After many concerts at home and abroad, the band Tamala (“travellers”) is back to present their second album, Lumba.

On this album, Tamala, just like the bird in the song Picce mi, point to a world where wealth is not fairly distributed, a world where hypocrisy reigns to the detriment of women, children and the vulnerable, where the earth is exhausted.

Musically, Tamala shows its most versatile side here. There’s Mola Sylla’s powerful voice, of course. Not only does he make you gasp until the very last note, but he also surprises you with an astonishing array of self-made instruments. Kora virtuoso Bao Sissoko distinguishes himself not only as a gifted, groove-sensitive soloist, but also as a composer. On violin, the versatile Wouter Vandenabeele adds a contemporary European touch, making Tamala more than the sum of its parts. A fourth musician, Olivier Vander Bauwede, has just joined the project, adding bluesy tones to Tamala’s music with the help of his harmonica.

Violinist living in Ghent, Wouter Vandenabeele likes toexplore various musics. His other current projects are GhentFolk Violin Project, Hijaz & Strings, Exodus, The City Song. Heplayed concerts alongside Senegalese traditional violinistIssa Sow. He directed the prestigious “Hadzidakis” projectfor the Athens 2004 Olympic Games (with, among others,the “Madredeus” singers). He recorded about twenty CD’sand gave several hundred performances with “Ambrozijn”,“Olla Vogala” (his world music orchestra) and other projectsincluding “Bared Ataï” with which he played in Morocco andBelgium; “Zuiderwind” (EMI) in collaboration with SouthAfrican musicians (concerts in Belgium and South Africa).He also worked with Steve Houben, Erik Vermeulen, SavinaYanatou, Philippe Thuriot, “Ex Tempore”.

The excellent jeli musician Bao Sissoko is first and foremost knownfor his refined and virtuoso kora playing. He collaborated withMalick Pathe Sow on the album Aduna (released at Muziekpubliquein 2012), with Baaba Maal, Abu Thiam, Mamy Kanoute, Zap Mama,Vaya Con Dios.

Mola Sylla is a Senegalese singer and multiinstrumentist livingin Amsterdam. His powerful and deep voice has led him tomany collaborations, for example with Omar Sosa or in his jazzproject with Ernst Reijseger and Harmen Fraanje. Mola enjoysexploring all dimensions of music and participated in severalmusical encounter projects with eclectic genres. He is a foundingmember of Senemali and VeDaKi (a quartet of Senegalese,Russian and Indian music).