Sidiki Camara has for many years been one of the world’s leading percussionists. Those who have followed him have also gotten to know his side as a creative artist who combines different traditions and techniques in a unique way.

Photo by Ingvild Vaale Arnesen

The album “Return to the traditions” has music from a piece commissioned by Global Oslo Music that premiered in 2022.

In this context, Camara wanted to immerse himself in music that is traditionally used in rites of passage in Mali, his home country. Here we find the typical pentatonic scale and polyrhythms, played on the stringed instrument ngoni and a rich selection of percussions. To this he added musical traditions from Norwegian Folk tunes, melodically and rhythmically, interpreted in a distinctive format with 3 bass players and vocals.