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'To demonstrate power, energy and courage, in order to be considered as an adult, is one of the most beautiful traditions - not only in Africa but world-wide, as Jérôme Ségur's exciting video documentation "Becoming a man in Melanesia" shows. In Africa, in the Mande language area this is called Kamalenya. The name of my group is its program: Percussion Mania is precisely that - an intoxicating battle of rhythms, in which not only we musicians are supposed to fall into a trance... This CD is our demonstration of power, energy and courage  in the sense of the tradition.' - writes Mamadou Diabate in the CD booklet.

He delivers what he promises. Earthy, intoxicating music for balafon, jembe, dundun with lyrical pieces for ngoni. The CD booklet is worth reading and reveals a lot about Mamadou's compositional technique. The title song 'Kamalenya' with soli on the Tusia balafon is a stormy, unleashed energy-flood. His solo on the Sambla balafon, 'Jemejugu', is  something that, I am convinced, no other balafonist could play. Louis Sanou (balafon, jembe) and Karim Sanou (ngoni, dundun, jembe) play their parts excellently. The sound of the balafon (thanks to the sound engineer Kurt Richter) is overwhelming. Review by Andras Szabo