l’Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali

Side A:”1ere Partie (First Part)” and “2eme Partie (Second Part)” from l’Ensemble Instrumental du Mali

There are not many clues as to the origin of this Bamako street market pirated tape. No telling what year it was made. From the looks of the photo, we’re talking a while ago, I think.

The song names on both sides are the same, though the music is completely different. Maybe I’ll throw Side B up here eventually.

Other than that, I’ll let the music and cassette cover speak for themselves. This is real.

UPDATE: A couple folks have let me know about this site, where you’ll find a bunch of info on West African music . It’s a mini-revelation, in fact. Look out for the implausibly thorough Malian vinyl discographies.