TRIO DA KALI BAGOLA 

Debut full-length solo album by the award-winning Malian trio, TRIO DA KALI

In their new album Bagola, Trio Da Kali present newly-composed songs accompanied
on balafon and ngoni bass, that provide a rich accompaniment to the spectacular voice of Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté. She inherits her singing style from her father, the late Kasse Mady Diabaté, who was widely recognised as one of Africa’s all-time greatest singers, and won a Grammy nomination in 2004. Hawa’s voice has an exquisite purity and expressiveness, with a wide emotional range. She is equally at home in the lively, 9/8 rhythms of the title track Bagola, a light-hearted critique of men in Malian society, to the soulful Orpaillage, a song that laments the destruction of land from gold-panning. Orpaillage was in fact composed on the spot in the studio, reflecting the creative chemistry between these three musicians.

The musical director of the trio is balafon (xylophone) player Lassana Diabaté, born
in Guinea into a well-known family of balafon musicians. His remarkable dexterity on the balafon earned him a place in Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra, and later on in the group Afrocubism (featuring Eliades Ochoa). He has collaborated with many musicians, including bluesman Taj Mahal on the album Kulanjan. With two balafons of 22 rosewood keys each, tuned to play chromatic scales, Lassana Diabaté achieves a perfect balance of rhythm, melody, harmony and virtuosic embellishment. David Harrington, leader of Kronos Quartet, compares him to none other than JS Bach. Underpinning the balafon with compulsive groove, is the large ngoni bass, played with brilliant musicality by Madou Kouyaté (son of Bassekou Kouyaté and member of his group Ngoniba). Madou, the youngest member of Trio Da Kali, also adds rich harmonies with his deep breathy voice to the songs.

Trio Da Kali were founded in 2013 under the initiative of the Aga Khan Music Programme, with the help of three-times Grammy-nominated music producer Lucy Durán. The Trio first rose to international fame with their sublime album Ladilikan (World Circuit Records 2017), featuring an unprecedented and multi-award-winning collaboration with Kronos Quartet, the legendary classical string quartet from San Francisco. Bagola is a showcase of Trio Da Kali’s entrancing and unique sound, only equalled by their magical performances on stage.

Recorded by Timothée Gumy at MidiLive Studios Paris in 13,14 and 15 January 2023.
Mixed & Mastered by Javier Monteverde at Cezanne Producciones Madrid.
*Except for Deme (bonus track, 11) Recorded in Tikan Jah Fakoly’s studio, Bamako, 2015.

Composers Trio Da Kali*; Lassana Diabaté**; Madou Kouyaté; ***; Hawa Kassemady Diabaté**** ; Lucy Durán***** Texts Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté. Arranged by Lucy Durán.

LINE UP Hawa Kassemady Diabaté Voc, Lassana Diabaté Balafon Madou Kouyate Ngoni bass & BackVoc

LINE UP *DEME Hawa Kassemady Diabaté Vocals, Lassana Diabaté Balafon Madou Kouyate Ngoni Bass Harouna Samake Kamale N’Goni Lucy Durán Backing Vocals & Clap, Javier Monteverde Clap

TITLES 01 BAGOLA (***) 03:34, 02 DADUNKAN (****) 04:06, 03 CELA SIGUI (*) 03:50, 04 TULUNKE (*****) 03:18, 05 ORPAILLAGE (*) 04:49, 06 DISSA (****) 03:10, 07 WARA (*) 04:12, 08 NANA TRIBAN (**) 03:57, 09 FAKOLY 04:33, 10 LATEGE (**) 04:06, 11 DEME (*) 05:05 Total Playtime 42:08

Produced by Lucy Durán. Post Co- Production Carolina Vallejo. Executive Production Saúl Presa.
©℗One World Records 2025