Weekend Bliss: Madalisto Band’s “Ndalakwanji”

<p>From busking on the streets of Lilongwe, Malawi, to the bright lights of YouTube, the Madalisto Band leaves 2020 with a one-off single and video, out on Bongo Joe Records. Check out “Ndalakwanji” right here:</p> <div class="video-container"><iframe loading="lazy" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PSWc1Ca2-3M" allowfullscreen="" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0"></iframe></div> <p>The song is one of the earliest Madalisto Band tunes, dating back to when the duo first began busking on the streets of Malawi’s capital city. Yobu Malingwa lays down a melodic low end with his homemade, one-string <em>babatone</em>, while Yosefe Kalekeni drums with his heel and strums a four-string guitar. It’s rootsy, playful and kinetic, a juggling act that ends up looking effortless.<br></p> <p>A local producer heard the group playing outside a shopping center in 2009, and by 2017 they were playing internationally in Zanzibar, then on to a tour of Europe. In 2019 they released an album called <em>Wasalala, </em>also on the Swiss label Bongo Joe Records. </p>