Sali Sidibé sang in Mali's state-run Ensemble Instrumental National before forming her own ensemble in the late 1980s, whose cassette "Tounkan Magni" became a hit and helped define the raw, percussion-driven sound of Wassoulou music alongside Coumba Sidibé. Her career peaked after the 1991 compilation The Wassoulou Sound: Women of Mali introduced her internationally, and Oumou Sangaré has named her among the genre's pioneering voices. Sidibé died in Bamako in 2019.

the sound in question

1988

Tounkan MagniSali Sidibé