The official press from the label
At its best (though perhaps its most paradoxical), globalism encourages nationhood and independence as much as freedom of movement and enterprise. It comes down to all people’s right – and the actual possibility – of self-determination. Which is why we’re so enthusiastic about Midnight in Mali... recorded at an extraordinary concert in Bamako featuring a once-in-a-lifetime array of some of Mali’s greatest artists, including guitarist Djelimady Tounkara, balafon virtuoso Keletigui Diabaté, n’goni whiz Basekou Kouyaté and singer Dieneba Seck, all under the direction of Habib Koité. As Banning Eyre’s introduction observes, "It was that rare occasion when musical giants dare to risk the new, rely on their wits, and freely explore their shared heritage: the majestic, matchless variety of Malian music." Such a concert could not have happened in New York, only in Bamako. So while we advocate mixing and exchanging, we also celebrate tradition and uniqueness, and we see no contradiction in that. Our slogan is "Support local music everywhere!"
Also: from Banning Eyre
Malian musicians are renowned for their spontaneity. Anyone who has explored Bamako’s intimate musical settings - street weddings, courtyard jam sessions and evening concerts at open-air "cultural spaces" where anyone might show up - knows this. And yet the jam session is a side of the music rarely heard in the polished studio recordings that have put this West African musical colossus on the map in recent years.
This extraordinary concert, recorded at Bamako’s French Cultural Centre on 23rd December 2004, rights the balance, revealing the personalities, humour and improvisational mastery of some of the country’s finest musicians interacting in a once-in-a-lifetime formation.
The line-up is remarkable for the calibre of musician present, the range of styles represented and the ease with which the artists traverse borders to make gorgeous, free-flowing music together.
Midnight in Mali is that rare occasion when musical giants dare to risk the new, rely on their wits, and freely explore their shared heritage: the majestic, matchless variety of Malian music. - Banning Eyre
various