For more than 40 years, the beloved Orchestra Baobab has graced the world with their irresistible blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and Senegalese vocal traditions.

Their music is a vital example of “roots in reverse” — the journey of African music to the Americas through the slave trade, its transformation, and eventual return to Africa in new forms. Senegal was one of the key crossroads in this exchange. As Cuban music flowed through the port city of Dakar, Orchestra Baobab drew on both sides of the Atlantic, fusing rumba, son and Afro Cuban jazz with the griot traditions of Wolof and Mandinka culture.

A victim of shifting musical trends, the band disbanded in the late 1980s. Thanks in particular to Nick Gold and his World Circuit label, a new generation of music lovers discovered their brilliance, leading to a highly celebrated revival. More than five decades after their beginnings, the new single “Togne Bakhoul” — their first new music since 2017’s Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng — finds Orchestra Baobab doing what they have always done with perfection: making music that is timeless, joyous and effortlessly vital.