Balafon-led and lyrically sharp, “Bere Tounouna” is the fourth single from Kankélé’s upcoming album Bala Groove. Sung in Bambara and Spanish, the track turns on a simple but potent image — “the cane of certain elders is lost” — evoking the slow disconnection between generations. The message moves through layered percussion and circular melodies that shift between trance-like focus and rhythmic release.

Formed and fronted by Burkina Faso–born Oumarou “Mandela” Bambara, Kankélé blends West African traditions with jazz, funk and a strong live sensibility. The band operates between France and the Sahel region, and calls their evolving sound Mandé ni Wassolo Bala Groove, a collective practice built around the balafon and rooted in Bambara musical thought. Their compositions often carry multiple languages and cultural references, but the core remains percussive, communal, and grounded.

“Bere Tounouna” blends Bambara and Spanish vocals with polyrhythmic percussion, folk-jazz phrasing, and a taut, forward-driving funk groove. It draws on ancestral wisdom but moves with present-day urgency — grounded in tradition without leaning on it. Memory is folded into rhythm here, with the groove carrying the weight of the message.

You can stream and listen to the single HERE