WHEN THE DUST SETTLES

Description

The powerful Mande jazz group Balimaya Project announces its second album When The Dust Settles, which will be released by New Soil in partnership with Jazz re:freshed. A dynamic maturation of the group's thrilling big band sound, When The Dust Settles is a personal and cathartic expression of grief, rage, love, and joy. Merging West African rhythmic tradition with the energy of the London jazz continuum, the album celebrates the healing power of Black male brotherhood among diaspora communities in London. Led by UK-based composer/arranger and djembe player Yahael Camara Onono, Balimaya Project has established itself as one of the most exciting and avant-garde ensembles in Britain. Featuring guest singers Afronaut Zu, Obongjayar, and Fassara Sacko on ten impactful, groove-laden tracks, each song on When The Dust Settles intentionally engages with the meaning of folk rhythms to illuminate themes such as the death of Camara Onono's older brother, the loss of a child, becoming a father, migration, survival, and the search for truth. As Camara Onono describes: "One thing that really binds us is that the concept of family and connections strengthen every time... It was important for me to go further and address not only tradition and culture but also emotion."