Mali Dance music | Bamako, Mali
The Bamba Wassoulou Groove was born in Bamako in 2013 on the initiative of Bamba Dembélé, (who passed in 2018) percussionist and co-founder of the Super Djata Band, mythical group of Zani Diabaté, the most original and funky guitarist of music of Mali after independence. The Bamba Wassoulou Groove is composed of six musicians (three guitars, one bass, a drum and a singer) and is here to create a real wall of sound. Solis with Hendrixian virtuosos, trance voice, evil bass and drum sections, the band is a heavy dance machine who electrifies the Malian music and recreates the excitement of the hot nights in Bamako.
Philippe Conrath (creator of Festival Africolor) explains : “To create the Bamba Wassoulou Groove a connoisseur was needed, a man of confidence who would also ensure human and musical unity. Who better than Bamba Dembélé to build such a band? Bamba, the indispensable, the fixer, the invincible. Former member of Zani Diabatatés legendary Super Djata Band, he had all the contacts in Bamako to set up the Wassoulou Groove. He launched a formidable machine with an unrelenting rhythm, that allowed the three fierce guitars of the group to soar, carrying Ousmane Diakité’s voice into a trance. funk, rock, the Bamba Wassoulou Groove is a new virus that will contaminate the world’s dance floors.”