Powerhouse mandé jazz ensemble Balimaya Project release their second album When The Dust Settles today – via New Soil in partnership with Jazz re:freshed – establishing further their forward-thinking musicianship.

When The Dust Settles fuses West African rhythmic tradition with some of London’s best jazz players – led by composer/arranger and UK-based Djembe player Yahael Camara Onono. It also uses folkloric rhythms to illuminate themes such as the death of Camara Onono’s older brother, losing a child, becoming a father, migration, survival and a search for truth.

As Camara Onono describes: “One thing that’s really linking us is that concept of family and the bonds are getting stronger every time … It was important to me to go deeper and address not just tradition and culture, but also address emotion.”

Afronaut Zu sings on album opener For Aziz, when Camara Onono reckons with the death of his older brother, Abdul Aziz Onyeamaechi Onono – killed on a UN peacekeeping mission in Nigeria when Camara Onono was 11. The lyrics expand on the impermanence within the name Onyeamaechi, which means ‘Who knows tomorrow?’ and ending with a traditional Yoruba praise singing of the Oriki (a greeting) – Zu extols “Iku” or death’s attributes in a rousing flood of emotion and release.

Other guest vocalists include Obongjayar…

…and Fassara Sacko.

When The Dust Settles articulates the central concern of Balimaya Project – to create a safe space for young Black men to express their vulnerabilities together, claiming West African heritage as part of contemporary Black British culture and pushing back against stereotyping.

As Camara Onono writes in the liner notes: “This album is dedicated to the deep breath before the plunge, that moment of silence before diving into depths unknown. It is dedicated, not only to the sacrifice that bore fruit, but to the offering that was made in vain. It is an acceptance and a reckoning with pain, regret, joy and hope. We hope that it encourages you to take your own plunge…”

Preorder/Stream When The Dust Settles

Balimaya Project are at Barbican Hall, London, for a headline show on October 17th. Tickets