Mola Sylla (born Dakar, Senegal, 1956) is a Senegalese musician. He moved to Europe in 1987 and lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is a singer and plays such traditional African instruments as the mbira, kongoma (Senegalese lamellophone), xalam, and kalimba.

Wild blue yonder music

Sylla has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians, including in jazz and cross-cultural settings. He has worked with Ernst Reijseger, with whom he composed the score to Werner Herzog's 2005 film The Wild Blue Yonder.

He is a founding member of the groups Senemali (a collaboration between Senegalese and Malian musicians) and VeDaKi (formerly Vershki da Koreshki, a quartet made up of Senegalese, Russian, and Indian musicians).

Discography

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With Vershki Da Koreshki

  • Vershki da Koreshki (Al Sur, 1996)
  • Real Life of Plants (Shanachie, 1997)

With Vedaki

  • Gombi Zor (Vedaki Records, 1999)
  • Samm (Vedaki Records, 2008)

With Volkovtrio

  • Much Better (Green Wave Records, 1998)

With Vladimir Volkov

  • Seetu/Mirror/Зеркало (Long Arms Records, 2002)

With Ernst Reijseger

With Ernst Reijseger and Harmen Fraanje

  • Down Deep (Winter & Winter, 2013)
  • Count til Zen (Winter & Winter, 2015)
  • We Were There (Just Listen, 2020)
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