Madalitso Band

Madalitso Band
Madalitso Band at WOMEX 2024
Background information
OriginLilongwe, Malawi
LabelsBongo Joe Records
Members
  • Yobu Maligwa
  • Yosefe Kalekeni

Madalitso Band are a Malawian musical duo comprising Yobu Maligwa on babatoni (a slide bass with one string), and Yosefe Kalekeni on four-string guitar and foot-drum. They have released four albums and toured in Africa, Europe, and the United States.

History

Maligwa and Kalekeni moved to Lilongwe in 2002 during the Malawian famine of that year.[1] In Lilongwe they formed a duo, originally called Tiyese and later renamed to Madalitso Band.[1] Maligwa plays the babatoni, a slide bass with one string, and Kalekeni plays four-string guitar and a foot-drum.[2] They performed as buskers for a decade before being seen by producer Emmanuel Kamwenje, who became their manager.[3][4]

Madalitso Band's debut album Fungo La Nyemba was sold only at their concerts.[2] Their second album, and first international release, was Wasalala, released on Swiss record label Bongo Joe Records in 2019.[5] In 2022 they released the album Musakayike, again on Bongo Joe.[3]

In June 2025 Madalitso Band released their fourth album Ma Gitala, which Stephen Dalton of Uncut called "effortlessly lovely."[6] It made more use of a recording studio than their previous albums.[7]

Madalitso Band have toured in the United States and in several countries in Africa and Europe.[8] Their first performance outside of Malawi, described by Blantyre newspaper The Daily Times as their "breakthrough", was at the 2017 Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar.[1][4]

Madalitso Band played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2025, and performed a live televised set as part of the BBC coverage that weekend.[9]

Albums

  • Fungo La Nyemba (Self-released)
  • Wasalala (2019, Bongo Joe)
  • Musakayike (2022, Bongo Joe)
  • Ma Gitala (2025, Bongo Joe)

References

  1. ^ a b c Guillaume Schnee (22 April 2025), ""Ma Gitala", le groove malawi contagieux du Madalitso Band" ["Ma Gitala", the contagious Malawian groove of the Madalitso Band], Radio France (in French), retrieved 13 June 2025
  2. ^ a b David Pratt (12 June 2022), "Madalitso Band – Musakayike", KLOF Magazine, retrieved 13 June 2025
  3. ^ a b Lucy Hallam, "Madalitso Band – Musakayike", Songlines, no. 180 (August/September 2022), p. 47, ISSN 1464-8113, retrieved 13 June 2025
  4. ^ a b Sam Banda (23 September 2023), "Madalitso Band: From dusty Mtandire streets to the world", The Daily Times, retrieved 13 June 2025
  5. ^ Lucy Hallam, "Madalitso Band – Wasalala", Songlines, no. 150 (August/September 2019), p. 58, ISSN 1464-8113, retrieved 13 June 2025
  6. ^ Stephen Dalton, "Madalitso Band – Ma Gitala", Uncut, no. 340 (July 2025), p. 31
  7. ^ Jim Hickson, "Madalitso Band – Ma Gitala", Songlines, no. 209 (July 2025), p. 48, ISSN 1464-8113
  8. ^ Sam Banda (22 October 2024), "Madalitso Band to perform at Womex", The Daily Times, retrieved 13 June 2025
  9. ^ "BBC Music - Glastonbury 2025, Saturday early evening live". Retrieved 30 June 2025.
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