Bandleader Sorry Bamba played a seminal role in the development of Malian popular music in the late 20th century. His bands included Group Goumbé, The Bani Jazz Band, The Orchestra Regionale de Mopti, and The Orchestra Kanaga. While they never attained the continent-spanning popularity of their contemporaries and chief rivals, Bamako’s Super Rail Band, they were nonetheless beloved in their home city of Mopti. Unlike the Rail Band, whose compositions were often based on rhythms borrowed from West Indian and American music, Bamba’s music drew on more local influences, particularly the loping rhythms favored by rural Dogon tribesmen. His use of these tricky rhythms distinguished him from his contemporaries, adding a foreboding, occult flavor to many of the selections on this compilation of his ‘70s-era productions. The venerable Chicago label Thrill Jockey initiated this project when Ian Eagleson encountered Bamba while traveling in central Mali in 2009. Bamba agreed to spearhead this reissue, which marks the first time that much of this material has seen widespread release outside of Mali.