TAMALA ◉ SOUND OF GHENT

With its debut album, Tamala won the 'Klara' for best Belgian world music album in 2017 and did it again in the French speaking part of Belgium with an 'Octave de la Musique'. In anticipation of better times and a real live CD presentation, Tamala will bring a few songs from the new album as a sneak preview on the Sound of Ghent livestream platform. With this new record, the illustrious trio delves into Senegal's folk tales and establishes a musical link between past and present.

Tamala (“travelers”), like its name, explores the infinite possibilities of the encounter between the musical backgrounds of the trio. Guided by a natural musical alchemy, the musicians of Tamala swing easily between tradition and innovation, strength and subtlety, dream and reality, north and south.

Over and above their mutual musical understanding, these fine musicians also share a set of values that they have agreed to defend thanks to their music. They support a school in Senegal, hence their nickname “the ambassadors of Ceppe”.

In Senegal, many young minors find themselves forced to beg in the streets or risk being physically abused by their Koranic master, also known as a marabout. Initially entrusted by their families to Koranic schools in order to receive a religious education, some marabouts set up a lucrative business using alms, one of the five pillars of Islam, for personal enrichment. Despite public recognition of this kind of practice and the Senegalese authorities' desire to put an end to forced begging and abuse, it is still the daily life of many children, known as talibés. The song Tolof Tolof which means "he who lives in misery" is a call for the removal from the streets of these young children, whose lives are endangered every day by these so-called marabouts. (see video below)

Mola Sylla voice, xalam (Senegal-­NL)
Bao Sissoko kora (Senegal-­BE)
Wouter Vandenabeele violin (BE)