Anthology

"Following in the footsteps of their reissues of Orchestre Kanaga De Mopti and Mystère Jazz De Tombouctou, Netherlands label Kindred Spirits come up with this absolute smash by another of Mali's regional bands from the West African golden era of the 1970s. These were the days of the early Rail Band, the fabulous National Badema, those famed Biennials - which Super Biton won five times in a row from '70 to '78 ... You get a variety of songs in different local languages - some rolling and joyful, some deep and bluesy - fronted by four different singers, propelled by a gloriously tight-but-loose rhythm section, great horn parts, subtly cheesy keyboard, and Mama Sissoko's exceptionally fluid, psych-echoed electric guitar. The closing fourteen-minute Nyangaran Foli is a romping epic about an army of hunters heading for war, leaving you breathless".