The Mandingo Band and Baba Commandant are contemporary Burkina Faso groups. The group hails from Bobo Dioulasso and is deeply rooted in their ancestral Mandingue musical traditions. Baba Commandant (Mamadou Sante), the mysterious lead singer, is a unique and well-respected character in the Burkinabe music community. Baba is a sort of punk Faso Dan Fani activist to traditional Mandingo music. He joined the Koule Dafourou dance troupe in 1981 as a performer. He began his musical career as a singer in Dounia, and later in the Afromandingo Band. When he isn’t playing with Victor Deme, the Mandingo Band is his current band. He is currently a practitioner and advocate of Afrobeat music, drawing inspiration from the golden age of Nigerian music. Fela Kuti/Africa70 and King Sunny Ade were big influences as well as the Malian growler Moussa Dombia. Baba Commandant plays ngoni, an instrument played by the Donso (traditional hunters in this area of Burkina Faso/Mali). His audience includes multiple generations of Burkinabe society. He adapts his repertoire to suit his environment, which can range from Bobo-Dioulasso cabaret Sundays to Ouagadougou’s sound systems. Baba Commandant, the Mandingo Band and other musicians are strong influences in Ouagadougou’s DIY underground music culture. Their sound is Juguya. from www.sublimefrequencies.com
