50 ans (Fifty Years)

Release date 24 NOV 2023 

First extract from the new album (Out Autumn 2024 )

Senegal's legendary band Orchestra Baobab is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new album scheduled for release in Autumn 2024. 

On November 24, 2023, the group will unveil its first single, taken from this new opus long awaited by their fans. 

The song is simply called “50 ANS”. 

The lyrics were penned by drummer Taga Koité, a member of the group from the early days, and it is sung by his son Papino, a new recruit who today shares lead vocals with Alpha Dieng (son of historic deceased singer Ndiouga Dieng!). 

Composed collectively, the song “50 ANS” perfectly illustrates the group’s ability to reinvent itself through continuity. This first version was recorded mid-september in a single take during an exceptional LIVE session under the dome of the famous KOKO theater in London, a legendary concert hall in the English capital, recently renovated. 

In an ecstatic atmosphere, the nine Baobab musicians delivered this first new sound, a promising taste of the new album to come. The sublime “50 years” expresses all the talent of the group and what has made its success along the years: a rich and intense rhythmic base, captivating melodic singing, and superb brass arrangements. 

A successful bet: “50 ANS” is already shaping up to be a great Afro-Cuban classic! 

50 Ans https://bfan.link/50-ans

Pirate's Choice

The all times classic album of African music from 1982. Orchestra Baobab are masters of the African/Afro-Cuban fusion that dominated Senegal's music scene in the Seventies. A fluid mixture of mellifluous guitar and delicious vocals, "Pirate's Choice" was recorded in 1982 shortly before they disbanded, and released worldwide for the time by World Circuit in 1989. Repackaged with an extra CD of previously unreleased material, the re-release of this essential record in 2001 prompted a full-scale reunion of the band.

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Specialist In All Styles

Revitalised by their spectacular 2001 comeback and a highly successful world tour, Senegal's legendary Orchestra Baobab release their first new recordings together for nearly twenty years. Produced by Youssou N'Dour with World Circuit's Nick Gold, 'Specialist In All Styles' is driven by an infallible groove, standout vocal performances and - in Barthelemy Attisso - one of Africa's best guitarists. Featuring guest contributions from Cuban superstar Ibrahim Ferrer and N'Dour himself, the album is infused with an infectious sense of enjoyment and a wealth of experience summarised best by its title.

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Made In Dakar

Five years on from the GRAMMY nominated 'Specialist in All Styles', Orchestra Baobab returned with 'Made in Dakar', an album that celebrates their roots in one of the world's  most explosive musical cities - which updates their classic mellow sound with a new edge and a new energy for new times.  Beautifully recorded in Dakar's Xippi studios, 'Made in Dakar' builds on Baobab's renewed activity on their home turf, where they undertook their first Dakar club residency in nearly 20 years with hugely successful Saturday night sessions at the Just 4 U club. Combining the gritty lo-fi feel of their early recordings with dynamic new arrangements, this is an album that could only have been Made in Dakar.

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TRIBUTE TO NDIOUGA DIENG

A decade on from their last album and almost half a century since their formation, Senegal’s Orchestra Baobab return with a timeless set of classic, swaying tunes fusing Afro-Cuban rhythms and African tradition in the group’s trademark style.

Recorded locally in Moussa X’s Dakar studio, the new recordings sound fresh and yet reassuringly familiar, retaining the ripeness of the sound that made Orchestra Baobab a legend but interpreted with a vigour and vibrancy, and with a few twists, that are vital and captivating.

As enduring as the mighty African Baobab tree from which the group derives its name, the veteran core of the band remains as strong and sturdy as ever. Vocalists Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, saxophonists Issa Cissoko and Thierno Koite and the long-serving, rock steady rhythm section of Balla Sidibe, timbales, Charlie Ndiaye bass and Mountaga Koite on congas.

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