Iba Diabaté - La Source

In the pure Malian tradition of timeless rhythms, the prodigious Iba Diabaté invites us to engage in a truly memorable listening experience. The rich musicality of all eleven tracks on his fifth album, Racines, will be released October 6^th, 2023, reveals the cultural and musical influences of his griot father, Abdoulaye Diabaté, and Ségou’s Baramba kingdom. From one tune to the next, from the graceful songs emerging from ngoni strings, this “work in praise of the immortal Mandé griots” operates its sensorial magic. A rapture born of Wassoulou music (Oumou Sangaré, Fatoumata Diawara), a convergence of Mandinka rhythms of the Fulani, Dogon, Malinke, Soninke peoples and the eternal Sahelian desert blues.

To bring out this ancestral repertoire, replete with immensely complex arrangements and melodies, Ibrahim Bah Karamoko Diabaté—a composer and singer-songwriter with a powerful voice reminiscent of Salif Keita—called upon illustrious musicians and close associates of his celebrated father, Abdoulaye Diabaté. The older Diabaté was born in 1952 and grew up in the company of the Ségou region’s Malian griots, since his own father, Baba Diabaté, was head of the Diabaté Griots’ Association. Iba Diabaté’s mother, Assitan Dembélé, was also a recognized and talented  Baramba singer. It is no wonder that Iba’s latest musical project attracted such highly esteemed artists as Bina Diabaté (ngoni), Ladji Koita (bass) and Ali Dembélé (guitars), Guy Molo (percussions), and singer, Ami Danté. In 2022, Ami Danté, who is a backing vocalist for Salif Keita, joined forces with none other than Toumani Diabaté, sharing her voice with the kora on his album, Toumani, Family and Friends. Another feminine voice also rises over the ensemble, that of the enchanting diva, Yaye Sissoko. A great Malian family devoted to tradition, never compromising on authenticity nor their belief in a shared culture.

TRACK LIST

1. Racines

2. Amadi

3. Koroto

4. Kabako

5. Dalla

6. Kilawa

7. Makari

8. Tako

9. Boigni

10. Koniya

11. Fade

BIOGRAPHY

His rise to fame is almost a miracle… considering that the griot’s father was not keen on his son pursuing a musical career, Iba Diabaté was able to overcome this significant obstacle to achieve his dream, to freely sing in his native Bambara tongue. Still a young man, he finally surrendered to this irresistible musical calling while studying in Mali’s Sikasso region. He took up the balafon, guitar and singing, which came naturally to him. In the 1990s, he headed to Canada, where he was able to freely explore his musical skills, which were mostly self-taught without his family’s knowledge. Through these artistic explorations, Mouna, his first album, emerged in 2007. Two years later, Iba Diabaté accepted an invitation to the Montreux Jazz Festival, which allowed him to spread his wings and achieve international acclaim. His repertoire unfolds naturally with songs of love, peace and reconciliation, as well as societal reflection, and, of course, the veneration of the Malian woman’s beauty, as in the song “Dalla,” a masterpiece reminiscent of Salif Keita’s romantic odes. In September 2023, Diabaté took his art to new heights with eleven new tunes that are featured on his album Racines (Disques Nuits d’Afrique), sealing a Baramba musical bond with the greats of this Malian tradition, all in perfect harmony with the legacy of his griot linage from the legendary Ségou region.