Sidiki Camara - Ankaben // plateslipp

Line-up:

Sidiki Camara – n’goni, percussion and vocals
Bendik Hofseth – saxophone
Jacob Young – guitar
Unni Løvlid – vocals
Eirik Askerøi – guitar
Sarah Camille – vocals
Erik Sollid – fiddle
Bo Berg – bass
Pearl Tawiah – dance
Shirley Madou – dance

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“Sidiki Camara – A Life in Music”

Throughout his long career, Malian-born, Oslo-based percussionist Sidiki Camara has established himself as a sought-after performer and pioneering innovator. For this album, he has assembled a true all-star line-up to celebrate more than five decades in music.

Camara’s band features some of Norway’s most influential musicians in their respective fields: Bendik Hofseth on saxophone, Unni Løvlid on vocals, Sarah Camille on vocals, Erik Sollid on fiddle, Jacob Young on guitar, Audun Erlien on bass and Eirik Askerøi on guitar. Dancers Shirley Mado and Pearl Tawiah complete an ensemble created to reflect Camara’s broad musical horizons.

Camara is one of Mali’s foremost percussionists and has earned international recognition for his playing. He is regarded as an important innovator within the modern wave of West African Manding music. A sought-after musical collaborator, he appears in a wide range of settings: from progressive jazz with Ole Morten Vågan’s octet Mirror Image, to record-breaking diasporic pop with Karpe and the cult disco/afrobeat band Sex Judas. In 2023, his breakthrough in Norway was crowned with a Spellemann Award for the album Return to the Traditions, on which he blended music from Mali with Norwegian folk music.

On this album, Sidiki looks back on his career together with his trusted musical companions. Musicians from both folk and jazz traditions come together to celebrate some of the musical values he holds most dear: musical traditions, interplay and improvisation.

The album was recorded at Rainbow Studio in Oslo in June 2026, and mixed and mastered by Martin Abrahamsen. It will be released by Oslo Session Recordings.

Whether you are a long-time fan or completely new to Sidiki’s musical universe, you are warmly invited to an evening of musical celebration!

The concert is presented by Black History Month Norway and Cosmopolite Scene.