Malian-born, Oslo-based percussionist and cultural ambassador Sidiki Camara is set to release Ankaben, his most ambitious project to date, bringing together an extraordinary ensemble of Norwegian jazz, folk, and contemporary musicians. The album takes its title from the word “Humanity,” reflecting the central idea behind a project built around connection, collaboration, and the ability of music to bring people together across cultures and borders.

For Camara, Ankaben is deeply personal. The album continues a lifelong exploration of Malian musical traditions while creating space for improvisation and collaboration with musicians from different backgrounds. It follows his 2023 Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen) win for Return to the Traditions, adding another significant chapter to a career that has taken him from Mali to Belgium and eventually Norway.

Camara began playing music in Mali when he was around 10 or 11 years old. His passion for music eventually led him to choose a professional musical career over formal education, beginning a journey that would take him far beyond his home country. After establishing himself in Bamako, he moved to Brussels in 1989, where he lived until 2006, before making Oslo his home. He has been based in the Norwegian capital since 2006, becoming an important figure in its international music community.

Throughout that journey, Camara has worked with musicians from across the global music landscape. One of the most important relationships in his career has been his collaboration with legendary Malian musician Boubacar Traoré, with whom he toured the United States. It was during a performance with Traoré that acclaimed American guitarist Bill Frisell encountered Camara’s playing. Impressed by what he heard, Frisell invited him to join his trio on a European tour, eventually leading to Camara’s contribution to the Grammy-winning album Intercontinentals and several years of international touring with Frisell.

Those experiences reflect the wider musical philosophy behind Ankaben. Camara’s career has consistently moved between traditions, countries, and genres, allowing him to approach Malian musical heritage not as something isolated from the rest of the world, but as a foundation for dialogue with other musical cultures.

The album itself grew from the acclaimed Sidiki Camara // A Life in Music performance, which debuted at Oslo World in 2024. That performance brought together the musical ideas and collaborators that would eventually develop into the new record. In June 2026, the ensemble returned to the studio to record Ankaben at Rainbow Studios in Oslo, with Martin Abrahamsen handling the mixing and mastering.

The resulting project brings together Norwegian jazz, folk, and contemporary musicians around Camara’s percussion-led musical world. His approach allows the different musical backgrounds within the ensemble to coexist, creating a project shaped by collaboration rather than strict genre boundaries.

At the heart of Ankaben is its title and its meaning. Camara has emphasized humanity as the central message he hopes the press and listeners will focus on. For him, the album represents a vision of people connecting through music, togetherness, and joy rather than being divided by conflict and war.

That message gives the project significance beyond its musical construction. While Camara’s percussion and Malian heritage provide an important foundation, Ankaben is ultimately concerned with what can happen when musicians from different cultures meet and create something together.

It is also a natural continuation of Camara’s career. His music has repeatedly crossed geographical and stylistic boundaries, from his early years in Mali to his time in Brussels and his long-standing presence in Oslo. His work with Boubacar Traoré and Bill Frisell demonstrated his ability to move between musical traditions without losing the character of his own background, and Ankaben extends that approach through a larger collaborative ensemble.

The album arrives during another important period of recognition for Camara. In addition to his 2023 Norwegian Grammy for Return to the Traditions, he received the “Attestation De Reconnaissance” from the Malian government in January 2026. The award recognized his contribution to Malian culture, further highlighting his role as both a musician and cultural ambassador.

That dual identity is central to understanding Camara’s work. He is not only preserving elements of the musical traditions he grew up with; he is also carrying them into new environments and introducing them to musicians and audiences from different cultural backgrounds.

With Ankaben, that process reaches another stage. The project brings together the traditions Camara has carried throughout his life with the musical perspectives of his Norwegian collaborators, creating an album shaped by experience, improvisation, and a belief in the ability of music to overcome borders.

More than a meeting of Malian tradition and Norwegian contemporary music, Ankaben is a reflection of Camara’s own journey between cultures. Its central idea is simple: music can create a space where people meet, listen, collaborate, and experience something together.

For an artist whose career has been defined by those very connections, Ankaben becomes a fitting expression of what Sidiki Camara has spent decades building through music.

Stream below: open.spotify.com/album/0b8ixvSf2mVX35

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