Takamba de Gao

It has been a few months since my last post: an internet blackout, the COVID lockdown, and too much rain, have all distracted me.  Thank you to each of you who stayed in touch, I appreciate the encouragement.  

Le Super Onze de Gao

More than the internationally successful Tuareg guitar groups, the iconic music of northern Mali is Takamba.  The flag-bearers of the genre are the Super Onze of Gao.  Their success has inspired dozens of other groups.  Today, Takamba is performed at weddings and naming ceremonies throughout the Songhaï diaspora, from Bamako to Ouagadougou, and from Abidjan to Belgium.  The Takamba rhythm has transcended its regional and ethnic audience and found a place in the Malian musical repertoire, alongside classics like the Mandé melody Diarabi.  Modern artists from Baba Salah to Oumou Sangaré have integrated the rhythm into their repertoires.  

A lovely Takamba performance from Malian television

I don't have any specialized knowledge of the genre and nothing to add to these informative articles.  I do, however, have a lot of Takamba recordings.  I found a first few cassettes in Nouakchott, then a lot more in Bamako, and eventually, found someone in Gao willing to send me another lot.  Frustratingly, most of these cassettes are just labelled Takamba.  They include recordings from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.  To resuscitate this blog, I thought I would share the best of my collection; with the exception of the recordings I know to be of the Super Onze, because you can find their Takamba here.  

The Super Onze de Gao, another great Malian television performance

These are all live recordings.  Particular favorites of mine are Bellabaye Karou, Takamba Cassette 1, Hamu, and Takamba de Gao Volume 4.  (I can't confirm that the name listed on the cassette refers to the performers.)  

















I hope you are all well and staying healthy, in body and spirit, during these strange and trying days.  

Enjoy!! 


Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2020 at 10:14 PM

    Thanks for another post with great music. I visit your blog often and always find great treasures here. I'll have something to listen to for the next week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Monkey D. SoundSeptember 23, 2020 at 11:50 PM

    Thanks for this and all the rest! Any chance you got more from Béral Mbaïkoubou?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Matthew LavoieOctober 14, 2020 at 1:43 PM

      I unfortunately don't have any other Béral Mbaikoubou tracks. Thanks for your interest.

      Delete
  3. PieterSeptember 24, 2020 at 12:34 PM

    Enjoying this dose of Takamba. Love the Soumana Maïga. Are Cassette 1 and Cassette 3 (track 1 & 2) the same?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Matthew LavoieSeptember 24, 2020 at 1:10 PM

      They shouldn't be the same. Let me check. I may have mixed them up when i was uploading them.

      Delete
  4. shoobySeptember 24, 2020 at 5:13 PM

    Welcome back! This is definitely helping to lift me out of my depression.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MadarasiSeptember 24, 2020 at 6:24 PM

    Thanks for these Takamba treasures !

    ReplyDelete
  6. jifhdfsjdfsSeptember 25, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    happy to see you're back and well. thanks for sharing. some incredible sounds here. briefly skimming, cassette #1 has a nice sound. similar to this performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjjpj_vnMAM

    Takamba de Gao. Volume 1. 1986 sounds real nice as well. still a ton to digest.

    thanks!

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  7. LolaRadioSeptember 28, 2020 at 9:25 PM

    Hi Matthew,
    This is no resuscitation but weaponizing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. roberthOctober 9, 2020 at 6:47 AM

    hi matthew glad you are back
    was worrying about a certain virus that shall not be named.
    this is total treasure. as is everything on yr site. while you away i checked back about every other day.
    roberth

    ReplyDelete

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