Toumani Diabate with Ballake Sissoko

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of 'New Ancient Strings', the album has been newly remastered and makes its vinyl debut.

Inspired by the landmark 1970 album, 'Ancient Strings' (recorded by their fathers,Sidiki Diabate and Djelimadi Sissoko), Toumani and Ballake took to making their own contemporary version. Many of the songs are taken from the original repertoire, but the music is all modern Mali and played beautifully making this an exemplary classic in its field. Recorded in a single night, without any overdubs or rehearsals, the album captures the acclaimed kora players in the extraordinary natural acoustics of the Palais de Congre. 'New Ancient Strings' has become a cult classic and is frequently cited as an inspiration for western musicians including Childish Gambino, and Bjork who later worked with Toumani Diabate on her 'Volta' album.