photo: BOUBACAR TRAORE

18 May 2025 - Photographer Jop van Haaff

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In the early years of Mali's independence, 20-year-old Boubacar Traoré picked up an electric guitar and shaped the sound of the young state. But after the military coup in 1968, his songs were banned from the radio and Traoré had to support his family as a farmer and small trader. In 1990, he returned as a musician and recorded six albums in a short time. Soon Vincent Bucher's harmonica became the sonic alter ego of Traoré's voice and guitar playing. Since the turn of the millennium, he has been hailed as one of the great fathers and ambassadors of modern Mandingo music, combining characteristic playing techniques and ideas from West Africa with the philosophy of blues from the US South. On 18 May, he will be in our Kleine Zaal!

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