the Guinean who somehow became a huge star in Colombia

On Out 18, 2023

Samy Ben Redjeb’s German Analog Africa label has spent over a decade giving the hidden treasures of African music a platform. In 2006, he stumbled upon Leon Keïta’s infectious sound and knew he’d found a gem. He was in Bobo Dioulasso, where the music is infused with the sounds of Mali and Guinea – its music scene was incredibly rich with Afrobeat, funk, and jazz, spawning bands like Super Djata Band and Bembeya Jazz.

Those bands, in particular, were best-sellers, with record dealers importing their material in huge quantities from Abidjan and Cotonou; the city’s local artists sent out their records, too. In only a week, Redjeb found himself able to trace most of Keïta’s material, and he only had to get halfway through the seismic track ‘Dakan Sate, Korotoumi’ before he knew he had some hits on his hands: “Hypnotic guitar solos, heavy bass riffs, psychedelic organ lines, and funky horns – what more could you want?”

Keïta was a huge figure in the Malian music scene, having founded the Piano Jazz Orchestra and organised cultural festivals there. Even when he was tasked with writing up reports for the Malian President, Modibo Keita, he always found time at the end of long meetings to perform a few songs to liven up the delegates.

He was also a key force behind the formation of the Rail-Band, who went on to become their own cultural phenomenon. They were one of the first West African bands to combine traditional regional African sounds with Latin, combining electric guitar and jazz horns with local instruments like balafon xylophones. At the peak of their mid-’70s fame, they routinely sold out stadiums in West Africa.

Keïta had helped the band form alongside Manfila Kanté, effectively launching the careers of Mory Kanté and Salif Keita in the process. Keïta joined Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux, who also toured West Africa, before he left to focus on his own projects, recruiting his old band members as a backing band when he was back in the studio.

Two records came out of their musical reunion, both released in 1978. “A year later,” explained Redjeb, “[Keïta] released ‘Rythmes et Mélodies du Mali’, co-written with his brother Germain and backed by the magnificent Orchestre Black Santiago – featuring infectious trumpet from band-leader Ignace de Souza, the LP was recorded in Benin at the Satel Studio in Cotonou.”

Keïta never recorded any solo ventures, but according to Redjeb: “His songs continue to inspire the reverence of anyone fortunate enough to have heard them”. Even before Analog Africa released Leon Keita: (Analog Africa Dance Edition No.16), his music was again rediscovered, this time making waves in Colombia after Barranquilla’s sound system operator, Carlos Estrada, gave ‘Dalaka’ airplay and it became an unexpected hit.