Orchestre Rail-Band De Bamako

“Super Rail Band of the Buffet Hotel de la Gare, Bamako,” or, for simplicity’s sake, “Rail Band,” formed in 1970 and were sponsored by the Ministry of Information and the Railway Administration. They effectively combined Cuban music, by way of Congolese soukous, with traditional Mande Griot praise singing, mixing soaring Mandinka and Bambara vocals with jangly electric guitars and Latin horns, as well as a traditional Mande instruments such as the kora, balafon, tama drums, and ngoni. You might recognize the distinctive, powerful vocals of Salif Keita, who went on to become one of Africa’s biggest musicians.