Name: Rail Band
Brand: Rail Band

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

MRI206LP

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2024-04-05

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Cargo

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

6173080682146

Total Cap

Black LP

MRI206LPC1

Blue

Translucent Blue

Extended format: Yes

6173080683440

Blue LP

Artist

Rail Band

Genre GB

African

Label GB

Mississippi Records

Restored classics, rare finds, and sought-after releases. Whether you're a vinyl enthusiast or a tape collector, we have something for everyone.

Reissues

Newest Listed Items

High-quality vinyl old school jacket faithfully reproducing the iconic “mermaid” design from the 1973 release. Licensed from Syllart Records and Djelimady Tounkara. One of the greatest, heaviest, and most sought-after guitar records from 1970s West Africa, available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade!!! 

Bamako, Mali, 1973: Rail Band, the official orchestra of the Malian state railway, drops their self-titled LP. It’s a relentlessly soulful and hypnotic blend of American funk, jazz horns, and Afro-Cuban music, reflected through centuries-old Mandé tradition and blasted at top volume by some of the continent’s greatest artists.

Led by legendary trumpet and saxman Tidiani Koné and held aloft by the intricate web of Djelimady Tounkara’s rumbling, reverb-soaked guitar, Rail Band’s sprawling compositions embody West African storytelling traditions while exulting in the technology and modernity of a newly independent Mali. Vocalists Salif Keita and Mory Kanté, two heroes of African music who would achieve global fame as soloists, are endlessly emotive, oscillating between silky ballads and funk screams. The band’s sound is filled out by layers of percussion, rolling guitars, and melodic horns filtered through the Caribbean.

Starting in 1970, Rail Band played five nights a week, from 2 pm til the early hours, at the Buffet Hotel de la Gare. Their audience was an international array of businessmen, young partiers, and people of the Bamako night. The band was incredibly versatile, switching genres, rhythms, and styles to meet their crowd. It was a volatile mix, one that would fall apart soon after these recordings were made, with Salif Keita’s departure to start the rival Les Ambassadeurs. Though Rail Band continued in many distinguished forms, the eight songs on this album reveal one of the greatest bands to ever exist, at the height of their creative powers.

Music GB

Discover Rail Band by None. High-quality vinyl old school jacket reproducing the iconic “mermaid” design from the 1973 release. Available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade!