VI.BE

Kabunga is a project of the Malian artist Zonatan Dembele, bassplayer for various internationally renowned artists including Rokia Traoré and Ben Zabo. From 2015 to 2018 he plays with Kabunga on several stages in Mali and realises a national tour. When he arrives in Belgium in 2019, he surrounds himself with professional musicians from all over the world and plays regularly in music bars, cultural centres and on festivals. Last year Kabunga was the support act of Amadou & Mariam at VierNulVier in Ghent.

Kabunga submerges you in the ancient musical tradition of the Bwa people living in Mali and Burkina Faso. Source of inspiration are the traditional Deni rhythms played at the end of the harvest season when people come together to relax, sing and dance. Kabunga blends the authentic Bwa music with other African rhythms, jazz and blues into a interesting tradi-modern sound.

Kabunga’s music grooves like Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat. Core of the sound are the originally used an’an and dumanu drums, completed with Malian and Western instruments - ngoni, tama, balafon, drums, bass, guitar and sax. True to the Bwa tradition, Kabunga’s repertoire is a vibrant celebration of life, that alternates up-tempo catchy tunes with more quiet, subdued songs.