For 'Mali Foli Coura', the strikingly rougher sounding successor of their 2014 debut 'Bamako Today', BKO Quintet tried to reconcile the Malian griot traditions with those of the donso or hunters. 'Mali Foli Coura', the album's title, translates as "the new sound of Mali", exactly what this five piece band - Ibrahima Sarr (djembe, vocals), Fassara Sacko (vocals, dundun), Adama Coulibaly (vocals, donso ngoni), Abdoulaye Kone (djeli ngoni), Aymeric Krol (drums, vocals) - stands for. 'BKO Nana' summarizes the band's story, but to understand it some basic knowledge of Bambara is a must. In 'Mali Liberela' the quintet warns that even though seemingly Mali's darkest days may have past, its citizens better be on guard not to let history repeat itself. 'Dirty Donso', a title which, of course, is a nod to the American dance movie 'Dirty Dancing', in fact talks about the komo, a mask that enables the wearer to connect with the divine, and songs like opener 'Tangwanana' and 'Rougeot' also refer to the donso-traditions. Outsiders in the track list are closing track 'Mon Amour', leaning more towards French chanson and for which BKO invited French singer-songwriter Mathieu Bakshi, and 'Salia', a Gambian love song. And because you also want something for the eye, for the cover of the album, BKO Quintet opted for a work, in a style that we would like to describe as Afro-cubism, by Malian artist Noumouke Camara.