Le Mali 70

Popular music has its roots in West Africa, and especially in Mali. In Berlin, a bigband discovers old vinyls from the Malian Bigband era, music which embodied the hope for Malian independence before a coup brought an end to the big band scene. Inspired by these songs, the Berliners travel to Mali to find the heroes of their vinyl-collection. There they research the origins of the songs, marvel at old archive footage and play jam-sessions with forgotten Malian stars, leading often to heated arguments over the correct beats, and record an album in Salif Keita's studio in Bamako.

• Writers: Markus C.M. Schmidt
• Producers: Florian Schewe