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SOBA
Blues

Mandinka is a dialect of the Mandenka language, spoken in several areas of West Africa including Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Burgina Faso and Gambia.

SOBA is a trio of musicians based in France, formed by guitarist, keyboardist, bassist and singer Moussa Koita (Burguina Faso), percussionist Emile Biayenda (Republic of Congo) and harmonica player Vincent Bucher (France). They all have a long musical journey behind them in their respective careers, and now they have pooled their musical background to give content to an album in which they put the emphasis on blues with capital letters each contributing their own culture and musical tradition, with the aim of shedding new light on a common legacy between Mississippi blues music as upward of African musical culture. In this case, they illuminate the Mandinka tradition of West Africa as distinct from the Tuareg sounds of the Sahel, the desert blues, although they highlight the connections between both. "Fiman" is a meeting, a confluence of symmetrical looks at the past and the future of a musical genre that, although it may seem anachronistic, still has incentives to discover.
"FIMAN"
MUSIC DEVELIPMENT COMPANY
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 11, 2024
(FRANCE)

Moussa Koita - guitar, vocals
Vincent Bucher - harmonica
Emile Biayenda - drums, percussions
Tracklist: 01 Fiman 03:39 02 Tounga 04:19 03 Deme 03:37 04 Faso Den 03:33
05 I Kanata 03:49 06 Wariko 03:55 07 Horonke 03:24 08 Politiki Magni 04:04
09 Miri 03:16 10 Fantaya 03:50 11 Den Folo 04:36
Listen to samples - Soba - Fiman


AFRO BLUES
"To understand the origins of the blues, we must retrace a route that runs from Mississippi to the shores of West Africa, via Chicago, New Orleans and the Caribbean. Works such as Alan Lomax's "The Land of the Blues" and Martin Scorsese's "From Mali to Mississippi: Feel Like Going Home" offer a glimpse of this journey. However, to feel the essence of this music, the album Fiman by the Franco-Burkinabe trio Soba is a must. It sheds light on the links between the different currents that nourish this musical tradition."



Reflection on the notion of mutual aid. To function properly, a group needs to look after and help each other.
DEME (Help)
KOITA - BUCHER - BIAYENDA / INDIVIDUALIZED
Moussa Koita
Vincent Bucher
Emile Biayenda

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