Djine Bora

On their third album this five-piece band from Bamako in Mali have completely mastered their astonishing fusion of traditional and contemporary Mande music. BKO is the code for Bamako Airport and to avoid confusion with another group of the same name they are often referred to as the BKO Quintet. On their last release (Mali Foli Coura in 2017) they pushed their sound to the limit with amplification and exuberant distortion. They retain the exuberance but slightly reign in the distortion on this new album.

The group’s lead instruments are the traditional djeli ngoni played by Mamoutou Diabaté and donso ngoni played by Adama Coulibaly, coming respectively from the traditions of the griots and Bamana hunters. The two different sized harp-lutes are augmented by percussion. Group founders Ibrahima Sarr plays djembé, and French-born Aymeric Krol plays a hybrid drum kit with a mixture of traditional percussive sounds and Western drums. Fronting the group is vocalist Fassara Sacko, a highly evocative singer with a strikingly fierce and husky tone. By feeding the harp-lutes through amplifiers the group can effortlessly switch from an ethereal acoustic sound into a full-blown and highly danceable electric rock sound. It’s mighty impressive.