Balimaya Project - When The Dust Settles (2023) [Hi-Res]

Today, powerhouse mande jazz ensemble Balimaya Project announce their second album When The Dust Settles to be released by New Soil in partnership with Jazz re:freshed on July 21, 2023. 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. Fusing West African rhythmic tradition with the energy of London's jazz continuum, the album celebrates the restorative power of Black male brotherhood among diaspora communities in London.
Led by composer/arranger and UK-based Djembe player Yahael Camara Onono, Balimaya Project have established themselves as one of the most exciting and forward-thinking ensembles in Britain.
Enlisting guest vocalists Afronaut Zu, Obongjayar and Fassara Sacko across ten groove-laden and punchily percussive tracks, each song on When The Dust Settles engages intentionally with the significance of folkloric rhythms to illuminate themes that include the death of Camara Onono's older brother, losing a child, becoming a father, migration, survival and a search for truth. As Camara Onono describes: "One thing that's really linking us is that concept of family and the bonds are getting stronger every time ... It was important to me to go deeper and address not just tradition and culture, but also address emotion."