Tony Clarke
Going Home

The Lost Maestros is an initiative that embraces pioneers of Mande Music and a young generation of cultural actors in post-independence Mali. Mali's new government demanded a radical cultural empowerment.The project assembles ardent musicians producing modernized-and-electrified sounds inspired by the Mandinka, Bambara, and Bobo musical repertoires just like the efforts that took place between 1960s to the 1990s by pioneers such as Tidiani Kone and Rail Band.The collection is above all a sample of the prodigious cultural heritage of Mande music. A pentatonic music that also resonates in blues form America and afrobeat from Nigeria and features some of the best magicians of stringed and percussion instruments.Other than Askia Modibo, Tambaoura Jazz and Labouzou, the other musicians were all part of a glorious epoque of regional and national orchestras. For eight years, Mieruba-ML, supported 8 Malian musicians and groups inspired by Mangala Camara's career and vision for Malian Music in the 21st Century. Great artists in Mali usually do not receive deserved local recognition.