Albums overview

Tamala (2017)

Tamala

Mola Sylla sings with a power that stems from the heart. The timbre of his gravelly voice makes him one of the most creative Senegalese singers, as witness his long collaboration with the Dutch celliste Ernst Reijsiger, with whom he composed the soundtrack of Werner Herzog’s film The Blue Yonder. Mola Sylla also plays the xalam (West African lute), kongoma and kalimba (thumbed pianos), as well as percussion. Bao Sissoko is acknowledged throughout Europe as a talented kora-player. A true master of this West African harp, he has not only played alongside the famous Baaba Maal but is also known for his collaboration with Malick Pathé Sow. The Belgian folk violinist Wouter Vandenabeele can still surprise us with his collaborations, each one more daring than the last. After collaborating with the Syrian oud-player Elias Bachoura and taking part in the world-folk big band Olla Vogala, Wouter is now putting his energy into this trio.

The three musicians had already worked together a few years ago on the albums “The music of Issa Sow” and Mami Kanouté’s “Mousso Lou”, but it’s as a trio that the magic of their music becomes truly apparent. Sincerity and serenity flow from each note, like an invitation to let oneself be carried away at the whim of the melodies. The complicity between the violin, the kora and the singing is intoxicating, the dialogue is sustained, and sheer pleasure in playing shines out at every instant. A pleasure that one can’t help sharing.

Tracks

  1. Salubrité
  2. Kure Ndey
  3. Fode
  4. Ceppe
  5. Zanzibar (Tribute to Bi Kidude)
  6. Geej Dju Malika
  7. Nder
  8. Mansour
  9. Kongoman
  10. Xafamaia
  11. Ayo nene
  12. Poulo

Get the album

From Muziekpublique

  • By postal delivery: order on our website
  • At our office from Tuesday to Friday between 10.30-13.00 and 15-18.00, or during the concerts.

Record shops

  • In good record shops in Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, Ireland, France and Japan

Online

  • Bandcamp
  • Google Play, Spotify, Deezer and more by following this link

Buy the Album

€ 15,00

Videos

Press Tamala

“All these varied influences blend together into a richly textured, well-balanced and impressively unified soud.”
Songlines (UK)
01/06/2025
Tom Spargo
“Tamala unites traditions, brings past and present closer together and that is musical enjoyment.”  
New Folk Sounds (NL)
16/05/2025
Marius Roeting
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“This is a mature release which pushes boundaries while celebrating origins.”
RNR Magazine (UK)
16/05/2025
Simon Cross
“His musical stories are pervaded by melancholy.”
InMusic (DE)
04/04/2025
Ute Bahn
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“The musicians play with a pronounced courage to leave gaps, which favours the filigree sound of the…
Jazzthetik (DE)
13/03/2025
Eric Mandel
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“A magical album full of diversity that holds you captive until the last note…”
Folker.world (DE)
07/03/2025
Erik Prochnow
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“This album exudes the atmosphere of the Mali Blues.”
New Folk Sounds (DE)
07/04/2025
Bart Vanoutrive
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“Diboli focuses on long, circling pieces that immerse the griot culture in a floating, improvisational field, sometimes playing…
JazzThing (NL)
01/02/2025
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“Rather unusual is the striking use of the violin, occasionally even the harmonica, which conveys a surprising…
Ohrenschmauch (DE)
15/01/2025
Günter
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“A homage to the rich musical tradition of West Africa that is also a joy to listen…
Audio.de (DE)
08/01/2025
Claus Dick
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“Everything fits together wonderfully.”
FOLK magazin
26/12/2024
hedo
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“Harmony between the musicians, between the instruments and the voice, between the music and the listener, and…
Ekultura (NL)
25/12/2024
Galgóczi Tamás
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“It is a global album that is greater than the sum of its parts, to be enjoyed…
De Subjectivisten
21/12/2024
Jan Willem
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“An album that can only be recommended.”
Musik Global (BE)
17/12/2024
Fredi Hallauer
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“Enjoyable album for lovers of intimate acoustic West African sounds.”
Tropicalidad (BE)
17/12/2024
Tim Ianna
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“Tamala plays emotional African songs.  With the addition of harmonica a new path is taken.”
Keys and Chords (BE)
30/11/2024
Marino Serdons
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“Diboli musically looks back to old Africa, with an open vision to the future: where African instruments…
Music Frames (BE)
20/11/2024
Mattie Poels
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“This is multiculturalism at its best …  here music is fascinating, moving and simply beautiful. An album…
Moors magazine (BE)
14/11/2024
Holly Moors
“African singer-songwriter music rarely sounds more beautiful than on Diboli.”
Heaven Magazine (US)
04/11/2024
Eric Van Domburg Scipio
“All in all, this is yet another great record from close to our front door.”
Rootstime.be (BE)
03/11/2024
Dani Heyvaert
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“A real success.”
Jazzmania.be (BE)
10/01/2022
Claudy Jalet
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“Lumba is an album with a clear message, carried by beautiful West African music with lyrics written…
MixedWorldMusic.com
10/12/2021
Rik van Boeckel
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“A haunting and majestic blues record, both choral and intimate, solar and introspective.”
Tropicalidad
02/12/2021
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“With Lumba Tamala again creates a rock-solid album that can convince both substantively and musically!”
01/12/2021
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“Between Senegal and Belgium, the world full of humanity of the travelling musicians Tamala.”
RTBF (UK)
26/11/2021
Didier Mélon
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“Musically speaking, this fine CD is a bit like peeling an onion…with each new layer, you find…
KLOF MAGAZINE
25/11/2021
Philip Thomas
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“Rubbed, pinched or vocal, their strings complement each other wonderfully…”
Le Monde (FR)
04/11/2021
Fabien Mollon
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“Just now and then, a record comes along in which everything about it seems to perfectly embody…
RootsWorld (US)
01/11/2021
Mike Adcock
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“The pleasure in listening to them is confirmed by the release of “Lumba”, their second album, recorded…
Blogfoolk Magazine (NL)
28/10/2021
Alessio Surian
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“While respect for humans and nature is at the heart of this project, it was still necessary…
RNR Magazine (IT)
Jean-Pierre Goffin
“… a very positive and rather beautiful album.”
(BE)
Norman Darwen
“A record of a sweet freshness which however never lacks a gravity that is worth a great…
(NL)
Bart Vanoutrive
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“The trio favours its original compositions and medium-tempo rhythms, exalting the wide expressive range of Mola Sylla’s…
New Folk Sounds (HU)
28/02/2019
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“The Tamala trio explores the infinite possibilities of encounters between instruments and musical worlds.”
(US)
18/12/2018

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