Madalitso Band
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Madalitso Band | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Madalitso Band at WOMEX 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Lilongwe, Malawi |
| Labels | Bongo Joe Records |
| Members |
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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.
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]
