaborating with Béla Fleck, Habib Koité, and Tartit Ensemble among others. “You have to collaborate, otherwise you’ll get nowhere in today’s world,” Afel says. “All those collaborations were positive.”
Preorder or pre-save album now: https://worldcircuit.lnk.
‘Lindé’ Tracklisting:
1. Penda Djiga
2. Bombolo Liilo
3. Dakamana
4. Fari Intro
5. Fari Njungu
6. Jaman Bisa
7. Avion
8. Sambu Kamba
9. Yer Gando
10. Kakilena
11. Djougal
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