Omniversal Earkestra – LE Mali70 VOL.II

The Omniversal Earkestra embarked on a long-anticipated journey to Mali in 2019. For years the band had been fascinated and influenced by the country’s vibrant musical traditions, especially from the 1970s. As they traveled across Mali, they sought out their musical idols to rehearse with and learn from. Their journey culminated in a recording session at the legendary Moou studio in Bamako, where they produced a wealth of material documenting these rare collaborations – some of which was used to cre ate their fi rst album, Le Mali 70, released in 2021. And so a new project was born. Since then the production “Le Mali 70” has been brought to the stage at several international festivals. This has provided opportunities for the Omniversal Earkes tra to reunite with some of their old mentors from Mali and to form new bonds with emerging artists on the Malian music scene. In this way the project has continued to develop and grow. A continued musical evolution combined with the fact that the fi rst album had completely sold out, sowed the seeds for the release of a second record – and here it is! Le Mali 70 Vol. II presents both unreleased tracks and material, up until now, exclusively used in Markus Schmidt’s documentary “Le Mali 70: Von Berlin nach Bamako und zurück” – all of which was recorded at Mo‑ou studio in 2019. It also features new recordings made in 2025 at the Berlin venue ‘Sonnenraum’ – spiritual home of the Omniversal Earkestra and host of their now- legendary weekly concert series. Since those initial recording sessions in Bamako, five of the musicians who participated have sadly passed away: Boubacar Ousman Touré and El Hadj Mahalmadane from Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou, Sory Bamba from Kanaga de Mopti, Jacoub “Jimmy” Soubeiga from the Super Bitons de Ségou and fi nally the Omniversal Earkestra‘s beloved Franz Stahl.