Today we head to Guinea, not to be confused with Equitorial Guinea or Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is a beautiful West African country.
The term Guinea refers to the Gulf of Guinea, a huge area of the Atlantic stretching from Gabon to Liberia. Weirdly Liberia is South of Guinea, so technically speaking the country of Guinea is outside of the Gulf of Guinea.
Unsurprisingly for a West African state, Guinea was at one time a French colony, gaining independence in 1958. Also unsurprisingly for an African state, Guinea has rich deposits of gold and diamonds.
The first time I think I ever heard of Guinea was because of its mesmerising music. In fact, I’m a huge fan of Guinean music.
So for today’s post, I’m going to share some beautiful music by Kélétigui et ses Tambourinis. Kélétigui et ses Tambourinis was an orchestra founded by the newly independent Guinean government in 1959. They were effectively an organ of the Guinean government and used for political means, but their sounds transport you to a completely different world.
If you do anything after reading this post - listen to Kadia Blues. It’s utterly spellbinding.
If you liked Kadia Blues, check out Bembeya Jazz National.
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