Le Mali 70

In 2019 a big band from Berlin went to Mali. Their purpose was to breathe new life into 70s music that in its pomp, set the West African scene alight. It was this music that provided the original inspiration for the leMali70 project.

After acclimatising in Bamako the band followed the natural contours of the Niger River North in order to meet and perform with legendary musicians from Segou, Mopti and Timbuktu. The culmination of their journey saw them return to Bamako accompanied by many of the artists they had met. Where, in a makeshift studio, they began to record.

The resulting album pays homage to a special period in Mali’s rich musical history.

With funding provided by TURN-kulturfonds the Omniversal Earkestra spent five weeks on tour in Mali. There they worked with legendary artists including Cheick Tidiane Seck, Sory Bamba, Abdoulaye Diabaté and Salif Keita. By travelling through the country they were also afforded the opportunity to connect with several band members from Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou, Kanaga de Mopti, Super Bitons de Segou and the Railband from Bamako - bands perhaps now forgotten by western audiences but who in Mali are still very much revered.

For four weeks the Omniversal Earkestra rehearsed and performed with these musicians as band members continually arranged and rearranged the material for big band. This organic process was key in producing the both contemporary and unique arrangements of 70s material heard on the album. The final week of the tour was spent recording in Salif Keita’s Moffou-Studio.

An accompanying film team was there to document the tour. The footage they recorded offers a rare insight into the working relationships between artists, from different continents and cultures, as they develop. Shot in the rehearsal room, on the stage and in the studio it captures several key moments which would eventually lead to the production of this truly collaborative album.