“The more things change the more they stay the same” may be a bit of a platitude, perhaps, but it aptly describes the evolution of traditional music in contemporary Africa. While for decades in the West the concept of traditional African music was a pretty static one, shaped by the reductive lense of “World Music,” young people in various parts of the continent were busy safe-guarding traditions by reimagining them, especially in light of new technologies. This is the case of Balani Shows for example, the raucous street parties which started in Bamako in the late 1990s when DJs would play drum pads and synthesizers over tapes of traditional Balafon music. “Balani Show,” now its whole own genre of music, has since evolved thanks to local producers incorporating rap and other African (like kuduro and coupé decalé) and global sounds into the mix, creating an urban sound that reflects the fast-paced, cosmopolitan city, but is still rooted in Malian tradition. 

– Megan Iacobini de Fazio