With her new single Dankoroba (Influente/Woman of Influence), singer-songwriter Djely Tapa gives us a taste of her next album announced for this fall. This opus is part of the development of the musical project of this Montrealer of Malian origin, Radio-Canada revelation and 2020 Juno prize winner of best World Music album for her first record Barokan.
Resolutely Afro-futurist, the single reflects this artist’s sustained effort to spark a revival of West African Mandinka music. The mix between traditional and modern (in particular, African blues and electronic experiments) allows her to bring the flavours of this ancestral music up to date.
It must be said that Djely had the good idea of releasing, alongside this title song, a fundamentally spiritual video clip, shot in the landscapes of the history-laden village of Kita, in Mali. This helps us understand the purpose of the single which pays homage to the socio-cultural heritage of Sumusso, nine influential women celebrated in the Malinké epic poem by Sundiata Keïta who were members of the first government of the Mandinka Empire in the 13th century.
Djely’s rereading of a key moment in the history of Mali, in a pan-African emancipatory feminist spirit, inspires the dialogue between traditional instruments (calabash and n’goni) and the guitar, which forms the song’s musical framework. This revisioning is enhanced by the singer’s deep and powerful voice, accompanied by the Montreal choir Afrika Intshiyetu. The arrangements and electronic sounds bear the signature of Jean Massicotte who has produced works by Patrick Watson, Lhasa de Sela, Arthur H, among other renowned artists.
