Orchestra Baobab have announced Made In Senegal, their first album in over ten years, and shared a second single from it, Ana Maria. The album arrives on October 23rd via Strut and Madoky Music on LP, CD and digital.
Ana Maria was written by the late Rudy Gomis, one of the musicians poached from the Star Band when the Baobab Club opened its doors in Dakar in 1970. The song is addressed to his grandmother, the only member of his family who supported him in his career in music. It draws on the poetic imagery of Casamance Creole tradition, sending the wind as a messenger between the generations: tenderness carried through every season, nothing erased by the passing of time. Gomis died in 2022, aged 75.
Recorded entirely in Dakar, Made In Senegal follows 2017’s Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng and sets new songs beside reworked classics. Tioro Bye Samba reprises a Thione Seck tune, Casamance celebrates the southern Senegalese region several band members come from, and Baobab 50 Ans marks the group’s half-century. Lead single Togne Bakhoul, another Gomis composition, is an ode to his wife.
The band has lost several founding members over the past decade and rebuilt around sons, nephews and long-standing collaborators. Thierno Koité leads on alto saxophone, with his brother Taga Koité on drums, Moussa Cissokho on percussion and Yahya Fall on rhythm guitar. Zacharia “Papino” Koité, Taga’s son, shares lead vocals with Korka Dieng, the first permanent female lead singer in the band’s history. Malick Sy plays bass, René “Bolero” Sowatche lead guitar, and Wilfrid Zinzou trombone and tenor saxophone.
“We are like the tree we are named after. No matter what happens, the baobab stands firm.” — Thierno Koité
Baobab’s 1975 side Kelen ati leen turned up on KLOF No. 89 earlier this month. The band play Snape Maltings on August 22nd and The Hub in Edinburgh on August 28th, with Shambala Festival and a Cardiff date to follow.
Tracklist
Ana Maria / Tioro Bye Samba / Souvenir / Togne Bakhoul / Sibo Odia / Wuti Xaliss / Ndiaga Niaw / Casamance / Wida / Baobab 50 Ans / Gorgorlou / Senegal
Tour dates
22.08.26 — Britten Pears Arts, Snape Maltings, UK
23.08.26 — Festival Mit Afrika, Cologne, Germany
26.08.26 — Zuiderparktheater, The Hague, Netherlands
28.08.26 — The Hub, Edinburgh, UK
30.08.26 — Shambala Festival, Northampton, UK
03.10.26 — Le 106, Rouen, France
10.10.26 — Le Fil, Saint Etienne, France
11.10.26 — Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, UK
15.10.26 — Tourcoing Jazz Festival, Tourcoing, France
16.10.26 — La Merise, Trappes, France
Made In Senegal (October 23rd, 2026) Strut / Madoky Music