Traditional Mali instrumentals meet electronics on Tallawit Timbouctou’s Hali Diallo

Recorded with handmade mics and blown out amplifiers.

Malian group Tallawit Timbouctou are releasing a new album called Hali Diallo, this November via Sahel Sounds.

Tallawit Timbouctou play a style of music Northern Mali’s takamba music. Focusing on the tehardent – a four-stringed lute similar to a banjo – the genre originated in the 15th century, however it was at its most popular in the 1980s when it was often played at weddings or festivals.

Band leader Aghaly Ag Amoumine has spent decades playing his music across West Africa.

Recorded in Timbuktu, Tallawit Timbouctou used handmade mics and blown out amplifiers to create their distinctive rough electronic sound.

The circular percussion is created by hitting an overturned calabash – a type of gourd that is hollowed-out and dried, and often used for percussion in West African music as well as a container for food or water.

Tracks on the album blend into one another and were recorded in one non-stop session.

Hali Diallo will be the band’s first full length LP in 6 years. Earlier this year they released a digital only two-track EP, Takamba WhatsApp 2018.

Pre-order Hali Diallo here ahead of its 2nd November release, and check out the track list below:

Tracklist

2.Hali Diallo

3.Super Continue

4.Adernibah

5.Khoumeissa

6.Ami Cisse

7.Kanji

8.Kalitay

9.Abacabok

10.Chebiba